Januarius Schwab

The coat of arms of Abbot Januarius Schwab

Januarius Schwab (real name Georg Jakob Schwab ; * May 4, 1668 in Gerolzhofen ; † May 31, 1742 ) was abbot of the Benedictine monastery in Münsterschwarzach from 1717 to 1742 .

Münsterschwarzach before Schwab

Before Abbot Januarius Schwab took office, Münsterschwarzach Abbey could already look back on nine hundred years of history. This long existence was also celebrated with a ceremony in 1715, at which several speakers honored the abbey and its convent . The Main Abbey had previously had to overcome difficult times. After the Thirty Years War , the monastery buildings had to be renewed and the monastery itself had to be forgiven.

Under Abbot Augustin Voit the church of the monastery was refurbished, and at the same time lessons began again in the monastery university. During Voit's tenure, a new guest building and a convent building were also built, both of which cite the Baroque . It was only under Schwab's direct predecessor, Abbot Bernhard Reyder, that further plans were made: Johann Dientzenhofer drafted an overall concept for the monastery, which also included a new building for the church.

Life

Early years

Januarius Schwab was born on October 4, 1668 in Gerolzhofen, Lower Franconia . Two days later, on October 6th, he was baptized Georg Jakob. Little is known about his parents: Both were citizens of the country town of Gerolzhofen and were called Georg Jakob (the Elder) and Margarete Schwab. The sources do not mention the young Januarius' school days; Schwab only reappeared at the beginning of his studies.

He enrolled at the University of Würzburg in 1686 to begin studying philosophy. He completed this a few years later with the acquisition of a bachelor's degree , and Schwab had also acquired a doctorate in philosophy. He then entered the Münsterschwarzach Abbey on August 29, 1690 to begin a church career. He took his vows on September 9, 1691 and again devoted himself to philosophical studies in the monastery college.

At the same time, Januarius went through his ordination. On March 7, 1693 he became a subdeacon, on December 19, 1693 a deacon . He was ordained a priest on December 18, 1694, although he was only able to celebrate his first priesthood in the Münsterschwarzach monastery church on January 2, 1695 . The following two years he again devoted to deepening his studies at the Würzburg University, where he now concentrated on theological and canonical issues.

He then rose quickly within the monastery hierarchy. In 1698 Schwab was handed down as a novice master , followed by the office of subprior from 1699 to 1700, where he first came into contact with the monastery administration. In 1700 Schwab became the office director. Nine years later he was appointed prior , an office he held from 1709 to 1714. In order to take on pastoral tasks, Schwab went to the monastery village of Stadelschwarzach from 1714 to 1717 and became a pastor here.

As abbot

The abbot's coat of arms, surrounded by the monastery coat of arms

After the death of Abbot Bernhard Reyder at the beginning of 1717, an abbot election was scheduled. It took place on April 1, 1717 and in the mornings between eight and ten o'clock brought Januarius Schwab out as the new monastery head. He received his confirmation on Tuesday, May 4th, 1717. On the Sunday after Kiliani , July 11th, 1717, Schwab was appointed in Münsterschwarzach by Auxiliary Bishop Johann Bernhard Mayer with the assistance of three Würzburg abbots.

The monastery also flourished under the new abbot. The only problem was the lack of an overall concept that the new monastery buildings should receive. In 1718 Joseph Greissing from Würzburg prepared a plan for redesigning the monastery church. Shortly afterwards, on March 8, 1718, the old Egbert basilica was torn down. By 1726 a representative, baroque monastery complex was built, the structure of which was reminiscent of the table arrangement of the Roman dining tables, the so-called triclinium .

However, Greising died in 1721, so that the construction had to be continued by other architects. However, the monastery church was now to be left to a young master builder who was also found in Greising's student, Balthasar Neumann from Eger . On June 17, 1727 the foundation stone was laid for the new abbey church . Prince-Bishop Christoph Franz von Hutten broke ground and construction work began.

These should drag on for the entire term of office of Abbot Januarius Schwab. An extension of the planned church dome delayed the completion again, so that Schwab had to celebrate his jubilee on November 12, 1741 in the still unfinished church. He did not live to see the final completion of the church, but died on May 31, 1742 around nine o'clock in the evening. His funeral took place on June 5, 1742.

coat of arms

The abbot's coat of arms can be found today on several altars in the former monastery villages. This is due to the renewal of the church equipment under Schwab's successors. Description: Two silver bars in blue over a red rose. On the high altar in Reupelsdorf there are bars and roses in gold. There is also a variant on a bell in Stadtschwarzach . In addition, Schwab received the coat of arms on a copper engraving for his 50-year profession.

literature

• Kassius Hallinger: Chronology of the abbots of Münsterschwarzach a. M. (1390-1803) . In: Abtei Münsterschwarzach (Ed.): Abtei Münsterschwarzach. Works from their history . Münsterschwarzach 1938.
• Rainer Kengel: The coat of arms of the abbots of Münsterschwarzach . In: Abtei Münsterschwarzach (Ed.): Abtei Münsterschwarzach. Works from their history . Münsterschwarzach 1938.
• Johannes Mahr: Münsterschwarzach. 1200 years of a Franconian abbey . Münsterschwarzach 2002.

Web links

Commons : Januarius Schwab  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Mahr, Johannes: Münsterschwarzach. 1200 years of a Franconian abbey . P. 44.
2. ↑ Hallinger, Kassius: The chronology of the abbots of Münsterschwarzach . P. 117.
3. ↑ Mahr, Johannes: Münsterschwarzach. 1200 years of a Franconian abbey . P. 45.
4. ↑ Hallinger, Kassius: The chronology of the abbots of Münsterschwarzach . P. 118.
5. ↑ Kengel, Rainer: The coat of arms of the abbots of Münsterschwarzach . P. 150.

predecessor	Office	successor
Bernhard Reyder	Abbot of Münsterschwarzach 1717–1742	Christophorus Balbus