Gregor Henckel-Donnersmarck

Abbot Gregor Henckel-Donnersmarck (2006)

Gregor Henckel-Donnersmarck OCist (religious name; born January 16, 1943 in Breslau as Ulrich Maria Karl Count Henckel von Donnersmarck ) is an Austrian priest monk of German origin. From 1999 to 2011 he was abbot of the Cistercian Abbey of Heiligenkreuz .

Life

origin

Gregor Henckel-Donnersmarck comes from the Silesian family Henckel von Donnersmarck and was the youngest son of Friedrich-Carl Graf Henckel von Donnersmarck (1905-1989) and his wife Anna-Ilse von Zitzewitz (1910-1996). His family fled with him from Silesia , threatened by the advance of the Red Army in World War II , initially to Bavaria , where they settled for five years. Then they finally moved to Carinthia in Austria .

He was the only brother of the legal and political scientist Leo-Ferdinand Graf Henckel von Donnersmarck , who died of leukemia in 2009 . The film director Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck is his nephew.

Education and the private sector

In 1963 Henckel-Donnersmarck graduated from the Humanistic Gymnasium in Klagenfurt . 1963 to 1964 he did his military service in the armed forces and disarmed as a lieutenant in the reserve. From 1964 to 1969 he studied at the University of World Trade in Vienna and graduated as a business graduate (Dipl.-Kfm.). From 1970 to 1977 he worked for the shipping company Schenker & Co. , and from 1973 to 1977 as managing director of Schenker Spain SAE in Barcelona . However, Henckel-Donnersmarck disliked the fact that as a concession to his career he “did not have enough time for faith”.

Religious life

He decided to give up his life as a manager in the economy and on November 15, 1977, together with Christian Feurstein, became a novice at Heiligenkreuz Abbey, where he took the religious name Gregor . After studying (1978–1986) at the Philosophical-Theological University of Heiligenkreuz (today: Philosophical-Theological University of Benedict XVI. ) He became a master of theology , on August 1, 1982 he was ordained a priest in the collegiate church by Bishop Maximilian Aichern von Linz . 1986 to 1991 he was prior in the Cistercian monastery Rein near Graz , 1992 to 1993 assistant to the abbot general of the Cistercians in Rome, 1994 to 1999 national director of Missio , the papal missionary organizations in Austria. On February 11, 1999 the convent elected him 67th abbot of Heiligenkreuz Abbey. As such he was Magnus Cancellarius (Grand Chancellor) of the Philosophical-Theological College Benedict XVI. His abbot was on March 14, 1999 by Maurus Esteva Alsina . From 2003 to 2007 he was Abbot Praeses of the Austrian Cistercian Congregation. In February 2011 he resigned from his position as abbot in Heiligenkreuz, as he was no longer allowed to exercise a full period due to age.

His lecture on the subject of Islam, Christianity and relativism at the symposium The Unease with Religion on June 18, 2011 at the Islamic Center in Vienna , where Elsayed Elshahed from the Islamic Community in Austria replied: “Mister Abbot, consider this House as your house! ”It was the first time that a high church dignitary gave a lecture in the Vienna mosque.

More functions

• Aumônier-Vicaire of the Order of the Golden Fleece
• Honorary Conventual Chaplain in the Sovereign Order of the Knights of Malta and Spiritual of the Grand Priory of Austria

Awards

• 2011: Golden Commander's Cross of Honor for Services to the State of Lower Austria .
• 2011: Honorary Philistine of AV Suevia

Books

• Walking zebra crossing. Anecdotes from monastic life (Salzburg 2009, 2nd edition 2010) ISBN 978-3-7017-3163-3 .
• Ora @ labora. About God and the World and Paradise on Earth (Salzburg 2010) ISBN 978-3-7017-3161-9 .
• About God and the world and paradise on earth. Views of an abbot (Freiburg im Breisgau 2012) ISBN 978-3-4510-6350-3 .
• Get rich the good way. Wealth tips of a clergyman (Vienna 2014) ISBN 978-3-9900-1085-3 .
• The Forwarder of God - A Life Between World and Monastery (Vienna 2018) ISBN 978-3-8000-7706-9 .

Web links

• Literature by and about Gregor Henckel-Donnersmarck in the catalog of the German National Library
• Entry to Gregor Henckel-Donnersmarck on medal online
• Gregor Henckel-Donnersmarck in the Biographia Cisterciensis
• YouTube video: Interview with Gregor Henckel-Donnersmarck about his tenure as abbot of Heiligenkreuz Abbey

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b c} Former Abbot Gregor Henckel Donnersmarck. Curriculum Vitae on the website of the Cistercian Abbey Stift Heiligenkreuz, accessed on June 3, 2016.
2. ↑ Former Abbot P. Dipl.-Kfm. Mag. Theol. Gregor Henckel-Donnersmarck. Biography. In: Our speakers on the website of the RPP Institute , accessed on June 3, 2016.
3. ↑ ^{a b} Dkfm. Mag.theol. P. Gregor Ulrich Henckel-Donnersmarck OCist, former abbot of Heiligenkreuz Abbey, honorary philistine AV Suevia Graz. Short biography on the website of the Cartel Association of Catholic Non-Colored Academic Associations in Austria (ÖKV) , accessed on June 3, 2016.
4. ^ Genealogical handbook of the nobility (Limburg an der Lahn 1984), pp. 112-114.
5. ↑ Angelika Slavik: In God's name. In: Süddeutsche Zeitung, 38/2009, February 16, 2009, p. 16.
6. ↑ Heiligenkreuz Abbot Henckel-Donnersmarck resigns from office in February. In derStandard.at , January 2, 2011.
7. ↑ Islam, Christianity and Relativism. Information page for the lecture. In: Press review on the website of the RPP Institute ( video recording ), accessed on June 3, 2016.
8. ↑ Print media:
   • Austria: Interest in Islam and Christianity is increasing. In: Vatican Radio , June 19, 2011.
   • Victoria Fender: "Mr. Abbot, consider this house as your house!" In: kath.net , June 20, 2011.
   • Stefan Beig: If Muslims live their faith here well, there is no reason to be afraid. (PDF; 150 kB) In: Die Tagespost , June 21, 2011.
9. ↑ Commander's Cross for former Abbot Gregor. In Niederösterreichische Nachrichten , week 26/2011, p. 27.

predecessor	Office	successor
Gerhard Hradil	Abbot of Heiligenkreuz Abbey 1999–2011	Maximilian Heim