Gangolf Ralinger

Auxiliary Bishop Gangolf Ralinger

Gangolf Ralinger sometimes also Railinger (* approx. 1587 ; † around 1663 ) was auxiliary bishop in Speyer and titular bishop of Daulia .

Live and act

Gangolf Ralinger was of civil descent. He seems to come from the Trier area, where the family name Ralinger is common and the place Ralingen with a former St. Gangolf chapel exists. Should Ralinger not be his real family name, then, following a common custom, he probably derived it from his possible place of birth Ralingen near Trier. The often used variation of the name Railinger , which also occurs in the village of Ralingen, speaks for this .

Apparently he belonged to the circle of the Speyer prince-bishop Philipp Christoph von Sötern , who came from the same region , because he entrusted him with his own family affairs as early as 1612. From this year on, Ralinger looked after the Prince-Bishop's two 17 and 18-year-old relatives as a preceptor . These were the two sons of the Electorate of Trier Ludwig Alexander von Sötern and his wife Elisabeth von Nassau. The father Ludwig Alexander von Sötern died in 1612 and his prince-bishop cousin immediately sent the nephews Philipp Christoph and Johann Reinhard under the care of Gangolf Ralinger for training at the Jesuit Academy of Nancy in Pont-à-Mousson . There they studied under Ralinger's supervision until at least 1618. In the meantime, at the birth of Mary in 1615, he was promoted to court counselor in Speyer and from then on appears in the history of the diocese. In 1616 he traveled on Sötern's behalf, with the two boys, for an ad limina visit to Rome. On his return from Pont-à-Mousson, Gangolf Ralinger became dean of the German monastery in Speyer, which at that time, however, already had its seat at the St. Moritz church .

On November 20, 1623, Philipp Christoph von Sötern, who in the meantime had also become Bishop and Elector of Trier and was mainly staying there, appointed Gangolf Ralinger as Auxiliary Bishop of Speyer. In addition, he was appointed titular bishop of Daulia in Rome . Between 1624 and 1655 he also served as Speyer general vicar .

At the beginning of 1629 Ralinger and Bishop von Sötern held a visit to the Trier cathedral chapter , which suggests a strong relationship of trust between him and his episcopal lord.

On March 30, 1655 he consecrated the altars of the Poor Clare Monastery in Speyer.

Gangolf Ralinger's administration is described as strict and sustainable in the sense of the reforms of the Council of Trent .

There is a medal with a portrait of Auxiliary Bishop Ralinger, as well as a copper engraving by Pierre Aubry (1610–1686).

His successor was not until 1673 Johann Brassart .

literature

Franz Xaver Remling: "History of the Bishops of Speyer", Volume 2, Mainz, Verlag Kirchheim, 1854, page 455; Digital scan of the source

Web links

Individual evidence

personal data
SURNAME	Ralinger, Gangolf
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Railinger, Gangolf
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	Auxiliary Bishop in Speyer and Titular Bishop of Daulia
DATE OF BIRTH	around 1587
DATE OF DEATH	around 1663

[1] Source on lifetime

[2] On Ralinger's bourgeois descent

[3] More details on the ad limina visit to Rome

[4] Source for the evaluation of the administration

[5] Source of the medal with the portrait of Ralinger