Johann Martin Manl

Bishop Johann Martin Manl

Bishop Johann Martin Manl

Johann Martin Manl , also Johann Martin Mantel , (born January 19, 1766 in Mainz , † October 15, 1835 in Eichstätt ) was Bishop of Speyer from 1827 to 1835 and in 1835 Bishop of Eichstätt .

Life

Life path before appointment as bishop

Johann Martin Manl was born on January 19, 1766 as the only son of the farrier Andreas Mantel and his wife Anne Christina born. Oeckel was born in Mainz. The parents spelled themselves with this family name and so Johann Martin is also entered in the baptismal register of St. Ignaz in Mainz . Only later did he change his name to Manl for unknown reasons. He attended the school of the Benedictine Abbey of St. Jakob am Eichelstein in Mainz , where he entered as a novice, but without completing the novitiate.

He studied theology as an alumnus of the archbishop's seminar at the University of Mainz . On March 28, 1789, he was ordained a priest in Mainz. From 1790 he worked as a professor (teacher) at the college in Frankfurt . When the last Roman-German Emperor, Franz II. Was crowned by the Mainz Elector Archbishop Friedrich Karl Joseph von Erthal in Frankfurt on July 14, 1792 , and the Imperial High Court Master, Prince Franz von Colloredo-Mansfeld , was looking for a tutor for his youngest son, he became Manl recommended to the best. The call to Vienna took place on November 18 of that year.

In 1794 he became provost of St. Moritz in Augsburg through imperial protection and in 1796 at the same time canon at the Constance Minster , 1802 clergyman to the prince-bishop's government there . In 1810 he took over the parish of Allershausen in the diocese of Freising . From 1815 he was the clergyman of this diocese and from 1816 director of the marriage court there. On October 28, 1821, Johann Martin Manl became a cathedral chapter member of the newly established Metropolitan Chapter in Munich , and in the same year he became an official .

Bishop of Speyer

Bishop Johann Martin Manl, with his coat of arms.

King Ludwig I appointed Manl Bishop of Speyer , Pope Leo XII on July 22, 1826 . Precanonized him on April 9, 1827. He was ordained bishop on April 25, 1827 from Archbishop Lothar Anselm von Gebsattel in Munich Cathedral, and on May 29 of the same year he was enthroned in Speyer. In the modern history of the bishops of Speyer , Franz Xaver Remling writes as an eyewitness:

“Manl, then barely sixty years old, was a healthy, handsome, fine man, of more than average height, quite stout, elongated, lively face, calm blue eyes, high forehead and thin, white hair on the head. He had a firm but calm step and noble propriety. This was paired with friendliness and condescension. He had the best will to shine a light on his clergy as a model of diligence and the faithful fulfillment of duty and tried to inspire them, orally and in writing, for the duties of their high profession. In doing so, he was equally keen to ensure that everything was not only prescribed and arranged correctly, but also carried out on time. From early morning to late evening he was at times occupied with even the most insignificant subjects of the diocese administration, often at the expense of the necessary rest. Manl, however, never took any part in the practice of ordinary pastoral care. Long weaned from the pulpit, as bishop he dared not climb it now. Regardless of his all-round knowledge and other conversationalism, he was very self-conscious and embarrassed when - even on the most solemn occasion - he was asked to speak only a few words of edification and instruction. His high priestly duties were attended with as much zeal as high dignity. He received those who sought advice from him in a friendly and condescending manner. He was never embarrassed - especially in administrative matters - to give the desired information. At the same time he knew how to entertain everyone pleasantly and could often become quite confidential, without, however, where necessary, forgetting the necessary seriousness and the appropriate correction. He preferred to give the latter in writing rather than orally. His principles in theological and canonical relationships were determined, strict and firm. His attachment to the head of the Church and his obedience to his orders always proved to be sincere and conscientious. He hated innovations in ecclesiastical matters, yes, he did not leave it untried to bring the practice closer to what is out of date. Accustomed to modest obedience and docile subservience to his superiors, he also demanded silent acceptance of his rules and simple compliance with his orders. The Palatine talkativeness, always asking something, the prevailing liberalism, always criticizing something, the unusual mobility, always trying to strive for something new, were dubious phenomena for him and later became an uncanny, oppressive burden for him. Insubordination and contradiction, which he himself had to learn from individual members of his diocesan administration, filled him with great suspicion and ultimately made him very dissatisfied and suspicious. "

- Franz Xaver Remling

According to this characterization, he was a deeply Roman man with the best will and excellent dispositions. Pastoral care remained alien to him, however, and he had more administrative talent. Manl eagerly traveled to the parishes, worked there, created a diocesan seminary and even tried to set up his own theological faculty so that the budding clergy would be spared a stay at foreign universities. He fought lastingly "wild and unchurched" marriages, enlivened liturgical life and church singing, and was eager to decorate the Speyer Cathedral with dignity. In 1828 the shepherd succeeded in reoccupying the Dominican convent of St. Magdalena in Speyer with nuns. On June 9, 1829, Whit Monday, Bishop Manl received King Ludwig I of Bavaria in Speyer, which he visited on the occasion of a trip to the Palatinate.

Manl still lived spiritually in the feudal period and was shaped by his court stay in Vienna. For example, he wanted to reintroduce tails and buckled shoes as priestly costume in the diocese, as in the 18th century, which the cathedral chapter rejected as anachronistic. He set great store by appearing as a prince of the church in line with his status, and - again according to Franz Xaver Remling - sometimes "drove himself to the cathedral gate in the gala car and appeared in the Cappa Magna , whose long train a cathedral vicar had to carry after him, which was completely new and not here was looked upon with edification by all believers. "

Personally undemanding, however, for the sake of the reputation of his office, the bishop had "a very expensive household with surplus service", to which Remling comments somewhat sarcastically: "With debts he ascended the episcopal chair and with debts he was buried in his grave."

Gradually the pastor fell out with most of the members of the cathedral chapter. No pastoral letter from him has appeared since 1833, as Cathedral Capitular Johannes von Geissel , who would later become cardinal, refused to continue writing it. Even with his friends, he eventually broke up. In 1833 his secretary Franz Xaver Remling preferred to go to Hambach as pastor. Due to theological differences in the question of mixed marriages, he fell out so much with the cathedral capitular Bruno Würschmitt that he left him on a company trip to Kreuznach in 1834 and left for Speyer alone.

Finally, on January 29, 1835, Bishop Manl wrote a bitter letter to the king asking for a transfer from his office. He wrote: “And now I dare to describe to your royal majesty only brief outlines my distressing situation, which - with storms that are renewed daily from all sides - will probably continue to correspond to my profession in the near future, morally and psychologically impossible and make a change necessary at all costs. ”Manl states in the letter that he tried to the best of his knowledge and belief to lead the diocese and to serve the Church of Speyer; now he can no longer and he appeals to the monarch: "I hope it will soon be possible that I will be redeemed from here!"

The king responded to the bishop's call for help and to the request of the majority of the Palatinate clergy, recalled him from Speyer on March 25 of the same year and appointed him chief shepherd of Eichstätt . The farewell was nevertheless harmonious and the bishop was moved to tears. In his farewell letter of May 28, 1835 to the Speyer Cathedral Chapter, it says: “The last request I still have of you is that you keep me in your memory and in your pious prayers for me strength and strength in the fulfillment of my new profession and implore God's holy assistance for your prosperous work, but I give you my episcopal blessing with a touched heart. ”At Pentecost, the outgoing bishop took part again in the high mass in the imperial cathedral, but not on the throne, but at a simple prayer chair in the monastery choir .

Bishop of Eichstätt

He left Speyer on June 15, 1835. Cathedral Vicar Anton Spiehler , his secretary at the time, accompanied him via Munich to Eichstätt, where they arrived on June 27th. The inauguration there took place on July 1st. In October, the 68-year-old bishop fell ill with pneumonia, which he died on the 15th of the month. On his deathbed he complained loudly: "I have not been able to do the Diocese of Eichstätt anything good!"

On October 19, 1835, Johann Martin Manl was buried in the Eichstätt Cathedral.

literature

• Franz Xaver Remling : Modern history of the bishops of Speyer ; Speyer: Ferdinand Kleeberger, 1867.
• Ludwig Stamer : Church history of the Palatinate , Volume 4; Speyer: Pilgrims, 1964.
• Viktor Carl: Lexicon of Palatinate Personalities ; Edenkoben: Hennig, 1998; P. 441.
• KAH Kellner .:  Manl, Johann Martin . In: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB). Volume 20, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1884, pp. 196-198.

Web links

• Entry on Johann Martin Manl on catholic-hierarchy.org
• Short biography from the Speyer diocese website

predecessor	Office	successor
Matthäus Georg von Chandelle	Bishop of Speyer 1827–1835	Peter von Richarz
Johann Friedrich Oesterreicher	Bishop of Eichstätt 1835	Karl August von Reisach