Diocese of Eupen-Malmedy
The Catholic diocese of Eupen-Malmedy existed from 1921 to 1925. The diocese belonged to the ecclesiastical province of Mechelen . Its territory were the eastern cantons that came to Belgium through the Treaty of Versailles .
Until 1920, the areas of the previously existing districts of Eupen and Malmedy were under the control of a royal high commissioner, the Archdiocese of Cologne , as an interim solution until they were finally incorporated into the Kingdom of Belgium . The authority of the Archbishop of Cologne was limited in certain cases by the special authority of the apostolic administrator and papal nuncio in Brussels, Sebastiano Nicotra . From the ecclesiastical point of view, a clear solution in the eastern cantons was not easy, as a large part of the local clergy still felt connected to the Archdiocese of Cologne.
When the situation escalated, the Primate of Belgium, Cardinal Mercier , informed Pope Benedict XV. about the unresolved responsibilities. This then created the independent and equal diocese of Eupen-Malmedy through the papal bull Ecclesiae Universae of July 30, 1921. The city of Malmedy was declared the headquarters of the diocese, as the civil administration under General Herman Baltia was also located there. The only bishop for the following years was the Bishop of Liège , Martin-Hubert Rutten , who was solemnly installed on October 11th. At the same time, the bishop raised the former monastery church of Saints-Pierre, Paul et Quirin of the Imperial Abbey of Stavelot-Malmedy gehörendem monastery Malmedy , which was used at that time as a parish church of Malmedy, the cathedral.
However, since there was no structured diocese administration and no financial support was received from the Belgian government, the viability of the new diocese was not guaranteed in the long term. After the Liège vicar general and episcopal delegate for Eupen-Malmedy, Giacomo Laminne, declared in 1923 that the new diocese was only a “facade”, and it also became apparent that the transitional government of General Baltia should be dissolved, there were increased efforts to integrate the diocese of Eupen-Malmedy into the diocese of Liège . The Pope complied with these and sealed the takeover by means of his papal bull of dissolution of April 15, 1925, but with the condition that a German-speaking delegate or vicar general was appointed. However, this condition was only fulfilled in 1978 with the appointment of the episcopal vicar and previous St. Vither dean Josef Breuer, after various Liège vicars general had held the responsibility until then, who were barely able to speak German or were familiar with the local situation.
literature
- Philipp Boonen (Ed.): Interlude: The Diocese of Eupen and Malmedy, 1921–1925 , in: Lebensraum Aachen , Aachen 1982
- Wilfried Jousten: Establishment and dissolution of the Diocese of Eupen-Malmedy (1921–1925) , in series: Sources and research on the history of the German-speaking Belgians vol. 8, State Archives Eupen 2016; ISBN 978-90-5746-855-1
Web links
- Mention on travelogue Malmedy
- History: New research provides insights - When Eupen-Malmedy was an independent diocese , on grenzecho.net from March 14, 2016
Individual evidence
- ↑ The Cathedral , on malmedy.be