Léon Arthur Elchinger

Bishop Léon-Arthur Elchinger (1980)

Léon Arthur Auguste Elchinger (born July 2, 1908 in Sufflenheim near Hagenau , Alsace , † June 27, 1998 in Strasbourg ) was bishop of the diocese of Strasbourg .

Life

He came from a middle-class family. After finishing school in Haguenau and Nancy , he studied Catholic theology in Strasbourg and Rome . There he was ordained a priest on April 4, 1931 and then received his doctorate in theology and philosophy.

After completing his training, he became a professor at the seminary in Strasbourg and from 1937 also a military pastor. After the invasion of the German armed forces in Alsace, the seminary was relocated together with the university to Clermont-Ferrand and remained there until the end of the war in 1945. After being appointed advisor for schools in the diocesan administration, Léon Arthur Elchinger became canon of honor in 1947 and finally on At the request of Bishop Jean-Julien Weber, appointed Bishop Coadjutor with the right of succession.

On January 16, 1958, he was ordained by Jean-Julien Weber as auxiliary bishop and titular bishop of Antandrus . Because of his intimate knowledge of German and French culture, Cardinal Achille Liénart appointed him liaison bishop between the French and German bishops' conferences in 1962 . Here he was mainly involved in the work on the Second Vatican Council . On December 30, 1966, he took over the office of bishop from his predecessor. Elchinger resigned from office on October 20, 1984. In retirement he was active as a journalist and reported regularly to the media on questions of the time.

Act

On the one hand, Elchinger was shaped by his Franco-German origins, which is why he recognized the European dimension of political and theological decisions. Due to his constant “search for a God close to man” he was filled with a “holy restlessness” and activity that was not always properly recognized and appreciated. He was strongly committed to ecumenism .

literature

Ekkart Sauser : Elchinger, Léon-Arthur. In: Biographisch-Bibliographisches Kirchenlexikon (BBKL). Volume 22, Bautz, Nordhausen 2003, ISBN 3-88309-133-2 , Sp. 306-308. ( Article / beginning of article in Internet archive )

Web links

Commons : Léon Arthur Elchinger - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Literature by and about Léon Arthur Elchinger in the catalog of the German National Library
Entry on Léon Arthur Elchinger on catholic-hierarchy.org ; Retrieved July 20, 2016.

Individual evidence

^ Bernard C. Pawley: The Second Session and after, September. In: Andrew Chandler, Charlotte Hansen (eds.): Observing Vatican II. Cambridge University Press, 2014, ISBN 978-1-107-05294-9 , pp. 262 f.

personal data
SURNAME	Elchinger, Léon Arthur
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Elchinger, Léon Arthur Auguste (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	French clergyman, Roman Catholic bishop of Strasbourg
DATE OF BIRTH	July 2, 1908
PLACE OF BIRTH	Sufflenheim
DATE OF DEATH	June 27, 1998
Place of death	Strasbourg

[1] Bernard C. Pawley: The Second Session and after, September. In: Andrew Chandler, Charlotte Hansen (eds.): Observing Vatican II. Cambridge University Press, 2014, ISBN 978-1-107-05294-9 , pp. 262 f.