Jean Hengen

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Jean Hengen's coat of arms as archbishop

Jean Hengen (born November 23, 1912 in Dudelange , † January 29, 2005 in Luxembourg City ) was bishop and the first archbishop of Luxembourg .

Life

youth

Jean Hengen was born on November 23, 1912 in Dudelange as the seventh of eight children, where he also attended primary school on the "Strutzbierg" and the "Deich school".

After his high school studies and upper courses in Luxembourg City located Athenaeum, Jean Hengen enrolled in 1939 in the subjects of philosophy and Catholic theology at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome . He then studied canon law .

priest

On October 27, 1940 in the time of World War II , he received in the Roman church of the Gesù , the ordination . His first Mass he celebrated at the Luxembourg Franciscan . Only after the end of the war in 1945 was the young clergyman able to celebrate his first holy mass in his home parish in Dudelange .

After his doctorate in theology, Jean Hengen was appointed vicar of the cathedral in 1945 and vicar general under Bishop Joseph Philippe in 1955 .

From 1958 to 1971 Jean Hengen was chairman of the board of directors of the Imprimerie Saint Paul .

bishop

Pope Paul VI appointed Jean Hengen in April 1967 titular bishop of Calama and appointed him coadjutor bishop with the right of succession. Jean Hengen received his episcopal ordination on June 4, 1967 by Léon Lommel , Bishop of Luxembourg, co-consecrators were the emeritus Bishop of Oslo , Jacob Mangers , and Jean-Baptiste Musty , auxiliary bishop in Namur . With the abdication of Bishop Léon Lommel on February 12, 1971, Jean Hengen succeeded him as the sixth Bishop of Luxembourg . His motto was: Tibi servire ("Serve you").

On May 13, 1972, Bishop Jean Hengen opened the 4th Luxembourg Diocesan Synod , which had been convened by his predecessor Léon Lommel.

When the old bell tower of the cathedral burned on Good Friday 1985, he himself saved the statue of Our Lady - a Luxembourg symbol. He also took charge of planning the reconstruction himself. Following the Pope's visit in the same year, John Paul II awarded Jean Hengen the personal title of Archbishop on May 16, 1985 . In 1988 Luxembourg was made an archdiocese .

Archbishop Hengen was also chairman of the German-speaking commission for the publication of liturgical books.

retirement

The episcopate of Jean Hengen ended with the episcopal ordination of Fernand Franck on February 2, 1991 as his successor as Archbishop of Luxembourg.

During his tenure it was very important to him not to favor Dudelange , his hometown, over other Luxembourg cities; So he declined the request of Pastor Robert Sibenaler to visit the Octave , Luxembourg's largest, originally eight-day pilgrimage to "Notre Dame de Luxembourg", together with his home parish; only after his term of office did he comply with this request.

On October 29, 2000, Jean Hengen celebrated his diamond jubilee as a priest. His hometown Dudelange honored the jubilee on November 23, 2002 on his 90th birthday; this was the last mass he presided over as bishop. His last public appearance was, however, the octave - service on 10 May 2004 together with the pilgrims from his hometown Dudelange, on that he did not take more in robes with miter and staff participate, but simply in cassock and Rochett .

Old Archbishop Jean Hengen died on January 29, 2005 at 12 noon at the age of 92. He was buried on February 3, 2005 in the crypt in the Cathedral of Luxembourg.

“He was the bishop of hearts, close to the people, tolerant, creative, believable. Luxembourg has never had such a cosmopolitan bishop… ”- this is how he was described in many Luxembourg newspapers after his death . His openness among the Luxembourg people was highly valued; so he always made you feel that the problem you discussed with him was the most important; he did not shy away from accepting the sacrament of confession in schools as a bishop; he said hello and could always remember where he had first met - a trait that made him popular with children and young people.

Every year after his death, after the octave mass of his home parish Dudelange, flowers are laid in the crypt of the cathedral (his burial place) and a Salve Regina is sung; so he is honored every year and is also connected in a certain way with the pilgrimage to the “Consolatrix Afflictorum”.

Awards and titles

Church honors, awards and titles

Academic awards

National awards

Web links

Commons : Jean Hengen  - collection of images, videos and audio files