Johannes Storck

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Johannes Storck, picture around 1910

Johannes Storck (born September 14, 1829 in Hermersberg , † April 3, 1914 in Fischbach bei Dahn ) was an important priest of the 19th century in the diocese of Speyer . He worked 44 years as a Catholic pastor and dean in Bellheim , was involved in the founding of the church newspaper Die Rheinpfalz in 1868 and the smaller newspapers Pfälzer Volksbote (1887) and Der Rheinpfälzer (1908). Storck was raised by the pope to the papal house prelate . The prelate was able to donate significant sums of money for many ecclesiastical and social purposes due to a large inheritance and a sideline activity as a dealer in securities .

Live and act

Youth, training and priesthood in Mittelbexbach

Johannes Storck was born on September 14, 1829 as the son of Peter Storck and Theresia Storck, b. Bold, born in Hermersberg in the Palatinate . At the age of five he was brought in by his uncle Johannes Storck of the same name, at that time pastor in Heltersberg , in order to prepare him for training as a priest. After visiting the Episcopal Konvikt in Speyer, he studied theology at the University of Munich . On October 14, 1854, he was ordained a priest by Bishop Nikolaus von Weis . Afterwards Storck was chaplain in Kaiserslautern and branch in Ludwigshafen . There the young clergyman learned how to handle securities such as Pfandbriefe and bonds . Exactly four years after his ordination, he received his first pastor in Mittelbexbach . In December 1859, Johannes Storck initiated the “ St. Barbara Brotherhood for Miners and Metalworkers ” in the miners' settlement as the first purely Catholic support association for coal mining workers. His uncle died in 1868, leaving him with a major inheritance. In the same year he supported the founding of the newspaper " Die Rheinpfalz " in Speyer by participating in an association printing company .

Bellheim (1869-1913)

Tomb of Johannes Storck in Hermersberg

After eleven years of service in Mittelbexbach, Johannes Storck moved to a new pastor's post in Bellheim in the summer of 1869 , where in 1870 he was promoted to dean of the land chapter of Germersheim . For the renovation of the church, during which the tower was raised at the same time, he donated the new bell from his own resources. The increasing number of parishioners also required the establishment of a chaplain. 1877–1878 Storck had the “ St. Josefs Stift ” built from his private funds , which was administered by the foundation of the same name, founded in 1875. The new building housed a kindergarten, a work school, the orphanage and a ward for the Mallersdorfer sisters . He later set up the “ Storckerei ”, six workers' houses with 18 apartments, which offered affordable housing for newlyweds. In 1887, Storck founded the " Priest Support Association " of the Speyer diocese, which supported old pastors who were no longer able to serve, and donated 10,000 marks himself . The association was financed by a small annual pension. Four years later he called the similar " Catholic Workers and Supporters Association " into being. In Landau, in 1890, Prelate Storck helped with the birth of the “ Landauer Zeitung ”. Around 1900 he donated such a large sum for the Capuchin Order that a new monastery could be started in St. Ingbert in 1902 . Storck also made a contribution to the construction of a new church in his home town of Hermersberg in 1903. In 1908 he helped found another Landau newspaper, the “ Rheinpfälzer ”, and retired in 1913 - at the age of 85.

Death and honors

Storck spent the last months of his life with his nephew in Fischbach near Dahn , where he died on April 3, 1914. He was buried in his birthplace Hermersberg.

For his work - also in the social field - the prelate received the Cross of Honor “ Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice ” and the Cross of Honor of the Bavarian Order of Ludwig . In the municipality of Bellheim, Prälat-Storck-Straße is named after its honorary citizen Johannes Storck.

literature

  • Jakob Bisson : Seven Speyer bishops and their time. 1870 to 1950. Contributions to the local church history. Pilger-Verlag, January 1956
  • Viktor Karl: Lexicon of Palatinate personalities. Arwid Henning Verlag, Edenkoben 2004, ISBN 978-3-9804668-5-1

References and comments

  1. ↑ a b Die Rheinpfalz from Speyer was a purely ecclesiastical paper and - apart from the name - has nothing in common with the daily newspaper Die Rheinpfalz, founded in 1945 .
  2. ↑ a b H.-J. Heinz: Prelate Johannes Storck: worker chaplain and financial genius. In: Moving Times, Bellheim, 1999, ISBN 3-929893-05-3 , pp. 626–644
  3. ^ Regional association of miners, smelters and miners' associations of Saarland eV: Bexbach: Bergknappenkameradschaft St. Barbara Bexbach
  4. ^ Kulturverein Bellheim: The Kulturwerkstatt has a history ( Memento from November 14, 2007 in the Internet Archive )
  5. ^ Kulturverein Bellheim: old kindergarten becomes a cultural center
personal data
SURNAME Storck, Johannes
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Catholic priest of the Diocese of Speyer, dean, publicist
DATE OF BIRTH September 14, 1829
PLACE OF BIRTH Hermersberg
DATE OF DEATH April 3, 1914
Place of death Fischbach near Dahn