Heinrich Kahlefeld

Heinrich Kahlefeld CO (born January 6, 1903 in Boppard , † March 5, 1980 in Munich ) was a German theologian and Catholic priest and author of theological writings and liturgical chants.

Life

Heinrich Kahlefeld studied philosophy and theology at the University of Innsbruck from 1921 , where he received his doctorate with a thesis on Max Scheler . In 1925 he joined the Oratory of St. Philip Neri at. In the same year he asked for admission to the diocese of Meißen , for which he was ordained a priest on July 26, 1926. He then continued his studies at the Universities of Freiburg and Tübingen . During his studies he already understood the importance of the liturgy for church life.

From 1928 he worked as a chaplain in Leipzig, where he was already pursuing a liturgical reform and, from 1929, held a teaching position for Catholic religious teaching at the Pedagogical Institute of the University of Leipzig . There he was appointed university chaplain in 1932 . As early as 1930 he founded the Leipzig oratorio together with other theologians. After he was held in protective custody in Munich for a few months in connection with the attempted assassination attempt on Hitler by Georg Elser in 1939 , he joined the Berlin oratorio after his release.

In 1940 Heinrich Kahlefeld was one of the founding members of the Liturgical Commission and the Liturgical Institute Trier . In 1943 he was called up as a medical soldier and was taken prisoner by the Americans at the end of the war in France. After his release from the end of 1945 he and some of his Leipzig confreres prepared to found an oratorio in Munich, of which he became the first superior in 1954. In the same year, Archbishop Joseph Wendel of Munich gave this oratorio the newly founded parish of St. Laurentius in Munich-Gern . The church, which was also newly built, was built according to the ideas of the Oratorians. From the beginning it was groundbreaking for the liturgical reform, as it was only recognized after the Second Vatican Council .

In 1964 Heinrich Kahlefeld was involved in the planning of the Institute for Catechetics and Homiletics in Munich. It was carried out in the spirit of the Second Vatican Council by the German Bishops' Conference chaired by Julius Cardinal Döpfner . Its task was to train experts and multipliers for the renewal of preaching and catechesis in the German dioceses. Heinrich Kahlefeld headed the institute from 1964 to 1967.

Heinrich Kahlefeld joined the Quickborn Catholic youth movement at a young age, with Rothenfels Castle as its center . The castle manager was the theologian Romano Guardini from 1927 until it was closed by the National Socialists in 1939, and Leo Weismantel was a frequent guest, much appreciated by the youth . From 1928 Heinrich Kahlefeld was Guardini's employee, with whom he remained lifelong. During this time he was the deputy castle manager. After the Quickborn Working Group was re-established in 1947, he was castle manager of Rothenfels Castle from 1948 to 1959. The third person in the league of youth leaders is Normannsteiner's intellectual head , Alfons Maria Lins . He was also lifelong friendly with Kahlefeld and Guardini. Together, long before the Second Vatican Council , they took the first steps towards reforming the liturgy, in particular by introducing the German language.

Works (selection)

Liturgical chants (translations into German)

• Chants for Divine Service , 1932–1979
• German Compline, Vespers , 1934
• Gregorian Singing Mass , 1936
• German Resurrection Celebration , 1939
• The Lord's Way of the Cross , 1951
• The Easter celebration: texts and chants on the liturgy of Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, the Easter Vigil and the Easter Days , 1951
• St. John Passion , 1953
• Chants for Mass on the Sundays after Pentecost , 1961
• Chants for the Ordinary of Mass , 1961

Theological writings

• The Epiphany of the Redeemer in the Gospel of John , Werkbund-Verlag 1954
• The Easter celebration in the parish church service , Kösel-Verlag 1962
• "The Disciple. An Interpretation of the Speech Luke 6: 20-49". 2nd edition Frankfurt a. M. 1962
• Orientation towards the Gospel , Verlag Josef Knecht 1976
• Bethlehem. Thoughts on the Christmas Gospels , Verlag Josef Knecht 1977
• Scripture interpretation serves faith , Verlag Josef Knecht 1979
• Christ in the midst of the congregation , Verlag Josef Knecht 1983
• Small writings [articles from the years 1959–1979], Verlag Josef Knecht 1984

literature

• Otto Knoch , Felix Messerschmid and Alois Zenner: The Gospel on the way to people . [Heinrich Kahlefeld on his 70th birthday.] Knecht Verlag 1973
• Werner Becker and others: In memoriam Heinrich Kahlefeld , Verlag Josef Knecht, Frankfurt 1980
• Hermann Heim: Alfons Maria Lins, A life for people . Catholic parish of St. Martin, Bad Orb, 2018
• Franz Henrich : The unions of the Catholic youth movement. Their importance for liturgical and eucharistic renewal. Kösel, Munich 1968, (at the same time: Munich, university, dissertation, 1966).

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Hermann Heim: Alfons Maria Lins, A life for people . Catholic parish St. Martin, Bad Orb, 2018, p. 61
2. ↑ Hermann Heim: Alfons Maria Lins, A life for people . Catholic parish St. Martin, Bad Orb, 2018, p. 65

Web links

• Oratory Munich accessed February 17, 2019