Maurus Knappek

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Maurus Knappek OSB (born May 11, 1890 in Hermesdorf ; † April 16, 1968 in Vienna ) was a priest of the Benedictines , religious teacher , prior in the Schottenstift Vienna and the 49th abbot of the Altenburg monastery .

Life

Knappek, who was baptized with the name Ernst, entered the Schottenstift on September 14, 1909 after graduating from high school and accepted the religious name Maurus . After the novitiate he studied at the Catholic-Theological Faculty of the University of Vienna and finished his studies in 1914 as Abs. Theol . He was ordained a priest on July 15, 1914 .

For several years Knappek exercised the function of a pastor as a chaplain in the parishes of Bruck an der Leitha , Pulkau and Vienna-Gumpendorf before he took over functions in the Schottenstift. There he was professor of religion at the Schottengymnasium , novice master , in 1932 collegiate chamberlain and from 1933 prior .

The then abbot of Altenburg Abbey, Ambros Minarz , was a staunch Nazi opponent who, among other things, refused to hoist the swastika flag and who should therefore be replaced "for tactical reasons". On September 10, 1940, Maurus Knappek was appointed administrator of Altenburg Abbey. Knappek could not prevent the abbey from being abolished on July 29, 1941, so he returned to the Schottenstift and took over the parish of Vienna-Stammersdorf .

During the Second World War , Altenburg Abbey housed a resettlement camp for refugees from the east and a military hospital, and after the end of the war it served as a barracks for the Red Army for some time . In February 1946 the monastery was restituted and after the return of the monks in September 1947 Maurus Knappek was elected 49th abbot of Altenburg monastery on November 21, 1947. His most important task after the inauguration was to initiate the renovation of the completely devastated and looted monastery and to convert it back into a monastery.

In 1961, Knappek reintroduced the Boys' Choir Institute, which had previously existed at least into the 19th century, and made a contribution to the preservation of the monastery as a special baroque jewel in Austria. He raised the funds for this in part through two exhibitions: “Baroque Art from Waldviertel Monasteries” in 1956 and “Paul Troger and Austrian Baroque Art” in 1963.

Because of his serious illness with diabetes mellitus , he received an abbot coadjutor in 1966 in the person of Ambros Griebling , his later successor as abbot.

Awards

Web links

Remarks

  1. ↑ Biographia Benedictina names May 1 and 11, 1890 as the date of birth, ORDEN online April 16, 1890 and the ÖCV April 9, 1879; in the baptismal register his date of birth is given as May 11th, 1890 ( baptismal register of the parish online, Tom. IX, pag. 14 , accessed on October 14, 2016)

See also

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Chronicle of the Diocese in the St. Pöltner Diözesanblatt 1948 , accessed on February 6, 2019
  2. ↑ Maurus Ernst Knappek on the website of the Austrian Cartel Association , accessed on October 14, 2016
  3. ^ Sudetenpost from January 8, 1976, p. 3 , accessed on October 14, 2016
personal data
SURNAME Knappek, Maurus
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Knappek, Maurus Ernst
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Austrian chaplain, Abbot of Altenburg
DATE OF BIRTH May 11, 1890
PLACE OF BIRTH Hermesdorf
DATE OF DEATH April 16, 1968
Place of death Vienna