Joachim Opser

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Joachim Opser (* approx. 1548 in Wil ; † August 24, 1594 in St. Gallen ) was abbot of the St. Gallen monastery from 1577 to 1594 .

Life

Joachim's father Michael was the royal chancellor. For religious reasons, he settled in Wil . Joachim made his profession on June 17, 1563. From 1564 he studied at the University of Dillingen , from 1570 to 1574 at the Jesuit College in Paris . There he witnessed the Bartholomew Night and reported on the violent events in two letters to Abbot Otmar Kunz . On April 8, 1576, he can be proven as dean in St. Gallen. He was then elected abbot on January 29, 1577. The papal confirmation was made by Gregory XIII. on April 16, 1578, the consecration was carried out by Auxiliary Bishop Balthasar Wurer of Konstanz on June 24, 1578. On November 27th of the same year Joachim Opser was elected auxiliary bishop by Beat a Porta and the Chur cathedral chapter and thus the designated successor to the incumbent bishop. Since the resistance against a bishop from outside the Three Leagues was too great, he renounced his appointment to Chur .

Act

As Abbot of St. Gallen, Joachim Opser received the papal nuncios several times , who called for reforms in line with the Council of Trent on their visitations . In fact, Abbot Joachim seems to have subsequently demanded strict monastic discipline from his monks. It appears that this led to an open conflict with part of the convent in 1590. The abbot was accused of observing strict discipline with his subordinates, but of leading an improper way of life. The Nuncio in Lucerne then initiated an investigation and came to the conclusion that these allegations were not tenable. Nevertheless Abbot Joachim felt compelled to refrain from his uncompromising moral discipline.

In financial terms, the abbey under Joachim Opser found itself in dire straits, which made it necessary to sell monastery property in Neu-Ravensburg and Wangen im Allgäu . The economic hardship was favored by the plague that raged in 1594, which caused many monks to leave the St. Gallen monastery. Abbot Joachim stayed in St. Gallen and died there on August 24, 1594 during a sermon. He was buried on the left side of the cathedral choir near the St. Benedict altar. As a spiritual legacy he left behind the reformist writing Liber exercitiorum spiritualium .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Werner Vogler: St. Gallen - Abbots: Joachim Opser, 1577–1594. In: Helvetia Sacra, Dept. III: The orders with Benedictine rule. 2/1: Early monasteries, the Benedictines in Switzerland. Francke Verlag, Bern 1986, pp. 1329-1331.
predecessor Office successor
Otmar Kunz Abbot of St. Gallen
1577–1594 		Bernhard Muller
personal data
SURNAME Opser, Joachim
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Abbot of the St. Gallen Monastery (1577–1594)
DATE OF BIRTH around 1548
PLACE OF BIRTH Wil
DATE OF DEATH August 24, 1594
Place of death St. Gallen