Léon Lommel
Léon Lommel (born February 3, 1893 in Cruchten , † June 11, 1978 in Luxembourg (city) ) was the 5th Bishop of Luxembourg .
Life
Youth and education
Léon Lommel was born on February 3, 1893 as the son of a farmer in Cruchten on the “Schleiderhof”. After studying in the abbey town Echternach in Luxembourg and Rome he eventually studied in Innsbruck , where he also July 13, 1919 in the Cathedral for priests was ordained. He completed his academic training with a doctorate in philosophy and a licentiate in theology .
priest
As a professor of philosophy and sacred art , he held lectures in the seminary of the diocese of Luxembourg from 1923 to 1941 . He also took part in the plans for the expansion of the Luxembourg Cathedral, which was carried out from 1935 to 1938 by the architect Hubert Schumacher .
From 1926 to 1949 Lommel was represented in the Catholic Association of Academics in Luxembourg, where he was valued primarily for his balanced character traits.
After several interrogations by the Gestapo , he and ten other clergymen were deported to France, where the bishop of the Autun diocese entrusted him with the priestly parishes of St. Yan and St. Germain des Rives. There Lommel also took care of Luxembourg resistance fighters in hiding. When he returned to Luxembourg after the end of the war, Léon Lommel was particularly involved in the reconstruction of Luxembourg's sacred buildings , as around a third of Luxembourg's churches and chapels had been destroyed in the winter offensive of 1944–1945. Until 1949 Lommel taught dogmatics in the seminary.
Episcopate
On May 14, 1949, Léon Lommel was elected Bishop Coadjutor of Bishop Joseph Laurent Philippe with the right of succession. He was consecrated titular bishop of Nephelis in the cathedral of Luxembourg. After the death of Bishop Philippe († October 21, 1956) he succeeded him.
The veneration of Mary as the “comforter of the afflicted” (Consolatrix Afflictorum) was very important to Lommel. He celebrated the tricentenary of this Luxembourg-wide cult of the veneration of the Luxembourg national patroness together with the consecration of the Luxembourg cathedral on December 8, 1963. The consecration had been postponed again and again due to the change of bishop in 1936 and due to the war events from 1940 to 1945. Lommel also promoted the veneration of St. Willibrord , especially during the jumping procession on Whit Tuesday in Echternach. The Echternach basilica, blown up by soldiers of the German Wehrmacht on December 26, 1944, was rebuilt during his term of office and consecrated anew on September 20, 1953.
The 2nd Vatican Council (1962–1965) found an enthusiastic and committed council father in Léon Lommel. He also called the 4th Luxembourg Diocesan Synod, which was opened by his successor in office Jean Hengen on May 13, 1972.
retirement
On February 12, 1971, Léon Lommel passed the leadership of the diocese into the hands of Bishop-Coadjutor Jean Hengen , who had been appointed on April 8, 1967 with the rights of succession.
On the evening of June 11, 1978, Léon Lommel died after a brief illness. On June 16, he found his final resting place in the crypt of the Luxembourg cathedral, under the windows of the apostles, which the Aachen artist Anton Wendling had created. In the perception of critical contemporaries, Lommel embodied the synthesis of the hieratic and majestic demeanor of a prince-bishop of the feudal era with impulsive personality traits and human warmth. His episcopal motto was: "Nos autem populus tuus" (We are your people).
literature
- Jean Malget: Léon Lommel. In: Biographisch-Bibliographisches Kirchenlexikon (BBKL). Volume 5, Bautz, Herzberg 1993, ISBN 3-88309-043-3 , Sp. 204-207.
Web links
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Lommel, Leon |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Luxembourg clergyman, Roman Catholic Bishop of Luxembourg |
| DATE OF BIRTH | February 3, 1893 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Cruchten |
| DATE OF DEATH | June 11, 1978 |
| Place of death | Luxembourg City |