Anton Theodor von Colloredo

Anton Theodor Cardinal von Colloredo-Waldsee-Mels (after 1802)

Coat of arms of the cardinal and 1st Archbishop of Olomouc

Anton Theodor von Colloredo-Waldsee-Mels (also: Anton Theodor Colloredo-Wallsee-Mels ; Czech: Antonín Theodor hrabě Colloredo-Waldsee ; * July 17, 1729 in Vienna , † September 12, 1811 in Kremsier ) was the first Archbishop of Olomouc as well as cardinal .

Life

His parents were Karl Ludwig von Colloredo-Waldsee-Mels and Eleonore, geb. by Gonzaga. Anton Theodor studied in Modena, Rome and Padua, where he received his doctorate in 1752. iur. utr. received his doctorate. On 15 August 1758 he was appointed deacon ordained and received on 20 August 1758 in Brixen the ordination , in 1766 he became dean of Kremsier. Since the Viennese government intended since 1773 to establish the dioceses of Brno and Opava from parts of the Olomouc diocesan area and the part of the Archdiocese of Wroclaw in Austria-Silesia, it initially forbade a new bishop to be elected after the death of Olomouc bishop Maximilian Count of Hamilton in 1776. Anton Theodor, who was promoted to cathedral dean that same year , traveled to Vienna on behalf of the Olomouc cathedral chapter to raise objections to the loss of territory for the diocese of Olomouc and to take part in the negotiations. Since the establishment of the Diocese of Opava after negotiations with the Prussian did not the government and the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Wrocław established, the Bohemian Queen requested Maria Theresia the Holy See only the establishment of the Diocese of Brno as a suffragan of Olomouc. Pope Pius VI agreed to the motion, approved the election of a new bishop and made Olomouc an archbishopric.

On October 6, 1777, the Olomouc cathedral chapter unanimously elected Anton Theodor von Colloredo-Waldsee-Mels as bishop. With the papal election confirmation on March 30, 1778, Anton Theodor became the first Archbishop of Olomouc. He received his episcopal consecration on May 17, 1778, the Archbishop of the Archbishopric of Salzburg , Hieronymus Colloredo , co - consecrators were Ferdinand Christoph von Waldburg-Zeil , Bishop of Chiemsee and Franz de Paula Xaver Ludwig Jakob von Breuner , Bishop Emeritus of Lavant .

The reorganization of the archbishopric fell during Anton Theodor's term of office , which became necessary due to the loss of the districts of Brno , Znojmo and Iglau , from which the diocese of Brno had been formed. He divided the archdiocese into eight archdeaconates with 52 deaconates, which he subsequently visited. As a consequence of the patent of tolerance announced in 1781, large parts of the diocesan population in Moravian Wallachia and in the Moravian German-speaking areas converted to Protestantism , Anton Theodor founded additional parishes whose priests were supposed to encourage the faithful to return to the Catholic faith through improved pastoral care.

The Archdiocese suffered great losses as a result of the Josephine reforms . In 1782, twenty male monasteries were dissolved, including such important ones as Velehrad and Hradisch , in which, however, a state general seminar was set up that remained in operation until 1790. In 1783 the pilgrimage church of Hostein , the Loreto church in Fulnek and the Maria Trost church in Goldstein ( Branná ) were demolished . Since in future the completed archbishop's fiefs were to fall to the state religious fund, the archbishop's income was also reduced. After the death of Joseph II , Anton Theodor was able to work with Emperor Leopold II , at his election in Frankfurt / M. he participated as the first electoral emissary to achieve the withdrawal of this provision, so that the fief system continued until 1869.

Pope Pius VII elevated Anton Theodor to cardinal priest in 1803 and appointed the 17-year-old Archduke Rudolf Johann to coadjutor in 1805 . Anton Theodor died in Kremsier and was buried in the St. Mauritius Church ( chrám sv. Mořice ) in Kremsier.

literature

• Constantin von Wurzbach : Colloredo-Melz and Wallsee, Anton Theodor . In: Biographisches Lexikon des Kaiserthums Oesterreich . 2nd part. Publishing house of the typographic-literary-artistic establishment (L. C. Zamarski, C. Dittmarsch & Comp.), Vienna 1857, p. 420 ( digitized version ).
• Aleš Zelenka in: Erwin Gatz : The Bishops of the Holy Roman Empire 1648–1803 . ISBN 3-428-06763-0 , pp. 67-68.

Web links

Commons : Anton Theodor von Colloredo-Waldsee-Mels  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• Entry on Antonín Theodor Colloredo von Wallsee and Mels on catholic-hierarchy.org ; Retrieved July 18, 2016.
• Colloredo-Waldesee-Mels, Anton Theodor von. In: Salvador Miranda : The Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church. ( Florida International University website), accessed July 18, 2016.

predecessor	Office	successor
Maximilian Count of Hamilton	Archbishop of Olomouc 1777 - 1811	Maria Thaddäus Imperial Count of Trautmannsdorff