Johann Prokop von Schaffgotsch

Johann Prokop von Schaffgotsch, 1st Bishop of Budweis

Johann Prokop von Schaffgotsch , also: Johann Prokop Graf von Schaffgotsch Baron von Kynast and Greiffenstein ; Czech: Jan Prokop Schaaffgotsche (born May 22, 1748 in Prague , † May 8, 1813 in Budweis ) was auxiliary bishop in Prague and bishop of Budweis .

family

Johann Prokop Graf Schaffgotsch von Kynast und Greiffenstein came from the Bohemian line of the noble Schaffgotsch family . Many family members of this line held higher positions in the Czech civil service and in the military. Johann Prokop's parents were Ernst Wilhelm von Schaffgotsch, councilor of the imperial chamber, royal governor and court president, and Maximiliana von Götzen (1704–1772). A nephew of Johann Prokops, Anton Ernst von Schaffgotsch , was Bishop of Brno.

Life

Coat of arms Graf von Schaffgotsch Freiherr von Kynast und Greiffenstein, Bishop of Budweis

After attending the Theresian Knight Academy run by Jesuits, Johann Prokop Schaffgotsch began studying theology at the University of Vienna in 1768 . In the same year he received a canon position at the Olomouc cathedral chapter .

On May 25, 1771, Schaffgotsch was ordained a priest in Vienna and was appointed resident canon in Königgrätz in 1772 , where he served as vicar general and official under Bishop Johann Andreas Kayser von Kaysern from 1775 to 1776 . In 1779 he became vicar general of Bishop Joseph Adam von Arco . In 1780 Schaffgotsch took over the position of parish priest of Müglitz , but only a few months later moved to Olomouc as resident canon. There he headed the priestly house and represented the cathedral chapter at the Moravian estates in Brno .

In preparation for the establishment of a diocese of Budweis, Emperor Joseph II appointed Johann Prokop Schaffgotsch in his capacity as King of Bohemia in 1783 as auxiliary bishop in Prague and as Prague vicar general with his seat in Budweis.

First Bishop of Budweis

Coat of arms Bishop of Budweis (1784-1813)

On December 20, 1784, Emperor Joseph II applied to Pope Pius VI. the establishment of the diocese of Budweis and at the same time requested the appointment of Johann Prokop Schaffgotsch as its first bishop, in accordance with the right of nomination to which he was entitled. The papal confirmation from September 26, 1785 followed on 11 December 1785 in the St. Vitus Cathedral , the Episcopal ordination by the Prague archbishop Anton Peter Příchovský of Příchovice . He took office on January 1, 1786.

Schaffgotsch divided the diocese into five archipresbyterates and thirty vicariates . In 1786 he founded a house for candidates for priesthood, which in 1803 was expanded to a seminary with a theological college. The school education of the children was of great concern to him, whereby he took up the suggestions of the South Bohemian pastor and later Bishop of Leitmeritz Ferdinand von Kindermann . When setting up an organized poor and welfare service , Schaffgotsch took into account the suggestions of Count Ferdinand Buquoy from Gratzen . 1811–1812 Schaffgotsch visited his diocese and submitted a report to Emperor Franz I.

Schaffgotsch's term of office was marked by the Josephine reforms , which pursued church sovereignty and led to the abolition of numerous monasteries. Although he basically affirmed the state church, in 1790 Schaffgotsch, together with other bishops, demanded the withdrawal of several ordinances from Emperor Leopold II , especially those relating to the organization of services and religious folk customs.

As a lover of precious books, he initiated the establishment of an episcopal diocesan library, to which he bequeathed his 6000 volumes of private book collection in his will after his death. His body was buried in the cemetery of the Church of St. Prokop in Budweis.

literature

• Constantin von Wurzbach : Schaffgotsch, Johann Prokop Graf . In: Biographisches Lexikon des Kaiserthums Oesterreich . 29th part. Kaiserlich-Königliche Hof- und Staatsdruckerei, Vienna 1875, pp. 83–85 ( digitized version ).
• Rudolf Svoboda, Johann Prokop Schaffgotsch. The life of a Bohemian prelate in the time of Josephinism (= contributions to church and cultural history 25), Frankfurt am Main, Berlin, Bern, Bruxelles, New York, Oxford, Vienna: Peter Lang, 2015, 343 pages ( ISBN 978- 3-631-65740-9 ).
• Rudolf Svoboda, Jan Prokop Schaaffgotsche: První biskup českobudějovický, Brno: L. Marek, 2009, 319 p. ( ISBN 978-80-87127-17-9 ).

• Rudolf Svoboda, Refuge the poor and help the sick, in: Michal Opatrný - Markus Lehner (ed.), Theory and Practice of Charitable Work, Introduction to the Problem, Practical Reflection and Application, České Budějovice: TF JU (Edice Scientia Vol . 5), 2010, pp. 10-26 ( ISBN 978-3-200-01846-4 ).

• Rudolf Svoboda, Typologie biskupů doby josefinismu pod žezlem habsbursko-lotrinské dynastie, in: Daniela Tinková - Jaroslav Lorman (eds.): Post tenebras spero lucem. Duchovní tvář českého a moravského osvícenství (= study Ústavu českých dějin Filosofické fakulty UK 1/2008), Praha: Casablanca - FF UK, 2009, p. 301-313 ( ISBN 978-80-903756-6-6 , ISBN 978-80-7308-246-8 ).

• Rudolf Svoboda, Proces založení českobudějovického biskupství v letech 1783-1789, Studia theologica 33, roč. 10, č. 3/2008, Olomouc 2008, p. 19-40 ( ISSN  1212-8570 ).

• Rudolf Svoboda, Jan Prokop Schaaffgotsche: Duchovní směřování prvního českobudějovického biskupa v čase mezi barokem a restaurací, in: Od barokní piety k interiorizaci víry? Problémy katolického osvícenství, History - Otázky - Problémy 2/2009, Filosofická fakulta UK, Prague 2009, p. 85-94 ( ISSN  1804-1132 ).

• Rudolf Svoboda, Legenda o dobrém pastýři, Verba theologica 16, roč. 8, č. 1/2009, s. 24-29 ( ISSN  1336-1635 ).

• Rudolf Svoboda, Pastores boni? Study k tématu "rakouské osvícenství" v souvislosti se vznikem českobudějovického biskupství a činností prvních českobudějovických biskupů, in: Rudolf Svoboda - Martin Weiskev - Peter Zubko (eds.) 22-43 ( ISBN 80-7040-827-8 ).

• Kurt A. Huber. In: Erwin Gatz : The Bishops of the Holy Roman Empire 1648-1803 , ISBN 3-428-06763-0 , pp. 413-414
• Erwin Gatz : Diocese of Budweis. In: Erwin Gatz: The dioceses of the Holy Roman Empire from their beginnings to secularization. ISBN 3-451-28075-2 , pp. 155-157
• A. Kuzio-Podrucki, Schaffgotschowie. Zmienne losy śląskiej arystokracji , Bytom 2007, ISBN 978-83-923733-1-5 (Polish)
• A. Kuzio-Podrucki, The Schaffgotsch House. The changeful fate of a Silesian noble dynasty , Tarnowskie Góry 2009, ISBN 978-83-61458-32-6

Web links

• Entry about Johann Prokop von Schaffgotsch on catholic-hierarchy.org
• Biography of Johann Prokop von Schaffgotsch (Czech)

predecessor	Office	successor
---	Bishop of Budweis 1784–1813	Ernest Konstantin Růžička