Matthäus Ferdinand Sobek von Bilenberg

Coat of arms Matthäus Ferdinand Sobek von Bilenberg, Archbishop of Prague (1669–1675)

Matthäus Ferdinand Sobek, lithograph by Faustin Herr

Matthäus Ferdinand Sobek von Bilenberg (Czech: Matouš Ferdinand Sobek z Bílenberka ; born September 19, 1618 in Groß Raigern , Moravia ; † April 29, 1675 in Prague ) was the first bishop of Königgrätz and from 1669 Archbishop of Prague .

Life

Sobek attended the Braunau monastery high school from 1624 to 1634 and then studied theology in Olomouc until 1638 . In the same year he entered the Braunau monastery , where, after his ordination, he worked as a pastor in the parishes belonging to the monastery. After becoming abbot of St. Niklas in Prague in 1650, he became director of tax and finance and a member of the reform commission in 1655, which should endeavor to win back the believers who converted to Protestantism. Emperor Leopold I appointed him to a Privy Councilor in 1658 and appointed him to be the shepherd for the diocese of Königgrätz, which was to be established.

Because of the difficult negotiations about the equipment and administration of the new diocese, for which the Archdiocese of Prague had to cede its diocesan territory in north-east Bohemia , Pope Alexander VII was not able to raise the diocese until 1664 and appointed on November 10th. J. Matthäus Ferdinand Sobek von Bilenberg as his first bishop. The episcopal ordination took place on March 15, 1665 by the Prague Archbishop Ernst Adalbert von Harrach in St. Vitus Cathedral . Since the establishment of a bishop's residence was initially not possible due to legal disputes with the Königgrätzer Magistrate, the newly appointed bishop had to live with the Jesuits during his stays in the city.

Probably for this reason Leopold I nominated him on June 10, 1668 as the successor to the deceased Archbishop of Prague Johann Wilhelm Libštejnský von Kolowrat . The papal approval of March 11th, 1669 followed on May 4th d. J. the enthronement in St. Vitus Cathedral.

In Prague, Matthäus Ferdinand took measures to re-catholicise and demanded annual reports from the clergy on their progress. He promoted the spread of the Czech language and arranged for the Bible to be translated into Czech. During his tenure, the diocese's 700th anniversary was celebrated and the construction of the unfinished St. Vitus Cathedral continued. To honor the patron saint, the Wenceslas Chapel was built in the cathedral in 1671 and St. Wenceslas name day was declared a public holiday.

During his tenure, the Launowitz dominion and the Příbram Castle were acquired for the diocese and pastoral care for pilgrims was established on the Holy Mountain . After his death, according to his wishes, his heart was buried in St. Vitus Cathedral, the internal organs in St. Niklas and his body in the Braunau collegiate church.

literature

• Constantin von Wurzbach : Sobek von Bilenberg, Matthäus Ferdinand . In: Biographisches Lexikon des Kaiserthums Oesterreich . 35th part. Imperial-Royal Court and State Printing Office, Vienna 1877, p. 223 f. ( Digitized version ).
• Kurt A. Huber, in: Erwin Gatz : The Bishops of the Holy Roman Empire 1648–1803. ISBN 3-428-06763-0 , pp. 467-468

Web links

Commons : Matthäus Ferdinand Sobek von Eilenberg  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• Entry on Matthäus Ferdinand Sobek von Bilenberg on catholic-hierarchy.org
• Biography (Internet Archive) ( Memento from December 14, 2008 in the Internet Archive )

predecessor	Office	successor
---	Bishop of Königgrätz 1664–1669	Johann Friedrich von Waldstein
Johann Wilhelm Libštejnský von Kolowrat	Archbishop of Prague 1669–1675	Johann Friedrich von Waldstein