Johannes Willebrands

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Johannes Cardinal Willebrands (1982)

Johannes Gerardus Maria Cardinal Willebrands (born September 4, 1909 in Bovenkarspel , Netherlands , † August 2, 2006 in Denekamp ) was Archbishop of Utrecht and Curia Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church .

Life

Cardinal coat of arms

Johannes Willebrands received the sacrament of ordination on May 26, 1934 after theological and philosophical studies . He then studied in Rome for three years before becoming a chaplain in Amsterdam in 1937 . From 1940 he taught philosophy at the seminary of Warmond , which he headed from 1945 as Regens .

As president of the Willibrord association thereof he was strongly committed to ecumenical issues and organized a Catholic conference on topics of in 1951 in the Netherlands ecumenism . In 1960 Pope John XXIII called him . as secretary of the newly established Secretariat for Christian Unity. Johannes Willebrands played a key role in the preparation of various documents on questions of dialogue with non-Christian religions, religious freedom and ecumenism during the Second Vatican Council .

In 1964 he received after his appointment as titular bishop of Mauriana by Pope Paul VI. the episcopal ordination and launched by 1969 as president the Secretariat for Christian Unity . Paul VI accepted Johannes Willebrands in the consistory of April 28, 1969 as a cardinal deacon with the titled deaconry Santi Cosma e Damiano in the cardinals college. On December 6, 1975, he also took over the leadership of the Archdiocese of Utrecht and the office of Dutch military bishop . On the same day he was elevated to cardinal priest with the titular church San Sebastiano alle Catacombe .

He resigned his office of military bishop in 1982 and resigned as Archbishop of Utrecht on December 3, 1983, after he had almost reached the age limit of 75 years.

Cardinal's grave with his coat of arms on it

In 1982 he received the St. Liborius Medal for Unity and Peace of the Archdiocese of Paderborn .

From November 24, 1985 to December 8 of the same year, he was the papal delegate to the second extraordinary assembly of the Synod of Bishops .

At the age of 80, Willebrands submitted his resignation from the office of President of the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of Christian Unity , which Pope John Paul II accepted on December 12, 1989.

Willebrands was the oldest cardinal in the world until his death; with his death Alfons Cardinal Stickler became the oldest living cardinal. Willebrands last lived withdrawn in a Dutch Franciscan nuns - monastery .

From 1988 to 1997 he was the last chamberlain to the Holy College of Cardinals .

literature

Web links

Commons : Johannes Willebrands  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ List of the Cardinal Chamberlain. In: Salvador Miranda : The Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church. ( Florida International University website ), accessed July 28, 2016.
predecessor Office successor
Augustin Cardinal Bea SJ President of the Secretariat / Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity
1969–1989 		Edward Idris Cardinal Cassidy
Bernard Jan Cardinal Alfrink Dutch military bishop
1975–1982 		Philippe Bear OSB
Bernard Jan Cardinal Alfrink Archbishop of Utrecht
1975–1983 		Adrianus Johannes Cardinal Simonis
Giuseppe Cardinal Paupini Chamberlain of the Holy College of Cardinals
1988–1997 		No successor
(the post was no longer filled after 1997)
personal data
SURNAME Willebrands, Johannes
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Willebrands, Johannes Gerardus Maria (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Dutch clergyman, archbishop of Utrecht and cardinal
DATE OF BIRTH 4th September 1909
PLACE OF BIRTH Bovenkarspel , Netherlands
DATE OF DEATH August 2, 2006
Place of death Denekamp , Netherlands