Maximilian Aichern

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Bishop Maximilian Aichern (2010)

Maximilian Aichern OSB (born December 26, 1932 in Vienna ) is emeritus Bishop of Linz .

Life

Maximilian Aichern was born in Vienna as the son of Max († 1980) and Franziska († 1998) Aichern. He was religiously shaped by the Kalasantines , who looked after his home parish St. Josef ( Vienna XIV. ). He attended high school and graduated in 1951 with the Matura from. Originally, he was supposed to take over his parents' butcher's business. Aichern attended vocational school and passed the journeyman's examination for butchers . When his younger sister was able to take over the family business, he joined the Benedictine Abbey of St. Lambrecht in Styria in 1954 . He then studied in Salzburg and at the Papal Athenaeum Sant'Anselmo in Rome .

The ordination received Maximilian Aichern on July 9, 1959 in the Abbey Subiaco near Rome. He was initially a chaplain in St. Lambrecht and religion teacher in the state vocational school in Murau . In 1964 he became Abbot Coadjutor and from February 24, 1977 to January 16, 1982 he was Abbot of St. Lambrecht Monastery. From 1978 to 1981 he was also Abbot President of the Austrian Benedictine Congregation .

Abbot Maximilian Aichern at a young age; Portrait in the Abbot Gallery in the Prelate Hall of St. Lambrecht Monastery

In May 1981 he was informed that he was to be the Bishop of Linz. Aichern rejected this office several times and only gave his approval in December. On December 15, 1981, Pope John Paul II appointed him successor to Franz Zauner . Franz Cardinal König donated him the episcopal ordination in the Cathedral of the Conception of Mary in Linz on January 17, 1982.

Aichern's motto was: In caritate servire ("To serve in love"). He was known as the “Social Bishop of Austria”. Within the Austrian Bishops' Conference he was responsible for social and political issues. The world of work or the Sunday rest were particular concerns for him. Under his leadership, the bishops drew up the social shepherd letter of the Catholic bishops of Austria in 1990 . He was also instrumental in the creation of the Social Word of the World Council of Churches in Austria , which was published in 2003. He also founded the Episcopal Unemployment Foundation and paved the way for the “Alliance for Free Sunday”.

Aichern spoke against the reprocessing plant in Wackersdorf and called in a pastoral letter the construction and operation of nuclear power plants "after Chernobyl " as "ethically no longer acceptable."

In the first ten years after taking office, he officially visited all 485 parishes in the diocese as bishop. For several years Aichern accommodated two refugee families in his bishop's house.

In 2005, he surprisingly announced his resignation for reasons of age, which Pope Benedict XVI had on May 18 . was accepted. After that, at the request of the Pope, he remained Apostolic Administrator of the Diocese of Linz until the inauguration of his successor Ludwig Schwarz on July 6, 2005 .

In an interview in 2012, Maximilian Aichern expressed understanding for the concerns of the Austrian pastors' initiative .

criticism

Aichern was repeatedly criticized for his conduct of office (too liberal in the eyes of many conservatives), and complaints were also lodged in Rome. The private association " kath.net " denounced on its website in particular the alleged or actually tolerated violation of liturgical norms at mass and the dispensing of the sacraments. When announcing his resignation, Aichern emphasized not to resign because of this criticism, quote: “Certainly not. I should have resigned much earlier ”.

Works

  • Churches and chapels in the parishes of the Diocese of Linz. An art-historical-pastoral documentation . Bischöfliches Ordinariat, Linz 2001, ISBN 3-902195-00-2 .

Honors (excerpt)

literature

Web links

Commons : Maximilian Aichern  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Social shepherd letter from the Catholic bishops of Austria. Osterr. Bishops' Conference, May 15, 1990 Text online: [1]
  2. ↑ http://www.sozialwort.at/
  3. ^ Herbert Schorn: Maximilian Aichern: Bishop instead of butcher. www.nachrichten.at, December 27, 2017
  4. ^ Church: Potatoes and Cabbage - ( Der Spiegel, September 29, 1986)
  5. ^ A b Maximilian Aichern has been a bishop for 30 years. religion.orf.at, accessed on June 23, 2012 .
  6. ↑ Liberal Bishop Aichern after resignation: "Have done my services". In: derStandard.at. May 23, 2005, accessed December 5, 2017 .
  7. ↑ Rome wanted to put Aichern in front of the auxiliary bishop. In: derStandard.at. May 23, 2005, accessed December 5, 2017 .
  8. ↑ orf.at - Theologians confirm "denunciations" ( Memento from May 23, 2005 in the Internet Archive )
  9. ↑ http://www.news.at/a/dioezesanbischof-aichern-wechsel-spitze-linzer-kirche-112393
  10. ↑ List of all decorations awarded by the Federal President for services to the Republic of Austria from 1952 (PDF; 6.9 MB)
  11. ↑ Bishop Aichern receives the Great Gold Medal of Honor from the State of Upper Austria Bishop Aichern receives the Great Gold Medal of Honor from the State of Upper Austria ( Memento from October 27, 2012 in the Internet Archive )
  12. ^ Bishop Aichern honored with the Wenzl Prize. Oberösterreichische Nachrichten, October 28, 2008, p. 5
predecessor Office successor
Franz Zauner Bishop of Linz
1981-2005 		Ludwig Schwarz
Koloman Holzinger Abbot praeses of the Austrian Benedictine Congregation
1978–1982 		Clemens Lashofer
Wilhelm Blaindorfer Abbot of the Abbey of St. Lambrecht
Abbot coadjutor 1964–1977, Abbot 1977–1982 		Otto Strohmaier
personal data
SURNAME Aichern, Maximilian
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Aichern, Maximilian OSB
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Austrian religious, bishop of the diocese of Linz
DATE OF BIRTH December 26, 1932
PLACE OF BIRTH Vienna