Eduard Jakob Wedekin
Eduard Jakob Wedekin (born December 30, 1796 in Groß Düngen near Hildesheim (today part of Bad Salzdetfurth ); † December 25, 1870 in Hildesheim ) was Bishop of Hildesheim and (until 1857) administrator of Osnabrück .
Life
After attending the Josephinum grammar school and the theological college in Hildesheim, Wedekin was ordained a priest on November 11, 1821, after which he was a teacher at the Josephinum grammar school for several years. In 1828 he became cathedral pastor and in 1836 vicar general and cathedral capitular in Hildesheim.
After the deaths of Bishops Godehard Joseph Osthaus (1835) and Franz Ferdinand Fritz (1840), he was appointed vicar of the capitular each . After the death of Bishop Wandt , he was elected bishop on November 27, 1849 and on September 30, 1850 by Pope Pius IX. confirmed and at the same time appointed administrator of Osnabrück . The episcopal ordination took place on November 24, 1850 by the Archbishop of Cologne and Cardinal Johannes von Geissel and was a powerful demonstration of the restoration of the Catholic Church after the end of the imperial church system .
Wedekin's achievements are particularly in the area of internal church reconstruction after secularization . He tried through close ties with other German bishops to break up his isolated position as a diaspora bishop and to strengthen his position in the predominantly Protestant Hanover . Opening up the diaspora by building new churches was particularly important to him . In the interests of pastoral care, nursing and schooling, he founded the first monastic settlements in the diocese after secularization.
Wedekin still took part in the First Vatican Council , but had to leave Rome for health reasons at the end of April 1870. He died on Christmas Day 1870 and was buried in the central nave of Hildesheim Cathedral .
The cathedral chapter became heir to his valuable art collection, which formed the basis of today's Diocesan Museum .
literature
- Hans-Georg Aschoff: The relationship between the state and the Catholic Church in the Kingdom of Hanover (1813–1866). Sources and representations on the history of Lower Saxony 86. Hildesheim 1976.
- Hans-Georg Aschoff: Art. Wedekin. In: Erwin Gatz (Ed.): The bishops of the German-speaking countries 1785/1803 to 1945. A biographical lexicon. Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 1983, ISBN 3-428-05447-4 .
- Adolf Bertram: The bishops of Hildesheim. Hildesheim 1896.
- Michael Brandt (Ed.): Treasury on time. The collections of Bishop Eduard Jakob Wedekin 1796–1870. Catalog of the exhibition of the Diocesan Museum Hildesheim. Hildesheim 1991.
| predecessor | Office | successor |
|---|---|---|
| Jakob Joseph Wandt |
Bishop of Hildesheim 1850 - 1870 |
Daniel Wilhelm Sommerwerck |
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Wedekin, Eduard Jakob |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Wedekin, Eduard Jacob |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Bishop of Hildesheim |
| DATE OF BIRTH | December 30, 1796 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Bad Salzdetfurth |
| DATE OF DEATH | December 25, 1870 |
| Place of death | Hildesheim |