Heinrich Wenzeslaus Richter
Heinrich Wenzeslaus Richter (* 1653 in Prossnitz ( Moravia ); † November 3, 1696 on the Río Ucayali ) was a German-Austrian Jesuit missionary .
Life
Heinrich Wenzeslaus Richter studied theology at the Clementinum Jesuit College in Prague. After he had entered the Jesuit order against the will of his parents, he was selected for a foreign assignment in 1683.
He worked together with Father Samuel Fritz in the jungle missions in the Amazon region . In particular, he worked among the indigenous Indian tribes Cunivu, Piru, Jivara and Mananahuy in what is now Brazil . On one of his apostolic journeys in November 1696, on the occasion of a rebellion against the power of the Spanish colonizers, he was slain by the Indians on the Ucayali River with a club.
Richter corresponded with his monastic brothers in Prague and with his family. On the basis of these letters, a number of circumstances in the life of the Indians and their overseas life can be reconstructed. Emmanuel de Boye, the rector of the Jesuit College Clementinum, published the official hagiography of the martyr Heinrich Wenzeslaus Richter in 1702.
According to Father Carlos Sommervogel , the following documents from Father Richter have been preserved:
- An academic address given in Prague.
- Letter to Father Johann Waldt, written to Popayán on June 16, 1685. This letter deals with the martyrdom of Father Fiol. Poeck and toebast.
- Letter to his Father Provincial in Bohemia, written at Ibara, August 18, 1685.
- Letter to Father Provincial in Bohemia Emanuel de Boye, written at Laguna, January 1st, 1686.
- Letter to P. Bartholomaeum Christelium, written at Ibara on August 18, 1685.
- Excerpt from a letter about the deaths of Fathers and martyrs Charles Pannegotti and Julien Verganza, who died in the Orinoco Mission .
- Dictionary and catechism in the Indian languages Campa , Pira, Cuniva and Conava .
literature
- Rudolf Robert Hinner: About the work of Sudeten German missionaries in the Amazon region of the 17th and 18th centuries . In: Staden-Jahrbuch, Volume 11/12 - 1963/64, pp. 181–190, Instituto Hans Staden, São Paulo (there further references)
Web links
- Emmanuel de Boye: Vita et obitus vener. patris Henrici Wenceslai Richter, ex quadraginta operarijs Societ. Jesu ad procurandam infidelium conversionem ex Provincia Bohemiae in Americam missis, a Cunibus Sacrae Fidei Rebellibus… . Pragae: Typis Universitatis Carolo Ferd. in Collegio Soc. Jesu ad S. Clementem, 1702. Electronic book in the catalog of the Olomouc Research Library, digitized in the eBooks on Demand service
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Richter, Heinrich Wenzeslaus |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Austrian missionary |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 1653 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Prossnitz , Austria |
| DATE OF DEATH | November 3, 1696 |
| Place of death | Río Ucayali |