German Franciscan Province

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The Franciscans resided in Halberstadt (with an interruption from 1814 to 1920) from 1223 to 2020.

The German Franciscan Province of St. Elisabeth ( [Provincia] Germania ) is the order province of the Franciscan Order for Germany. It was created in 2010 as a merger of the four previously existing provinces as a corporation under public law . The patron saint is Saint Elisabeth of Thuringia . The province has around 300 members and branches in more than 30 locations in Germany. The provincial office is in Munich .

history

The Franciscan Order was founded in Italy by Francis of Assisi in 1209 and was founded in 1210 by Pope Innocent III. approved. The first members came across the Alps as early as 1217, but were rejected because they had been taken for heretics ( Cathars ). A second attempt from 1221 was more successful because it was better prepared.

The expanding cities at the time were open to the immigration of poor but able-bodied people; Monetary and market economy as well as civil strivings for autonomy led to social tensions. In this situation the way of life of the new, papally recognized itinerant preachers without a “claustrum”, that is, without a firmly delimited monastery district, apparently offered convincing social and religious solutions. The Friars Minor represented an “alternative to the prevailing economy and society, indeed to the then prevailing mentality, culture and religiosity, based on the Gospel of Jesus Christ” and were therefore successful.

After Trient, Bozen and Brixen, Augsburg, Würzburg, Regensburg, Salzburg, Mainz, Worms, Speyer and Strasbourg they came to Cologne as early as 1222, which then became the center of what was originally the only German province of Teutonia . Within a decade the religious were present in the most important regions of the empire as far as the Baltic Sea.

The Franciscan Movement also developed in Germany with astonishing rapidity - if not without isolated local failures. Around 200 convents in German-speaking countries are attested to at the end of the 13th century . As early as 1230, Teutonia was divided into a Rhenish ( Provincia Rheni ) and a Saxon province ( Provincia Saxonia ). The Weser was considered a mutual border . Another rewrite of the German provinces after 1239 resulted in the division of the Rhenish into Provincia Argentina (Strasbourg) and Provincia Colonia , and the provinces of Dacia (Denmark) and Bohemia (Bohemia) were separated from the Saxon province .

Establishment of the province 2010

On July 1, 2010, after several years of preparation, the four German provinces merged

to the German Franciscan Province of St. Elisabeth. The first provincial minister of the new province was Fr. Norbert Plogmann from 2010, previously provincial of the Saxon province from 2001; he died on February 26, 2012. The provincial vicar Fr. Cornelius Bohl was elected as his successor, Fr. Franz-Josef Kröger became provincial vicar. At the provincial chapter in June 2019, Cornelius Bohl was confirmed as provincial minister; Markus Fuhrmann has been provincial vicar since then, and Franz-Josef Kröger remains on the provincial leadership as provincial economist.

Fusion process

The reason for the merger was the desire to create structures in all four provinces in view of the reduced number of members in order to “bundle the dwindling forces”, to learn from one another and to gain scope for action, in order to “continue to be appropriate to the social conditions of the 21st . Century and to be able to preach the message of Jesus Christ in a timely manner in words and deeds ”. The unification came from the voluntary decision of the German provinces. It was "the first voluntary merger of autonomous provinces in the history of the world order", since earlier unions always took place on the orders of the order's leadership in Rome.

In the 1920s there had already been a "German Association of Lecturers of the Franciscan Order" with the aim of standardizing the higher studies in the six provinces involved as far as possible, as well as raising the academic level and promoting a stronger identity for Franciscan science. The Assembly of Provincials supported these efforts and even envisaged a Germany-wide summary of the studies in Lebus Monastery , which, however, did not come about due to financial shortages due to inflation and the global economic crisis . In the second half of the 20th century, the provinces in the German-speaking area founded the "Germanic Provincial Conference", which discussed common questions and agreed on joint ventures without affecting the independence of the individual provinces; it also served to promote contacts with the other branches of the Franciscan family. Since 1971, a joint study had existed for the Order offspring, the philosophical-theological university of the Franciscan and Capuchin Münster in co-sponsorship of the four Franciscan provinces together with the Rheinisch-Westphalian Capuchin Province, from the 1997 Theological Philosophy University Münster sole sponsorship of the Capuchins had emerged . In 1997 the four Franciscan provinces established a joint interprovincial novitiate in St. Ludwig in Nuremberg.

In 2002 the German Franciscan provinces decided to further intensify their cooperation and put it on a new basis. In 2003 a commission drew up a "Cooperation Statute", which the provincial chapters of the four provinces approved in Easter week 2004. Since then, a “cooperation council” has acted as a steering committee, which planned and organized the association. It included the provincials and provincial vicars of the four provinces and Thomas Martin Schimmel, the executive secretary. In 2004 a common schematic of all German Franciscan provinces was published for the first time . Of its 450 perpetually professed members, only a third were under 60 years of age.

An important step towards forming an opinion was the first “4D Mats Chapter ” in June 2006 in Schmerlenbach under the motto “Lord, what do you want me to do?” To which all the brothers of the four provinces were invited. From Schmerlenbach, a large San Damiano cross traveled every week through all 52 houses in the provinces. In a survey of all provincial residents in October 2006, 304 out of 406 voters took part. 283 voted for a merger, 18 against and three abstained. A large majority of those questioned suggested Saint Elisabeth of Thuringia as the new provincial patroness. The provincial chapters of the four provinces resolved in April 2007 with the same wording "a union of the four German Franciscan provinces under a management structure and taking into account the regions in 2010"; Of 142 delegates entitled to vote, 134 voted for and 7 against, with one abstention.

The training of the next generation of the Order has been organized on an inter-provincial basis since 2007. The financial administration of the provinces was also centralized, the Commissariats of the Holy Land, the libraries and archives were merged and a joint website www.franziskaner.de was established. Inter-provincial working groups were set up on the subjects of vocational pastoral care , further training, evangelization and mission, economy and finance, law, life in old age, rites and rituals, cultural heritage, justice, peace and the integrity of creation, public and parish pastoral care. In the Cooperation Council, the complex of introducing and structuring joint financial management took up the largest part; It was on the agenda for a total of 19 meetings, 14 of which were meetings with knowledgeable guests, and there were 15 proposals for advice. The plan that initially two provinces should merge was discarded. The task was to identify places where the Franciscan presence was to be preserved in the long term; to this end, each province should commit to seven “focus houses”. In the smaller and outdated provinces, advantages were expected from the fact that the personnel required for the management and administration of a province could be bundled; a merged province could "offer the younger brothers in particular a greater choice of new fields of work and life that the smaller provinces could no longer offer". Problems of a new province were seen in their size and complexity, but also in the differences in mentality among the brothers.

Establishment of the Province

The four provinces had different legal statuses. The Bavaria was a public corporation (Alliance), the other three had as a legal entity a registered association (eV) or a limited liability company (GmbH). It was decided to transfer Bavaria's more favorable legal status to the province to be founded.

At the second chapter of mats in May 2007 in Vierzehnheiligen the four provincials signed a petition to the general minister of the order, in which they asked for the unification of the provinces by July 1st, 2010, since the dissolution and establishment of provinces is reserved for the administration of the general order. The General Minister decreed on July 8, 2008 the merger in the form that the Colonia , Saxonia and Thuringia were dissolved; their rights and duties were transferred to Bavaria , the brothers of the dissolved provinces were incorporated into Bavaria . The name of Bavaria was changed to "German Franciscan Province" with the short title Germania and the patronage of St. Elisabeth of Thuringia, the provincialate was to remain in Munich. On March 8, 2009, Fr. Rob Hoogenboom from Amsterdam was appointed general delegate and targeted all the brothers and houses of the four provinces. In October 2009, in a questionnaire, all the brothers were asked for candidate proposals for a provincial leadership, which should be appointed by the order leadership.

On July 1, 2010, a ceremony was held in Munich for the foundation of the “German Franciscan Province of St. Elisabeth GdöR ”took place, in which the previous provincial leadership was released and the new provincial leadership was installed by decree of the General Minister. A little later the first provincial chapter of the new province took place in Ohrbeck under the chairmanship of the general delegate.

Tasks and involvement in the overall order

Fundamental to Franciscan spirituality is a fraternal life in an evangelical way of life with an apostolic accent turned towards the poor. The tasks that the brothers take on grow from this way of life and must be compatible with it. Therefore, according to the will of Francis, positions of power should remain excluded.

In Central Europe, the Franciscans have mainly taken on the following tasks:

European Franciscans are missionaries mainly in South America and Africa. Until the Second World War, China was also a focus for the engagement of several German religious provinces. In the meantime, indigenous, independent Franciscan provinces have sprung up everywhere, in which indigenous and European brothers work together in "fraternal assistance". The work is supported by the Franciscan Mission Center in Bonn-Bad Godesberg.

The German Order Province works at the level of the Central European Franciscan Conference COTAF ( Conference of Trans Alpine Franciscans ) with the Franciscan provinces in the Netherlands, Belgium, France, Austria, South Tyrol, Switzerland, Hungary and Romania. Since September 2017 the German Franciscan brother Jürgen Neitzert has been a General Definitor in the leadership of the overall order.

perspective

Of the 350 members of the province in 2015, around 200 were over 70 years old, 50 are in need of severe care. In 2013 the provincial chapter decided to give up six houses over the next three years. The goal of the process of concentration is not only to “survive”, but to enable the remaining monastic communities to live Franciscan spirituality and mission in public. This also creates new impulses. In 2010, a new convent was opened in Essen with four brothers, which in the socially deprived south-east quarter offers pastoral care as well as social work and help for the homeless and migrants.

From June 12 to 14, 2017, on the occasion of the 500th anniversary of the division of the order and the commemoration of the Reformation, a joint mat chapter took place in Hofheim am Taunus with 70 brothers of the three Franciscan men's orders in Germany, at which the provincials of the German Franciscan Province, the German Capuchin Province and the German Minorite Province participated. A future reunification of the branches of the Friars Minor was considered possible and concrete steps were agreed for further rapprochement.

From August 14, 2017, the German Franciscan Province will take part in an international novitiate , which was founded by the provinces of Ireland, England, Holland, Germany and Lithuania in Killarney , Ireland and in which the novices are trained together.

In 2017/18 the Order Province went through a two-year future process "Project Emmaus", in which all brothers in Germany were involved in order to clarify with which tasks and with which locations the province could go into the future. In 2019, of almost 260 brothers in Germany, only 16 are under 50 years old, two thirds are 70 years and older. At the provincial chapter from March 18 to 21, 2019 in Vierzehnheiligen, twelve locations were named that should be preserved because they should form the focus of future work of the province in the long term, namely Berlin-Pankow, Dortmund, Düsseldorf, Fulda, Hamburg, Hülfensberg , Mannheim, Munich, Paderborn, Vierzehnheiligen, Wangen and one of the two educational or retreat houses in Ohrbeck or Hofheim. In order to concentrate the strengths, it is planned to close the houses on Engelberg, Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Halberstadt, Cologne, Neviges (by January 31, 2020), Waren and Wiedenbrück, and the continuation of the remaining monasteries should be decided on a situational basis.

Monasteries

In 2018 the province had offices in the following locations:

The "Franziskus-Stiftung", established in 1985 by the Cologne Franciscan Province in 1985, exists to promote and maintain Franciscan educational and cultural institutions. Youth Work of the Franciscans ”. It is based in Hürtgenwald -Vossenack.

Well-known members of the province

Other Franciscan provinces in Germany

In Germany, several branches consist of other religious provinces of the Franciscans, namely the Polish ( monastery Marienweiher , Monastery Gößweinstein , Bensheim , Amberg ), Croatian and Brazilian ( monastery Mörmter , Kloster Bardel ) provinces.

Magazines

  • Science and wisdom. Franciscan Studies in Theology, Philosophy and History. (since 1994 published jointly by the Cologne and Saxon Franciscan Provinces, since 2010 published by Theofried Baumeister OFM, Thomas Dienberg OFMCap and Johannes Baptist Freyer OFM on behalf of Franziskanische Forschung eV)
  • Franciscan. Magazine for Franciscan Culture and Way of Life. Journal of the German Franciscans, ed. from the Provincialate of the German Franciscans, Munich
  • THAW. Franciscan magazine for Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation . Editing: Peter Amendt ofm, Stefan Federbusch ofm, Markus Fuhrmann ofm, Jürgen Neitzert ofm (responsible in terms of press law), Cologne ( www.tauwetter-online.de )

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ franziskaner.net , accessed on January 5, 2019.
  2. ↑ Dieter Berg (Ed.): Traces of Franciscan History. Werl 1999, p. 19.
  3. ↑ Johannes Schlageter: The beginnings of the Franciscans in Thuringia. In: Thomas T. Müller, Bernd Schmies, Christian Loefke (Eds.): For God and the World. Franciscans in Thuringia. Paderborn u. a. 2008, pp. 32–37, here pp. 33f.36.
  4. ↑ Dieter Berg (Ed.): Traces of Franciscan History. Werl 1999, p. 19.
    Bernd Schmies: Structure and organization of the Saxon Franciscan Province and its Custody of Thuringia from the beginning to the Reformation. In: Thomas T. Müller, Bernd Schmies, Christian Loefke (Eds.): For God and the World. Franciscans in Thuringia. Paderborn u. a. 2008, pp. 38–49, here p. 39ff.
  5. ↑ franziskaner.net: Franziskaner in Germany , accessed on November 22, 2017.
  6. ↑ Dieter Berg (Ed.): Traces of Franciscan History. Werl 1999, p. 29.
  7. ↑ Willibald Kullmann: The Saxon Franciscan Province, a tabular guide to its history. Düsseldorf 1927, 9.14-20.
  8. ^ Franziskaner.net : Franciscans elect new provincial leadership. Provincial Minister Cornelius confirmed in office. June 12, 2019.
  9. ↑ franziskaner.de
  10. ^ Gerhard Lindemann : From the November Revolution to the Second Vatican Council (1918–1962). In: Joachim Schmiedl (Ed.): From Kulturkampf to the beginning of the 21st century. Paderborn 2010, pp. 289–631, here p. 360ff.
  11. ^ Heribert Schneider: The Franciscans in the German-speaking area. Life and goals. Heinrich-Coelde-Verlag, Werl 1985, p. 14.
  12. ↑ Dieter Berg (Ed.): Traces of Franciscan History. Werl 1999, p. 637.
  13. ^ Thomas Martin Schimmel: The Cooperation Council of German Franciscans in the Cooperation and Unification Process of the Four German Franciscan Provinces in the Years 2004 to 2010. Berlin 2012 , p. 51f.
    Maximilian Wagner: The unification process of the four German (4D) Franciscan provinces. In: Bayerische Franziskanerprovinz (Hrsg.): 1625-2010. The Bavarian Franciscan Province. From its beginnings until today. Furth 2010, pp. 72–81, here p. 72f.
  14. ^ Joachim Schmiedl: From the Second Vatican Council to the beginning of the 21st century. In: Joachim Schmiedl (Ed.): From Kulturkampf to the beginning of the 21st century. Paderborn u. a. 2010, pp. 787-929, here pp. 927ff.
    Maximilian Wagner: The unification process of the four German (4D) Franciscan provinces. In: Bayerische Franziskanerprovinz (Hrsg.): 1625-2010. The Bavarian Franciscan Province. From its beginnings until today. Furth 2010, pp. 72–81, here p. 76.
  15. ^ Thomas Martin Schimmel: The Cooperation Council of the German Franciscans in the Cooperation and Unification Process of the Four German Franciscan Provinces in the Years 2004 to 2010. Berlin 2012 , p. 235.
  16. ↑ Maximilian Wagner: The unification process of the four German (4D) Franciscan provinces. In: Bayerische Franziskanerprovinz (Hrsg.): 1625-2010. The Bavarian Franciscan Province. From its beginnings until today. Furth 2010, pp. 72–81, here pp. 73ff. 77-80.
  17. ↑ Maximilian Wagner: The unification process of the four German (4D) Franciscan provinces. In: Bayerische Franziskanerprovinz (Hrsg.): 1625-2010. The Bavarian Franciscan Province. From its beginnings until today. Furth 2010, pp. 72–81, here pp. 76-80.
  18. ^ Herbert Schneider: The Franciscans in the German-speaking area. Life and goals. Dietrich-Coelde-Verlag, Werl 1988, p. 61.
  19. ^ Herbert Schneider: The Franciscans in the German-speaking area. Life and goals. Dietrich-Coelde-Verlag, Werl 1988, pp. 61-87.
  20. ^ Herbert Schneider: The Franciscans in the German-speaking area. Life and goals. Dietrich-Coelde-Verlag, Werl 1988, pp. 88-93.
  21. ↑ Our man in Rome . In: Franciscans. Magazine for Franciscan Culture and Way of Life , Fall 2018, p. 26f.
  22. ↑ domradio.de, Franziskaner are repositioning themselves in North Rhine-Westphalia, April 30, 2015 , accessed on April 30, 2015.
  23. ^ Provincialate of the German Franciscans (ed.): Franziskaner. Magazine for Franciscan Culture and Way of Life. Summer 2017, p. 29.
    franziskaner.net: Franciscans on the way to becoming a religious organization? The three branches of the First Order of St. Francis are openly considering a merger (06/19/2017) ; franziskaner.net: Report from the Mats Chapter of the Friars Minor (19.06.2017)
  24. ↑ P. Claus Scheifele: International Novitiate opened in Ireland , franziskaner.net, August 15, 2017.
  25. ↑ franziskaner.net: Provincial Chapter 2019, March 22, 2019.
  26. ↑ franziskaner.net: Farewell of the Franciscans of Neviges , April 7, 2019.
  27. ↑ franziskaner.net: houses
  28. ↑ franziskus-stiftung.de ( Memento of the original from April 1, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.franziskus-stiftung.de