Gabriel Zelger
Gabriel Zelger OFMCap , baptismal name : Joseph Maria (born November 10, 1867 in Stans ; † August 20, 1934 in the monastery in Dornach ) was a Swiss Capuchin and missionary.
Life
Gabriel Zelger was born in one of the oldest districts of Stans, Schmiedgasse, as the son of master carpenter Josef Maria Zelger and his wife Anna Maria, née. Vollmar, born.
He attended the Kapuzinergymnasium Kollegium St. Fidelis in Stans and entered the order of the Capuchins in Lucerne in 1885; In 1890 he was ordained a priest .
He studied canon law and in 1893 published the collection of rights, powers and privileges Collectio Jurium, Facultatum et Privilegiorum composita for religious use in Zug and worked as a teacher and lecturer at the schools and faculties of the religious province.
In 1905 he became a missionary in the Seychelles and from 1921 in Tanzania ; Pope Pius XI appointed him on January 29, 1923 Vicar Apostolic of Dar es Salaam with the dignity of Titular Bishop of Claudiopolis in Isauria .
In 1929 he returned to Switzerland and found his final resting place in his home monastery in Stans; The grave slab and an epitaph in the Capuchin Church in Stans remind of him .
Tanzania Mission
The Tanzania mission of the Swiss Capuchins had its origins in Stans, where in 1921 work began on building up the mission area, with the center in Dar es Salaam, in what was then East Africa . The initiators of the Tanzania mission were three people from Nidwalden who had all grown up in Stans. In addition to Gabriel Zelger, these included Benno Durrer (1859–1935), Rector of the St. Fidelis College and Provincial Minister of the Swiss Capuchins and Dr. Adelhelm Jann (1876–1945), Professor of History at the St. Fidelis College.
When Gabriel Zelger went to Tanzania, he was not only accompanied by six confreres, but also by Baldegger sisters . With fourteen people they started in an area that was well over twice the size of Switzerland. Their primary task was to rebuild the mission , which had been rather orphaned by the First World War .
202 Swiss Capuchins worked by 2012, including 15 from Nidwalden in Tanzania.
Fonts (selection)
- The benevolent rule of God from the place of grace on the Wesemlin . Lucerne: Wesemlin, 1931.
Web links
- Christian Schweizer: Zelger, Gabriel. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland .
- Entry on Gabriel Zelger on catholic-hierarchy.org
Individual evidence
- ^ Marita Haller-Dirr: Africanization of the European mission. In: iTe - The magazine of the Swiss Capuchins 3/2011. Retrieved May 4, 2019 .
- ↑ Introduction. Alexander Schwab, accessed on May 4, 2019 .
| predecessor | Office | successor |
|---|---|---|
| Thomas Spreiter |
Vicar Apostolic of Dar es Salaam 1923–1930 |
Edgar Aristide Maranta |
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Zelger, Gabriel |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Zelger, Joseph Maria; Zelger, Joseph Gabriel |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | German Roman Catholic bishop |
| DATE OF BIRTH | November 10, 1867 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Stans |
| DATE OF DEATH | August 20, 1934 |
| Place of death | Dornach |