Bernard Henrichs

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Bernard Henrichs (born November 10, 1928 in Opladen ; † March 27, 2007 in Cologne ) was a Catholic priest who became known nationwide for his humor , quick-wittedness and humanity, with which he embodied the proverbial "Rhenish Catholicism" . From 1985 until his retirement on February 2, 2004, Henrichs was provost of the High Cathedral in Cologne .

Life

Bernard Leo Martin Henrichs was born on November 10, 1928 in Opladen. After his theological studies in Bonn , Munich and Bensberg he received on 23 February 1956 by the Archbishop of Cologne, Cardinal Joseph Frings in St. Heribert, Cologne-Deutz the priesthood . Then he was chaplain at St. Michael in Velbert-Langenberg until 1959 . After working in Düsseldorf as a religion teacher at the municipal Cecilien-Gymnasium and as a subsidiary at St. Josef, Oberbilk, and St. Anna, Niederkassel, Henrichs became pastor of the Catholic university community in Bonn in 1963 . In this position he took over the chairmanship of the German Student Pastors Conference in 1966 and of the Catholic Academic Foreigners Service in 1968. In the same year, the German Bishops' Conference appointed him advisor to the commission for questions of science and culture. Henrichs returned to Düsseldorf in 1970 as pastor at St. Paulus and in 1972 became city dean of the state capital. In 1973 the Pope appointed him Chaplain to His Holiness with the title of Monsignor , in 1982 Papal Honorary Prelate and in 1993 Apostolic Protonotary .

Henrichs had been a non-resident cathedral chapter member of the Cologne cathedral chapter since 1977. In November 1984 Henrichs left Düsseldorf to take over the management of the school / university department in the Vicariate General in Cologne. At the same time he was appointed deputy vicar general. The cathedral chapter elected him provost on March 11, 1985. In addition to his duties as a pastor, Prelate Henrichs was active in numerous committees at the diocesan and supra-diocesan level.

After Heinz Werner Ketzer , Henrichs was the second cathedral provost in Cologne in 1996 to be appointed knight of the " Order against seriousness ". He received the award because he made intercession in the High Cathedral for the well-known fellow citizen from the milieu Heinrich Schäfer , known as "Shepherd's Nas", in gratitude for his help in retrieving a stolen cathedral treasure cross. The laudation was given by the knight Johannes Rau .

In 1972 Bernard Henrichs was appointed Knight of the Order of the Knights of the Holy Sepulcher by Cardinal Grand Master Maximilien Cardinal de Fürstenberg and on December 9, 1972 in the Aachen Imperial Cathedral by Lorenz Cardinal Jaeger , Grand Prior of the German Lieutenancy, and Hermann Josef Abs , Lieutenant in Germany, invested. He was an officer of the order. He was honored with the Cross of Merit with a Gold Star of the Order of Knights of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem in Germany.

He was also a member of the Catholic student association Suevia in Cologne and Flamberg Bonn in the KV .

On April 4, 2007, after a solemn exequien, Henrichs was transferred from the Marienkapelle on the castle wall to the High Cathedral in Cologne and then buried in the canon cemetery in the east choir of the cathedral.

Act

As Cologne cathedral provost, he accompanied the work of the Cologne cathedral building works and the cathedral building administration for the maintenance of the cathedral and its artistic furnishings. During his term of office, the new construction and furnishing of the cathedral treasury, the redesign of the Wittelsbach crypt under the axis chapel of the cathedral, the installation of the swallow's nest organ in the nave of the Bonn organ building company Klais as well as the restoration and reorganization of the transept organ . In addition, he was responsible for the step-by-step reinstallation of the cathedral glazing from the 19th century. His particular concern was always the dignified design and use of the Roncalliplatz (Domplatte) and other areas around the cathedral.

As Cologne cathedral provost, he was instrumental in the further development of the entire cathedral music at the Cologne Cathedral. These include the establishment of the Cologne Cathedral Singing School and the Music School of the Cologne Cathedral Choir, the construction of the Kardinal-Höffner House as the cathedral's choir center, the establishment of the girls' choir at Cologne Cathedral, the Cologne Cathedral Choir and Cologne Cathedral Chapel as well as the Cologne Cathedral vocal ensemble.

In 2001 he made a name for himself when he unsuccessfully inserted a protest against a stamp from the German definitive stamp series Sights that incorrectly did not show the real Cologne Cathedral, but an unrealized plan from 1831. On the stamp there was a third one that was never built between the two towers. Today there is a slim roof turret on the spot . In an open letter to the Federal Minister of Finance at the time, Hans Eichel ( SPD ), Henrichs appealed not to "put the stamp on the market" . Because "even with excuses of artistic freedom, such a view of the cathedral cannot be justified . "

He also approached politicians, town planners and architects on his ironic verbal tours around the cathedral: "The city is so connected with the cathedral that it can no longer be seen." Their appreciation is shown by the fact that they subsidize it - "with a little less than the carnival procession receives" . He disliked the large staircase planned in 2001 between the main train station and the cathedral (“It's made to sit on it - with dogs, with beer cans and everything!”), As did the “beer relief zones” in the east of the cathedral (“That stinks Abominable! ") and the slippery, red pavement in the area of ​​the museum (" This is first class - to fall on! ") . If he looks at the south, he can only be amazed that the city can keep building new museums when it claims that it has no money. He described Roncalliplatz as a playground (“skating, fair, concerts”), which does not do justice to the reputation of the cathedral, and the west as a photography mile with the monster “Kreuzblume”. In the shadow of the cathedral, a “completely stylish concrete garden” was created that was not accepted by the people. Cologne is now the cathedral city, and therefore it is finally time to develop an overall idea - according to his credo.

Honors

Fonts

predecessor Office successor
Hubert Henze Provost of Cologne
1985 - 2004 		Norbert Feldhoff
personal data
SURNAME Henrichs, Bernard
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Catholic priest, Provost of Cologne Cathedral
DATE OF BIRTH November 10, 1928
PLACE OF BIRTH Opladen
DATE OF DEATH March 27, 2007
Place of death Cologne