Fritz Betzwieser

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Fritz Betzwieser (* 1929 in Munich ; † July 19, 1993 there ) was a German Roman Catholic priest and from 1965 to 1993 parish priest of the parish Herz Jesu in Munich-Neuhausen . He has become known throughout Munich for his pronounced commitment to animal welfare, his endeavors to establish interreligious dialogue and his many friendships with writers and artists. a. referred to as the Munich Don Camillo or Viecherlpfarrer .

Life

Fritz Betzwieser was ordained a priest in the Freising Cathedral in 1955 by Cardinal Joseph Wendel . After working as a chaplain in the Herz Jesu parish in Munich from 1957 to 1959 , he was appointed pastor there in 1965. He stayed that way for 28 years until his death in July 1993.

Betzwieser was considered a very busy pastor who exercised direct pastoral care for people (and animals). For various reasons he was known in Munich far beyond the boundaries of his parish:

  • On the one hand, he was characterized by a very special love for animals, which allegedly arose from the fact that his cat saved his life after a stroke by sounding the alarm to the neighbors. Betzwieser therefore celebrated the so- called "Viecherlmessen" on the day of remembrance of St. Francis , where pets were brought into the church and blessed. He also published various essays with the thesis that animals have a soul.
  • In addition, Betzwieser was very interested in interreligious dialogue. He asked Orthodox confreres several times to celebrate masses in the Sacred Heart of Jesus according to the Eastern rite and caused a sensation when he embraced the Dalai Lama at an event in Grainau in 1986 and then invited them to a common prayer after the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
  • Betzwieser's numerous contacts with the Munich art and political scene also became very well known. a. a friendship with the writers Sigi Sommer and Herbert Rosendorfer , the painter Richard Seewald , the CSU chairman Franz Josef Strauss , and the Archbishop and later Pope Joseph Ratzinger . He also corresponded with Mother Teresa and regularly with Lord Mayor Georg Kronawitter .

Fritz Betzwieser was buried in the Neuhauser Winthirfriedhof .

Honors

  • Appointment as chaplain to His Holiness ( Monsignor )
  • Orden Pro Arte of the Bavarian Art Academy
  • Winner of the medal " Munich shines "

Others

  • The Friends of Neuhausen cultural association donates the Fritz-Betzwieser-Kulturpreis to personalities who have rendered outstanding services to the Neuhausen-Nymphenburg district .
  • Since Betzwieser sometimes offended the Archbishop's Ordinariate because of his commitment to animals or his efforts in interreligious dialogue, he once asked the future Lord Mayor Christian Ude to defend him.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Sabine Letz: Blue glass portal leads into the new church. In: welt.de . November 22, 2000, accessed October 7, 2018 .
  2. ↑ http://www.sanflorimal.de/index-Dateien/hauptseite-Dateien/tierschutz-Dateien/tierseele.htm
  3. ↑ Peter Bruges: "Many call this nihilism" . In: Der Spiegel . No. 21 , 1986 ( online - May 19, 1986 ).
  4. ↑ Peter Bruges: “The whole city is a boutique” . In: Der Spiegel . No. 41 , 1986 ( online - October 6, 1986 ).
  5. ↑ https://mbv-ev.jimdo.com/friedhofsf%C3%BChrungen-online-landeshauptst%C3%A4dte-metropolregionen/m%C3%BCnchen-region/winthirfriedhof/
  6. ↑ Ebent, Werner: You lived in Munich (Munich 2016)
  7. ↑ https://www.merkur.de/lokales/muenchen/fritz-betzwieser-1929-1993-pfarrer-tierfreund-91459.html
  8. ↑ https://www.wochenanzeiger-muenchen.de/mc3bcnchen/ein-freund-ein-guter-freund-,65075.html
  9. ↑ https://www.wochenblatt.de/news-stream/regensburg/artikel/116504/lesung-christian-ude-berichtete-in-donaustauf-von-roten-lumpen-und-beichtenden-dackeln
personal data
SURNAME Betzwieser, Fritz
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German Roman Catholic priest
DATE OF BIRTH 1929
PLACE OF BIRTH Munich
DATE OF DEATH July 19, 1993
Place of death Munich