Bede Vickermann
Father Beda OFM (* December 24, 1934 in Opherdicke as Linus Wilhelm Vickermann ; † August 16, 2015 in Gronau (Westphalia) ) was a German Catholic missionary who was primarily concerned with developments in Brazil . He was known in Westphalia (and beyond) among other things for regular collections of used clothes and paper under his name for the benefit of his development work in and for Brazil.
Life
Father Beda grew up under his baptismal name Linus as the second of seven children of the Vickermann family, who ran a small farm in Opherdicke (now a district of Holzwickede ). He attended elementary school in Holzwickede and then the grammar school in Unna . In Opherdicke he became an altar boy .
On Epiphany in 1946, he made the decision to become a missionary. On March 1, 1951, he became the sexton of the St. Stephen parish in Opherdicke. In autumn 1951 the family moved to Apricke near Hemer because the parents leased a larger farm there. Here he became leader of the parish youth in Hüingsen near Menden , where he had an encounter with two Franciscans who were working as missionaries in northeast Brazil .
After finishing high school, he asked for admission to the Franciscan order in the Bardel monastery near Bad Bentheim in order to be allowed to work as a missionary in Brazil. On August 1, 1956, he began the novitiate of the Franciscans in the Bardel Monastery. On August 25, 1957, he traveled to Recife , Brazil , in preparation for his ordination . There he also studied philosophy (in Olinda , Pernambuco ) and theology (in Salvador da Bahia ). In the monastery church of Salvador, Father Beda was ordained a priest by Cardinal Archbishop Álvaro da Silva on July 22, 1962 .
On May 26, 1963, Father Beda had his primacy in the Opherdicker Stephanuskirche. In the same year, he started collecting used clothes and paper in Holzwickede. In April 1964, Father Beda was transferred back to Germany and was a religion teacher for three years at the Realschule in Mettingen and at the Goethe Gymnasium in Ibbenbüren . During this time services and lectures about Brazil began. In 1968 Father Beda returned to Bardel and from there became a voice of the poor in Brazil.
On February 26, 1984, the Pater Beda for Development Work e. V. officially founded. With the intention of “helping quickly and easily”, the action group supports Franciscans and other religious and social projects in Brazil today.
Father Beda was awarded the Federal Cross of Merit with ribbon in November 2003 .
He died on August 16, 2015 in Gronau, Westphalia.
Others
Father Beda's leisure activities included sports, the maintenance of the gardens and cemetery of Bardel Monastery, and contact with the youth in youth trips and youth camps .
On several Sundays between April and September, the Pater Beda Action Group opens the Bismarck Tower in Iserlohn.
Since August 2017 an exhibition in the Heimatstube Holzwickede has been commemorating the life and work of Father Beda.
Web links
- Action group Pater Beda for development work e. V.
- Bardel Monastery, St. Antonius Bardel Mission Gynasium
- How Father Beda got into collecting. Article from the WR of November 18, 2010
Individual evidence
- ^ Father Beda died. In: Westfälische Nachrichten , August 17, 2015, accessed on August 17, 2015.
- ^ Father Beda is 80 years old today. In: Westfälische Nachrichten , December 24, 2014, accessed on September 26, 2017
- ↑ Historischer Verein Holzwickede: Weekend rich in memories , accessed on February 27, 2018
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Vickermann, Bede |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Bede, father; Vickermann, Linus Wilhelm (maiden name) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | German religious and missionary |
| DATE OF BIRTH | December 24, 1934 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Opherd thickness |
| DATE OF DEATH | August 16, 2015 |
| Place of death | Gronau (Westphalia) |