Joseph Mohr von Zernez

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Joseph Mohr (1577–1635) Prince-Bishop of Chur 1627–1635

Joseph Mohr von Zernez (* 1577 in Mals , South Tyrol ; † August 6, 1635 in Chur ) was a Roman Catholic bishop of the diocese of Chur .

family

Family coat of arms of the Mohr of Zernez

The Mohr family also belonged to the Old Rhaetian nobility. Under Emperor Ludwig the Pious in 830 a Johann Mohr (Maurus) served as Procurator -Rhätia. In 1260 Werner Mohr is named as the progenitor; He chose Zernez in the Engadine as his headquarters . His son Johann Conrad was Vogt of the Counts of Matsch (Maetsch) on Steinsberg . His son called himself von Steinsberg. There were connections to the noble family Planta , as well as Travers and Lumerins (Lombris) . At the beginning of the 16th century the family split up. Johann Mohr († 1529) settled in the Münstertal , he was the castle captain of the Fürstenburg . Another Johann Mohr went to Lucerne , a third Mohr went to Mals in the Vinschgau . Maximilian Mohr (1588-1652) was in the service of Archduke Leopold V (Austria-Tyrol) in 1621 , who sent him to Madrid in 1622 on a diplomatic mission and in 1629 raised him to the rank of baron . In 1650 he received the title of Count von Lichtegg from Archduke Ferdinand Karl . He was the cousin of Joseph Mohr.

Life

Collegio Elvetico Milano (1704)

The son of the imperial superintendent Abraham Mohr and his wife Agathe, née Castelmur, studied philosophy at the University of Dillingen on the Danube , graduating in 1600 with a master's degree . He completed his theology studies as an alumnus at the Swiss College in Milan in 1605 with a doctorate. As early as 1602 he became a member of the cathedral chapter in Chur, which Pope Clement VIII confirmed to him with a dispensation . He was ordained a priest on May 26, 1605 in the Church of San Francesco in Milan . He found his first pastoral activity in the parish of St. Nikolaus in Feldkirch . In 1609 he was elected cathedral curator and in 1623 cathedral scholastic .

According to the instructions of Archduke Leopold V and the Apostolic Nuncio Alessandro Scappi on the direction and continuation of the Diocese of Chur, the cathedral chapter elected Joseph Mohr as the new bishop of Chur on August 25, 1627 as successor to Johann V. Flugi, who had retired the day before . He refused to take the oath on the six articles of the Church of God , which was required by his predecessors, and his successors no longer swore these articles either. The separation of the episcopate from the tutelage of the leagues began. Confirmed the election on September 10, 1627 by Pope Urban VIII. The episcopal ordination donated him on 24 October 1627 the Cathedral of the Assumption in Chur Nuncio Alessandro Scappi. On August 4, 1629 he received imperial regalia from Emperor Ferdinand II .

With visitations and a Rhaetian " Capuchin mission " in his diocese, he succeeded in fulfilling the requirements imposed on him. The Capuchin Order was able to extend its pastoral activities and expand with the support of the bishop, but had to give up due to the withdrawal of the Austrians in 1631 some branches monastery. However, Mohr was unable to repay the debt that was also requested. A special papal commission to resolve the debt crisis in the Diocese of Chur in the spring of 1635 was unsuccessful. On the advice of the Propaganda Congregation, the planned ad limina visit was not completed by the bishop himself in 1635, but by procurators from the cathedral chapter.

Bishop Joseph Mohr died of the plague on August 6, 1635 and was buried on the same day in the cathedral of Chur. He left behind a diocese that was occupied by foreign troops ( Thirty Years' War ) and a population that had been decimated by the plague epidemic that had raged since 1628 and was shaken by denominational battles.

Episcopal coat of arms

Coat of arms of Prince-Bishop Joseph Mohr of Chur

The family coat of arms of the Mohr von Zernez (noble dynasty in Graubünden) shows a Mohr's head with a silver forehead band and a silver collar, a so-called talking coat of arms, in which the family name is imitated by a symbol.

The bishop's coat of arms, divided into four, shows in fields 1 and 4 on a white / silver background a black alpine ibex , placed on the right / left, the coat of arms of the Principality of Chur (Association of Gods ); in fields 2 and 3 on a golden background a Moor's head with a braided gold / red headband, also placed on the right / left, the family coat of arms of the Mohr von Zernez. Cross, miter, crosier and sword, insignia of spiritual and secular power.

On a coin minted in 1628, a groschen worth three kreuzers, three small coats of arms are depicted: one with a one-headed imperial eagle, another with the ibex, the symbol of Chur and Graubünden. The third coat of arms shows the episcopal family emblem, the Mohr.

The four-part episcopal coat of arms is again depicted on the 10 Kreuzer coin from 1636.

literature

Web links

Commons : Joseph Mohr von Zernez  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ RambowGenealogie - Collection Rhaetian gender or genealogical representation of different families from Grisons
  2. ^ Albert Fischer: Joseph Mohr 1627–1635.
  3. ↑ Hierarchia Catholica Medii et Recentioris Aevi. Volume 4, p. 170
  4. ^ Albert Fischer: Joseph Mohr 1627–1635.
predecessor Office successor
Johannes V. Flugi Bishop of Chur
1627–1635 		John VI Flugi from Aspermont
personal data
SURNAME Mohr von Zernez, Joseph
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Mohr, Joseph; Mohr von Zernetz, Joseph
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Bishop of Chur
DATE OF BIRTH 1577
PLACE OF BIRTH Mals , South Tyrol
DATE OF DEATH August 6, 1635
Place of death Chur