Johann Baptist Dietz

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Coat of arms Johann Baptist Diez, Bishop of Fulda

Johann Baptist Dietz (born January 30, 1879 in Birkach ; † December 10, 1959 in Fulda ) was a Roman Catholic theologian and from 1939 to 1958 Bishop of Fulda .

Life

Johann Baptist Dietz studied theology in Rome at the Germanicum and at the Pontifical Gregorian University . On 28 October 1905 he received in Bamberg the priesthood . Initially in the parish pastoral , he continued his studies at the University of Leipzig , where he also received his doctorate. In 1912 Archbishop Johann Jakob von Hauck appointed him to the reign of the Bamberg seminary . Not only was he the “father” of the candidates for the priesthood, the new seminary was established under his leadership in 1927.

On July 25, 1936 he was appointed by Pope Pius XI. appointed titular bishop of Ionopolis and appointed coadjutor in Fulda . He was ordained bishop on September 27, 1936 by Johann Jakob von Hauck , the Archbishop of Bamberg. Co- consecrators were Matthias Ehrenfried , the bishop of Würzburg and Joseph Otto Kolb , the auxiliary bishop in Bamberg.

Tomb in Fulda Cathedral

With the death of Bishop Joseph Damian Schmitt on April 10, 1939, Dietz took over the office of bishop of the Fulda diocese. He also gained importance beyond the borders of the diocese as the representative of the Fulda Bishops' Conference for pastoral care for men. In this capacity he had close contacts with the men of the resistance . From 1940 he was the papal visitor to all German theological universities and religious seminars. In 1942 Dietz met with Jesuit Father Alfred Delp , Helmuth Graf von Moltke and other members of the Kreisau Circle in the Fulda Bishop's House. The subject of the conversation was the new beginning after the dictatorship of the Nazi Empire. On October 2, 1958, his resignation was granted and he was accepted by Pope Pius XII. Appointed titular archbishop pro hac vice in the titular archbishopric of Cotrada .

Johann Baptist Dietz died on December 10, 1959 in Fulda and was buried in the Johanneskapelle of the Fulda Cathedral . His term of office was marked by the church struggle with the National Socialists , the Second World War , the division of Germany and thus his diocese of Fulda.

Episcopal coat of arms

The coat of arms divided and split at the top shows a black bar cross in front in silver / white, the coat of arms of the Diocese of Fulda ( Fürabbey of Fulda ). In the back a green lily stick with three silver flowers, on a green Dreiberg (coat of arms of the city of Fulda ). Down in blue under a jagged line one looking left, white / silver lamb with halo , Cross flag on golden cross bar ( Lamb of God ).

Behind the shield is the bishop's cross, above it the green galero (bishop's hat ) with the six green tassels (fiocchi) hanging down.

His motto was: Agno Immaculato (The Immaculate (Immaculate) Lamb), to which the patron saint John the Baptist refers.

Honors

  • 1953: Great Cross of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany
  • 1955: Appointed honorary citizen of the city of Fulda, which named a street after him in 1961.

literature

  • Michael Mott : Diocesan Bishop DDr. Johannes Baptista Dietz, a diocesan bishop in extremely turbulent times / His term of office fell during the most serious worries / Also titular archbishop and assistant to the throne of His Holiness the Pope. In "Fuldaer Köpf" Volume II, Fulda, 2011, p. 250 ff, ISBN 978-3-7900-0442-7

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Revue des Ordinations Épiscopales , born 1936, No. 64.
  2. ^ Bishop Johannes Dietz (1879-1959) . In: Elmar Schick: Perpetrators and their victims. On the history of the dictatorship of the Third Reich between Rhön and Vogelsberg . Imhof, Petersberg 2015, ISBN 978-3-86568-961-0 , p. 44.
  3. ↑ 50 years ago, the Fulda Bishop Dr. Johannes Dietz , Fuldaer Nachrichten, December 10, 2009.

3.) "Resistance meeting in the bishop's house"; Bonifatiusbote: Church newspaper for the Diocese of Fulda from Jan. 28, 2018, No. 4, volume 134 - title page

predecessor Office successor
Joseph Damian Schmitt Bishop of Fulda
1939 - 1958 		Adolf Bolte
personal data
SURNAME Dietz, Johann Baptist
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Dietz, Johannes Baptista
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German Catholic bishop
DATE OF BIRTH January 30, 1879
PLACE OF BIRTH Birkach (Ebensfeld)
DATE OF DEATH December 10, 1959
Place of death Fulda