Georg Schmid von Grüneck

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Georg Schmid von Grüneck 1851–1932, Bishop of Chur (1908–1932)
Coat of arms of the Bishop of Chur

Georg Schmid von Grüneck (born November 29, 1851 in Surrein , † May 6, 1932 in Chur ) was a Roman Catholic bishop of the diocese of Chur .

Life

Georg came from a Bündner family of the Upper or Gray League . His father, Anton Modest Schmid von Grüneck , was a captain in the Papal Swiss Guard, his mother Maria Magdalena Crufer came from Domat / Ems . He started school in Chur, his family moved back to his hometown in 1862, where he attended elementary school. From autumn 1866 he moved to the college Maria Hilf in Schwyz , where he successfully passed the Matura examination in 1872 .

He studied medicine , broke off and went as a student of the English language to St Edmund Hall in Oxford ( England ); He financed his studies with German lessons. Impressed by Henry Edward Cardinal Manning , the Archbishop of Westminster , he returned to Chur in 1874 and entered the St. Luzi Seminary as a candidate for the priesthood , where Auxiliary Bishop Kaspar Willi gave him the sacrament of ordination on August 1, 1875 .

For a short time he worked as an assistant teacher at the College of Maria Hilf in Schwyz , but moved back to London. In 1876 he enrolled as a doctoral student in canon law at the Dominican College of Santa Maria sopra Minerva in Rome, which is now united with the Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas .

After obtaining his doctorate in both rights , he worked as a private tutor in the circle of the Marquis de Cony d'Arsy in France . In 1878, Bishop Kaspar Willi called him back to the Diocese of Chur and gave him a teaching position for the Abbey School of Disentis Monastery . In 1880 he lectured canon law , exegesis and education at the St. Luzi seminary in Chur. In 1889, Bishop Johannes Fidelis Battaglia appointed him Chancellor. His task was to expand the pastoral care stations in the cantons of Zurich , Glarus and Graubünden and to procure the finances.

In 1895 he was appointed non-resident canon, in 1898 vicar general, he was elected official and regens at the seminary and in 1908 the cathedral chapter succeeded the resigned bishop Battaglia as bishop of Chur. This choice was confirmed by Pope Leo XIII. on July 13, 1908. He was ordained bishop on October 4 of the same year in the Cathedral of the Assumption in Chur by his predecessor as Bishop of Chur, Johannes Fidelis Battaglia; Co- consecrators were Jakob Stammler , the bishop of Basel and Lugano , and Ferdinand Rüegg , the bishop of St. Gallen . His episcopal motto was Sicut bonus miles Christi ("Like a brave soldier of Christ").

Pope Benedict XV used him as a Vatican diplomat in his endeavor to end the First World War . Despite his dexterity on the diplomatic floor, the negotiations were unsuccessful.

In his twenty-four-year episcopate, Bishop Georgius established 17 more parishes and had the Chur cathedral restored from 1921 to 1928 .

In terms of church music , he was a promoter of Romance choir singing and contributed with compositions (songs and masses) to enrich and structure the solemn services .

From 1925 to 1932 he was chairman of the Swiss Bishops' Conference . In order to cope with his multiple tasks, Pope Pius XI. on April 28, 1928, Anton Gisler, a coadjutor with the right of succession at his side. This did not happen, however, because the successor died on January 4, 1932, a few months before his predecessor.

Bishop Georgius Schmid von Grüneck was buried in the bishop's crypt in front of the Cathedral of the Assumption , with great sympathy from the clergy and the faithful of his diocese.

literature

  • 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 .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Revue des Ordination Épiscopales. Edition 1908, No. 57
  2. ^ Albert Fischer: Georgius Schmid von Grüneck 1908–1932.
predecessor Office successor
Johannes Fidelis Battaglia Bishop of Chur
1908–1932 		Laurenz Matthias Vincenz
personal data
SURNAME Schmid von Grüneck, Georg
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Roman Catholic Bishop of the Diocese of Chur
DATE OF BIRTH November 29, 1851
PLACE OF BIRTH Sumvitg
DATE OF DEATH May 6, 1932
Place of death Chur