Leo Heinrichs
Leo Heinrichs , OFM, maiden name Joseph Heinrichs (born August 15, 1867 in Oestrich (Erkelenz) , Cologne district , † February 23, 1908 in Denver , Colorado , USA ) was a German-born Franciscan and Catholic priest , who during a Holy Mass by a Anarchist was shot. He is venerated in America as a witness of faith and a martyr , and his beatification process has begun.
Life
The priest was born as Joseph Heinrichs in Oestrich (today a district of Erkelenz) near Mönchengladbach and wanted to become a Franciscan. Because of the uncertain political situation with regard to the religious orders in Germany in the Kulturkampf , some of the aspirants were sent overseas. In Paterson (New Jersey) Heinrichs was accepted into the Franciscan order on December 4, 1886 and received the order name "Leo" , under which he was also known. He made perpetual vows on December 8, 1890, and ordained priestly on July 26, 1891 in Paterson, Bishop Winand M. Wigger of Newark .
Between 1891 and 1907, Father Leo Heinrichs provided several pastoral care positions, including a. he cared for the highly contagious sick and dying people during a smallpox epidemic in Paterson. In September 1907 he was appointed pastor of the German-speaking parish of St. Elisabeth in Denver, Colorado. There he became known as a special benefactor of the poor in the short period of his effectiveness.
assassination
On the evening before his death, Heinrichs exchanged services for the next day with his brother, Father Wulstan Workman. He asked Father Workman to start his service at 8:00 a.m. and he would have the Workman's morning service himself because he had an appointment later.
Leo Heinrichs celebrated early mass on February 23, 1908 at 6 o'clock in the morning in St. Elisabeth, which was known as the "workers' fair". While giving communion, the unemployed Sicilian immigrant Giuseppe Alia knelt at the communion bench and received communion . After receiving it, he spat it on the priest's hand and hurled it in his face. The host ricocheted off and fell to the ground in front of the communion bench, the Italian drew a pistol without warning and shot the completely surprised Franciscan from close range. The latter fell to the ground with the ciborium , but was still dying to put it down on the altar steps. With the last of his strength, the clergyman picked up two fallen out hosts and put them back in the chalice; he could only point to others with his finger. According to the eyewitness Rose Fisher, he died smiling on the altar steps, his brother Father Workman donated the sacraments to him .
The killer fled immediately after the crime, but was decommissioned and arrested by a railroad worker and a police officer who were present. Giuseppe Alia stated that he acted out of hatred of the priests and that he wanted to kill other clergy on his own admission. He was sentenced to death and hung. His last words were: "Death to the priests!"
During the autopsy, the examining doctor found that Father Leo wore leather straps with metal spikes pointing inwards as tools of penance on his upper arms. Upon entering his cell, it was discovered that Leo Heinrichs had exchanged his soft bed for a hard wooden door on which he slept, out of the same convictions.
On February 26, 1908, the funeral services for the murdered priest took place in Denver , which the Governor of Colorado and the Mayor of Denver also attended. The coffin was escorted to the train station and transported by train to Paterson, New Jersey . On March 2nd, Leo Heinrichs was buried with the participation of over 3,000 people in the Franciscan Holy Sepulcher cemetery in Totowa . Because of the murder of the priests, Bishop Nicholas Matz of Denver had to rededicate St. Elisabeth's Church.
Adoration
In 1911 the St. Leo Church in Paterson was named after Leo Heinrichs. She received St. Leo the Great as her patron, but the reason for choosing a name was the memory of Father Leo.
In October 1926, the Archdiocese of Newark, with the support of the Archdiocese of Cologne , Father Heinrichs' home district , initiated the beatification process; In 1933 the case was handed over to Rome and officially opened there in 1938. Investigations have been ongoing since then, particularly into the miracles requested. The grave of Father Leo Heinrichs is still the destination of pilgrims to this day (2010).
In the birthplace of Erkelenz , a street is named after Leo Heinrichs.
The Catholic Church accepted Father Leo Heinrichs as a martyr in the German Martyrology of the 20th Century .
literature
- F. Holweck: New Catholic Dictionary, 1910. American martyrology with mention of Leo Heinrichs
- Helmut Moll (Ed. On behalf of the German Bishops' Conference): Witnesses for Christ. The German martyrology of the 20th century. 6th, expanded and newly structured edition, Paderborn u. a. 2015, ISBN 978-3-506-78080-5 , Volume II, pp. 1412-1415.
- New York Times : Contemporary Press Release
Web links
- Memorial page for Father Leo Heinrichs, with photo (at the very end there is also a picture of the grave and the church in which he was shot)
- Website on the murder of Father Leo Heinrichs
- Website of the parish of St. Elisabeth Denver, with detailed mention of Father Leo Heinrichs
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Heinrichs, Leo |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Heinrichs, Joseph |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | German Catholic clergyman and martyr |
| DATE OF BIRTH | August 15, 1867 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Oestrich (Erkelenz) |
| DATE OF DEATH | February 23, 1908 |
| Place of death | Denver |