Gottfried von Laimbeckhoven

Gottfried von Laimbeckhoven SJ (born January 9, 1701 in Vienna , † May 22, 1787 in Tangjiaxiang near Songjiang) was an Austrian Jesuit , missionary in China and as such apostolic vicar of Nanjing and administrator of Beijing.

Live and act

Gottfried von Laimbeckhoven was the last of 6 children of the married couple Johann Ferdinand Laimbeckhoven and Elisabeth, geb. of selenium. His father was the prince-bishop of Passau, a real court chamber councilor and city governor for tolls and was raised to the nobility on September 9, 1718.

At the age of 15, Gottfried von Laimbeckhoven entered the Jesuit order on January 26, 1722. After studying in Leoben and Graz, he was called to Vienna to study mathematics and theology there with a view to his assignment at the Imperial Court in Beijing. After his ordination in 1735, he traveled to Lisbon to embark on a ship to China. On August 5, 1738, three years after leaving Vienna, his ship arrived in Macau . At first he worked as a pastor in the province of Huguang. In 1746 he was appointed a visitor . On May 15, 1752, Pope Benedict XIV confirmed his appointment to succeed Francisco de Santa Rosa de Viturbo OFM as Bishop of Nanjing. Due to the slow information channels, he did not find out about his appointment until 1754 and was ordained bishop in Macao on July 20, 1755 in the greatest secrecy . In 1757, Polycarp de Souza, Bishop of Beijing, designated von Laimbeckhoven as administrator of his diocese. He also performed this task for over 20 years. Not until 1778 could a new bishop of Beijing be appointed with the Augustinian Joannes Damascenus Salusti (? -1781). In 1775 von Laimbeckhoven in Beijing had to order and carry out the dissolution of the Jesuit order.

Laimbeckhoven worked as a missionary in China for around 50 years. During this time, missionaries were forbidden from serving or serving in the country. Two events with far-reaching consequences also overshadowed his stay: the Chinese rite dispute , as well as the abolition of the Jesuit order mentioned above . In addition, there were disputes within the China mission , as well as the persecution of Christians, especially in the years 1774–1789.

In addition to pastoral letters, including three in Chinese, Bishop von Laimbeckhoven wrote a description of his long sea voyage (1735 to 1738) from Genoa to Macao and, in addition to his official correspondence, conducted an extensive exchange of letters with relatives and friends, which has since been edited.

literature

• Constantin von Wurzbach : Lambeckhoffen, Gottfried . In: Biographisches Lexikon des Kaiserthums Oesterreich . 14th part. Imperial and Royal Court and State Printing Office, Vienna 1865, p. 21 ( digitized version ).
• Krahl, Joseph SJ, China Missions in Crisis, Bishop Laimbeckhoven and his Times 1738–1787. analecta Gregoriana, Vol. 137. Series Facultatis Historiae Ecclesiasticae: sectio B, n.24 Rome, 1964.
• Wolfgang Brunbauer:  Laimbeckhoven, Gottfried Xaver von. In: New German Biography (NDB). Volume 13, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 1982, ISBN 3-428-00194-X , p. 419 f. ( Digitized version ).
• Claudia von Collani:  Laimbeckhoven, Gottfried Xaver von. In: Biographisch-Bibliographisches Kirchenlexikon (BBKL). Volume 4, Bautz, Herzberg 1992, ISBN 3-88309-038-7 , Sp. 996-997.
• Gottfried von Laimbeckhoven SJ (1707–1787) The Bishop of Nanjing and his letters from China with a facsimile of his travelogue. Transcribed and edited by Stephan Puhl and Sigismund Freiherr von Elverfeldt-Ulm with the assistance of Gerhard Zeilinger. Institut Monumenta Serica, Sankt Augustin, 2000.

Web links

• Entry about Gottfried von Laimbeckhoven on catholic-hierarchy.org

Individual evidence

1. ↑ cf. Gottfried von Laimbeckhoven SJ (1707–1787) The Bishop of Nanjing and his letters from China ..., p. 28
2. ↑ cf. Gottfried von Laimbeckhoven SJ (1707–1787) The Bishop of Nanjing and his letters from China ..., p. 37