Johann Baptist Mehler

Prelate Mehler, around 1905

Prelate Mehler, picture from the obituary in “Salesian News” 1930

Johann Baptist Mehler (born June 14, 1860 in Tirschenreuth , Upper Palatinate, † March 15, 1930 in Regensburg ) was a German Roman Catholic priest , prelate and religious writer from the diocese of Regensburg .

Live and act

Johann Baptist Mehler was the son of a cloth and clothing manufacturer from Tirschenreuth. He studied theology, was ordained a priest in 1884 and served as a pastor in various places in the Diocese of Regensburg.

Mehler is one of the co-founders and activists of the Bavarian Christian Farmers' Association in the Upper Palatinate and edited its pages, Der Christliche Bauer und der Bauernfreund . In addition, he headed the editorial department of the nationally distributed correspondence and offer journal for the entire Catholic clergy in Germany and has been the local president of the Regensburg Marian Congregation since 1892 and diocesan president since 1910.

Prelate Mehler became known especially for his literary work. He wrote a large number of books and brochures, mainly on ecclesiastical or hagiographic topics, often with strong links to local history.

Johann Baptist Mehler was one of the very few people in Germany who knew Johannes Bosco personally. Shortly after his ordination he traveled to Turin in 1885 and stayed for about three weeks with the later saint in the motherhouse of his congregation, where he “found the opportunity to see Don Bosco's educational system closely and to receive teachings and instructions from the blessed that left an indelible impression on Mehler that would last for his entire life ”.

Mehler was also one of the first to make the person and work of Johannes Bosco known in Germany. In the autumn of 1885 he spoke about it at the German Catholic Day in Münster , and in 1889 he published the first illustrated biography of the saint in German in the Regensburg Marienkalender . In 1893, Mehler also published the books Don Bosco's social creations and Don Bosco, the great youth educator and admirer of Mary .

In 1903 Prelate Mehler was one of the founders of the Catholic Boys' Association for the Kingdom of Bavaria , which took up Don Bosco's ideas for pastoral care for young people .

The priest also headed several regional mission associations and acted as a notarized donation agent for the Upper Palatinate missionary bishop Johann Baptist Anzer for his mission in South Shandong . In 1926 he was made an honorary citizen of the city of Altötting to promote the pilgrimage .

Johann Baptist Mehler died in Regensburg in 1930 after a long sick bed. His place of birth Tirschenreuth named the “Prälat-Mehler-Straße” after him.

Works (selection)

Book by Prelate Mehler, 1897

• Don Bosco's social creations, his apprentice assemblies and schools of education; a contribution to solving the apprenticeship question , 1893
• Don Bosco, the great youth educator and admirer of Mary , 1893
• Saint Wolfgang, Bishop of Regensburg; historical commemorative publication commemorating the nine hundred years of his death , 1894
• Biography of the pious Bishop Michael Wittmann of Regensburg , 1894
• Social Democratic Poetry , 1894
• The Holy House of Loretto; for the 600th anniversary of its transmission , 1896
• The St. Hedwig Hospital in Berlin: for the golden jubilee (Sept. 14, 1896) , 1896 digitized
• Our Lady of Lourdes , 1897
• Blessed Petrus Canisius, an Apostle of Germany; on the 300th anniversary of his death , 1897
• Our Lady of Altötting the National Shrine of Bavaria , 1898
• The Princely House of Thurn and Taxis in Regensburg; for the 150th anniversary of the Residenz , 1899
• The 300th anniversary of the Marian Congregation Altötting , 1899
• The Mariahilfberg near Amberg and the Upper Palatinate Veteran and Warrior Associations , 1901
• Our Lady of Tuntenhausen ; illustrated pilgrimage booklet , 1901
• Pilgrimage booklet from Our Lady in Weißenregen , with an appendix of prayers and songs , 1901
• Commemorative sheets from Kötzting's past and the Pentecost , 1901
• Ordination of priests in the Catholic Church according to the Roman Pontifical , 1902
• The ordination of bishops in the Catholic Church after the Roman pontifical , 1902
• General Tilly, the Victorious , 1903
• Our Lady of the Bogenberge , anniversary booklet for 1904
• The celebration of the 40th anniversary of the priesthood of Sr. Excellency of the Most Revered Bishop Dr. Antonius von Henle, Imperial Councilor of the Crown of Bavaria , 1914
• Memory of Joseph Leis, merchant and royal Romanian consul, died on November 7th, 1915 in Regensburg , 1916
• Maria, Landshut's protector: history of the miraculous image of the "mother with the inclined head" in the Ursuline convent church of St. Joseph in Landshut , 1918
• Juliana Engelbrecht, the grace of God from Burgweinting, a Eucharistic passion flower and the blessed Nikolaus von der Flüe; 2 Role models and intercessors for the Christian peasant class , 1919
• St. Wolfgang booklet for the 925th anniversary of our diocese patron (994-1919) , 1919
• Pilgrimage booklet on healing. Salvator in Bettbrunn , 1925
• Our Lady of Tirschenreuth , 1928
• Pictures from the Capuchin activity at Altötting, a piece of Bavarian and German church history , 1929

literature

• Andreas Jobst: Press history of Regensburg from the revolution of 1848/49 to the beginnings of the Federal Republic of Germany . Regensburg City Archives, 2002, ISBN 3-935052-14-6 Partial scans of the pages concerned
• Magazine "Salesian News" , no. 3, Munich, 1930, obituary prelate Mehler, with picture.
• Georg Schwaiger: Monasticism, orders, monasteries: from the beginnings to the present . CH Beck Verlag, Munich 2002, ISBN 3-406-47996-0 , p. 400; Scan the page
• Karl Josef Rivinius: Johann Baptist Anzer and Johann Baptist Mehler, a piece of the mosaic for the biography of the first bishop of the Society of the Divine Word , Steyler Verlag, Nettetal 2003, ISBN 978-3-8050-0496-1 .

Web links

• Literature by and about Johann Baptist Mehler in the catalog of the German National Library
• Website about the work of St. Johannes Boscos. Johann Baptist Mehler is mentioned in the subsection: "The ways of the order to Germany"
• Page from the "Historical Lexicon of Bavaria" , about the activities of the Salesians, with the mention of Johann Baptist Mehler (in the section "early contacts")

Individual evidence

1. ↑ To the "Bavarian Christian Farmers Association"
2. ^ Obituary for Prelate Mehler, in "Salesianische Nachrichten" , No. 3, Munich, 1930
3. ↑ On the Marian pilgrimage on the Bogenberg, mentioning Prelate Mehler's pilgrimage book ( memento of the original of June 13, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.