Liborius Wagner
Liborius Wagner (born December 5, 1593 in Mühlhausen in Thuringia , † December 9, 1631 in Schonungen ) was a Catholic priest and martyr. He was beatified on March 24, 1974.
Life
A few decades after the Reformation, Liborius Wagner grew up in Mühlhausen, Thuringia, in a strictly Protestant family . After he had studied the liberal arts in Leipzig , Gotha and Strasbourg between 1613 and 1619 and obtained his master's degree , he returned to his hometown and applied for a teaching position there without success. Finally he went to Würzburg in 1622, where he began studying Catholic theology at the University of Würzburg , which was re-founded by the counter-reformer Julius Echter . He converted to Catholicism and was ordained a priest in 1625, at the age of 32. After almost a year of chaplaincy in Hardheim in the Odenwald, in 1626 he was given the parish office in Altenmünster near Schweinfurt , which at that time was under the Neustadt am Main monastery, with the branch church Sulzdorf.
At a time when there was no religious tolerance, Wagner tried to balance the denominations. Philipp Albrecht Truchseß von Wetzhausen auf Sternberg , as the village lord of the community, determined the residents of Altenmünster to be Protestant. Only a few servants could remain Catholic. In Sulzdorf, on the other hand, almost only Catholics lived. The fact that according to secular law even the evangelical villagers had to be baptized, married and buried by Wagner caused conflicts, but according to canon law he was not allowed to bury people of other faiths in the consecrated earth. The Protestant peasants, upset by such circumstances, met the priest with hostility. Wagner found himself in a conflict because on the one hand he owed obedience to his bishop and wanted to pass on his Catholic faith, but on the other hand he also had understanding for the evangelical parishioners.
In 1631, during the Thirty Years' War , the army of the Swedish King Gustav Adolf moved into Mainfranken. Wagner then fled to the neighboring village of Reichmannshausen , where he hid in the local schoolhouse. Protestant soldiers tracked him down when he had things fetched from his rectory. He was captured and brought to Castle Mainberg near Schonungen . There he was mainly accused of apostate the Protestant faith and attempts were made to force him to apostate from the Catholic faith. Wagner steadfastly refused. When asked whether he was still a Catholic, he kept replying: I live, suffer and die as a papal Catholic . After five days of torture, he died a martyr on December 9, 1631 . His body was thrown naked into the Main , where it was only recovered by fishermen several months later.
When Catholicism regained strength in Franconia after the defeat of Sweden in 1634, Wagner quickly gained the reputation of being a martyr. His bones, which were venerated as relics as early as the 17th century , now rest in the parish church of Heidenfeld in the Schweinfurt district .
The oldest biography (around 1661) goes back to the contemporary Jesuit Philipp Kisel (1609–1691).
beatification
Liborius Wagner was born on March 24, 1974 by Pope Paul VI. beatified. He, Blessed Liborius, is an example, is a martyr, whom we certainly do not want to celebrate as a "targeted demonstration of faith", namely to turn his martyrdom into a reason for polemics and accusation, but as a testimony to the example for all and the invitation to reconciliation and the spirit of brotherhood. (Pope Paul VI at the beatification). In Wagner's honor, a solemn triduum took place in Würzburg Cathedral from April 26th to 28th, 1974 , at the end of which Bishop Josef Stangl quoted Liborius Wagner: "Whether God's Spirit leads me here or there, I am ready".
Representation and Memorial Day
Liborius Wagner is depicted in priestly clothing, with a palm, sword and dagger. His feast day is celebrated on December 9th .
literature
- Wolfgang Weiß: The martyr priest Liborius Wagner (1593–1631), in: Thomas Horling - Uwe Müller (ed.), Fürsten & Industrielle. Mainberg Castle in Eight Centuries (Publications of the Historisches Verein Schweinfurt NF Vol. 8 - Mainfränkische Studien Vol. 80), Schweinfurt 2011, pp. 161–182, ISBN 978-3-88778-360-0 .
- Johannes Schuck: The martyr of Altenmünster. A story by Pastor Liborius Wagner. Wuerzburg 1930.
- Wiebke Buchholz : Wagner, Liborius. In: Biographisch-Bibliographisches Kirchenlexikon (BBKL). Volume 24, Bautz, Nordhausen 2005, ISBN 3-88309-247-9 , Sp. 1519-1521.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Würzburger Diözesangeschichtsblätter , Volume 43, 1981, p. 107; (Detail scan)
- ↑ Klaus Witt City: church and state in the 20th century. In: Ulrich Wagner (Hrsg.): History of the city of Würzburg. 4 volumes, Volume I-III / 2, Theiss, Stuttgart 2001-2007; III / 1–2: From the transition to Bavaria to the 21st century. 2007, ISBN 978-3-8062-1478-9 , pp. 453–478 and 1304 f., Here: pp. 470–475 ( renewal in the spirit of the Second Vatican Council - Bishop Josef Stangl ). P. 473 f.
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Wagner, Liborius |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | catholic priest; was beatified in 1974 |
| DATE OF BIRTH | December 5, 1593 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Mühlhausen in Thuringia |
| DATE OF DEATH | December 9, 1631 |
| Place of death | Sparing |