Melchior Diepenbrock

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Melchior von Diepenbrock (painting by J. Pater ca.1850)

Melchior Ferdinand Joseph Diepenbrock (from 1845 Melchior Ferdinand Joseph Freiherr von Diepenbrock ; born January 6, 1798 in Bocholt in Westphalia ; † January 20, 1853 at Johannesberg Castle in what was then Austrian Silesia ) was a German theologian . He was Prince-Bishop of Breslau from 1845 to 1853 and cardinal from 1850 .

Life

Melchior Diepenbrock as Regensburg Canon

Melchior Diepenbrock came from a Bocholt patrician family . His parents were Anton Diepenbrock, Salm'scher Hofkammerrat, and Franziska, geb. Kesting gave birth to four sons and five daughters, among them Apollonia Diepenbrock . He spent his childhood on the Haus Horst family estate in Holtwick , now a part of Bocholt. After participating in the French campaign of 1815 and visiting the French Lyceum in Bonn , he decided - probably under the influence of the Landshut professor and later Bishop of Regensburg, Johann Michael Sailer , who visited Horst in 1818 - to take up the spiritual profession. After studies at the universities of Landshut , Mainz and Münster he received in the December 27, 1823 Regensburg the priesthood . Then he devoted himself to the study of ecclesiastical mysticism of the Middle Ages.

In 1829 Diepenbrock became secretary to the newly elected Regensburg Bishop Johann Michael Sailer. In 1830 he was appointed canon . Although he refused to succeed Sailer - who died in 1832 - he became a canon and cathedral preacher , in 1835 cathedral dean and in 1842 vicar general . For his services to Regensburg, he received the title of Bavarian baron in 1845 .

Episcopal coat of arms

Bishop of Wroclaw

Bishop Melchior von Diepenbrock

After the death of Wroclaw Bishop Joseph Knauer , the cathedral chapter elected at the express request of Pope Gregory XVI. Melchior von Diepenbrock on January 15, 1845 as his successor. Already in July 1841 Heinrich Förster had informed Diepenbrock, who was the cathedral dean in Regensburg, that he had succeeded in putting him on the current list of candidates for the office of bishop in Breslau. The Archbishop of Salzburg, Schwarzenberg, was ordained bishop on June 8, 1845 in Salzburg, and he was enthroned on July 27, 1845 in the Cathedral of Breslau, with Förster giving the ceremonial address. On April 10, Diepenbrock (like Heinrich Förster) received an honorary doctorate from the Catholic theological faculty of the University of Breslau. theol. hc received. With his office as bishop Diepenbrock was also sworn in as prince of the Austrian part of the Principality of Neisse and in Vienna as prince of around 70,000 Austrian subjects.

As senior shepherd , Diepenbrock took measures to renew church life and promoted the activities of Catholic associations. To combat poverty and improve social conditions, he brought the Borromean Sisters and the Vincentine Sisters and the poor school sisters to his diocese and founded the Congregation of the Gray Sisters. During his tenure in Breslau, the theological Konvikt was expanded and a boys' seminary was founded.

Von Diepenbrock resolutely opposed the German Catholics with retreats and people's missions , but tolerated the state church laws (he excommunicated the Catholic Prince Hermann Anton von Hatzfeld (1808–1874), who was married twice to a Protestant woman and divorced from his first wife). His pastoral letter in the revolutionary year of 1848 , which supported the Prussian state, received great attention .

On May 19, 1848, he became a member of the Frankfurt National Assembly as a representative for the Opole district , but resigned from parliament on August 29, 1848 due to illness. 1850 appointed him king Friedrich Wilhelm IV. The military chaplaincy of Prussia. Because of his services to the Church, Pope Pius IX raised him . cardinal in the consistory of September 30, 1850 that same year.

Diepenbrock also tried to exert influence outside of his diocese. When the Kingdom of Bavaria was threatened by the Lola Montez affair , he wrote admonishing and warning letters to King Ludwig I , which should not have remained without influence.

In his literary work he translated works in foreign languages ​​and in 1829 published the Geistlicher Blumenstrauss collection with some of his own poems.

In 1849 a new street was named after him near the Catholic garrison church of Berlin in Melchiorstraße - the Silesians made up a large part of the Catholics among the predominantly Protestant Prussian soldiers.

Diepenbrock, who died at the age of 55 in his summer residence in Jauernig , was cared for by his charitable sister Apollonia , was buried in Breslau Cathedral .

His future successor Heinrich Förster held the funeral speech. Cardinal Friedrich zu Schwarzenberg from Prague and the Catholic Prince Boguslaw von Radziwill as a representative of the Protestant Prussian King were present at the funeral service .

Letters

Publications

  • Spiritual bouquet from Spanish and German poets' gardens presented to friends of Christian poetry. , Seidel , Sulzbach / Regensburg 1826 (collection).
  • Memories of the young Count von Stolberg
  • Heinrich Susos, called Amandus, life and writings , Regensburg 1829
  • Collected sermons , Regensburg 1841 to 1843
  • Pastoral letter from the most revered Prince-Bishop of Breslau, Melchior Freiherr von Diepenbrock, to the entire venerable clergy and all believers of the diocese when he took office. Heinrich Richter, Breslau 1845; 3rd edition on commission from G. Ph. Aderholz (print and paper by Heinrich Richter), Breslau 1845 ( digitized version )
  • Pastoral letters from Sr. Eminence of the Cardinal Prince-Bishop of Breslau, Melchior Baron von Diepenbrock, Doctor of Theology, Knight etc. etc. (“With the permission of Sr. Eminence from the Cardinal Prince-Bishop. The proceeds are for the production of the St. Willibrordus built St. Martin's parish church in Emmerich am Rhein ”), Aschendorff, Münster 1853.

literature

  • Heinrich Förster: Cardinal and Prince-Bishop Melchior von Diepenbrock. A picture of life. From his successor in the episcopal chair. 2nd edition, F. Hirt, Breslau 1859.
  • Karl Kastner: Wroclaw Bishops. East German publishing company, Breslau 1929
  • Alexander Loichinger : Melchior Diepenbrock. His youth and his work in the diocese of Regensburg (1798–1845) (= contributions to the history of the diocese of Regensburg 22, ISSN  0522-6619 ). Association for Regensburg Diocese History, Regensburg 1988. At the same time: Diss., Munich 1987.
  • Joseph Hubert Reinkens: Melchior von Diepenbrock. A picture of time and life. Fernau, Leipzig 1881.
  • Johannes Horsthemke: Melchior von Diepenbrock as a translator of Spanish poetry (= German university writings , old series 14). Hänsel-Hohenhausen, Egelsbach u. a. 1992, ISBN 3-89349-001-9 . At the same time: Diss., Münster (Westphalia) 1913 (1 microfiche).
  • Alfons Nowack : Cardinal Diepenbrock's correspondence with Countess Ida Hahn-Hahn before and after her conversion. Munich 1931.
  • Alfons Nowack: Unprinted letters from and to Cardinal Melchior von Diepenbrock. According to the material available in the Archbishop's Diocesan Archives in Breslau. (with imprimatur of A. Cardinal Bertram Archbishop of Breslau) Breslau 1931.
  • Alfons Nowack: Briven van Conscience to Melchior Baron von Diepenbrock, prinsbisschop van Breslau. Wroclaw 1932.
  • Alfons Nowack: memorial sheets to Cardinal Diepenbrock. Wroclaw 1934.
  • Wilhelm Strobl: Cardinal Melchior Freiherr von Diepenbrock, Prince-Bishop of Breslau, and the princely Thurn and Taxis council and prince educator Joseph Strobl. A friendship in letters. For the 100th anniversary of the cardinal's death. Nuremberg 1953 (Free series of publications by the Society for Family Research in Franconia , 5).
  • Jolán Gloßner-Gitschner:  Diepenbrock, Melchior von. In: New German Biography (NDB). Volume 3, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 1957, ISBN 3-428-00184-2 , p. 651 ( digitized version ).
  • Joseph Hubert Reinkens:  Diepenbrock, Melchior Freiherr von . In: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB). Volume 5, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1877, pp. 130-138.
  • H. Schmidt:  Diepenbrock, Melchior . In: Realencyklopadie for Protestant Theology and Church (RE). 3. Edition. Volume 4, Hinrichs, Leipzig 1898, pp. 644-646.
  • Friedrich Wilhelm Bautz :  Diepenbrock, Melchior from. In: Biographisch-Bibliographisches Kirchenlexikon (BBKL). Volume 1, Bautz, Hamm 1975. 2nd, unchanged edition Hamm 1990, ISBN 3-88309-013-1 , Sp. 1290-1292.  ( Article / beginning of article in Internet archive )

Web links

Commons : Melchior von Diepenbrock  - Collection of images, videos and audio files
Wikisource: Melchior von Diepenbrock  - Sources and full texts

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Joseph Hubert Reinkens:  Diepenbrock, Melchior Freiherr von . In: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB). Volume 5, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1877, pp. 130-138.
  2. ↑ Michael Sachs: 'Prince Bishop and Vagabond'. The story of a friendship between the Prince-Bishop of Breslau Heinrich Förster (1799–1881) and the writer and actor Karl von Holtei (1798–1880). Edited textually based on the original Holteis manuscript. In: Medical historical messages. Journal for the history of science and specialist prose research. Volume 35, 2016 (2018), pp. 223–291, here: p. 275.
  3. ^ Heinrich Förster: Sermon on the day of the solemn installation of the Most Revered Prince-Bishop of Breslau Baron v. Diepenbrock, Doctor of Theology, Knight etc. held in the cathedral church on the eleventh Sunday after Pentecost by Dr. H. Forster, canon, cathedral preacher, prince-bishop vicariate and consistorial council. Printed on request. 4th edition. F. Hirt, Breslau / Ratibor 1845.
  4. ↑ Michael Sachs (2016), p. 275.
  5. ↑ Michael Sachs (2016), p. 275.
  6. ↑ Michael Sachs: 'Prince Bishop and Vagabond'. The story of a friendship between the Prince-Bishop of Breslau Heinrich Förster (1799–1881) and the writer and actor Karl von Holtei (1798–1880). Edited textually based on the original Holteis manuscript. In: Medical historical messages. Journal for the history of science and specialist prose research. Volume 35, 2016 (2018), pp. 223–291, here: pp. 228 f.
  7. ↑ Melchiorstrasse. In: Street name lexicon of the Luisenstädtischer Bildungsverein (near  Kaupert )
  8. ^ Heinrich Förster: Mourning speech on the death of the Most Revered Mr. Cardinals and Prince-Bishop of Breslau Freiherr Melchior von Diepenbrock, held at the solemn funeral on January 26, 1853 by Dr. H. Forster, cathedral capitular and cathedral preacher etc. On request. G. Ph. Aderholz, Breslau 1853.
  9. ↑ Michael Sachs (2016), p. 276.
  10. ^ Fritz Reuter Literature Archive Berlin
predecessor Office successor
Joseph Knauer Bishop of Breslau
1845–1853 		Heinrich Forster
personal data
SURNAME Diepenbrock, Melchior
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Diepenbrock, Melchior Ferdinand Joseph Freiherr von
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Cardinal and Prince-Bishop of Wroclaw
DATE OF BIRTH January 6, 1798
PLACE OF BIRTH Bocholt
DATE OF DEATH January 20, 1853
Place of death Johannesberg Castle near Jauernig Austrian Silesia