Norbert Weber (Benedictine)

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Abbot Norbert Weber OSB, 1903

Norbert Weber OSB (born December 20, 1870 in Langweid am Lech ; † April 3, 1956 in Litembo / Tanzania ) was a missionary benedictine and first abbot and archabbot of the St. Ottilien monastery .

Life

Weber was the second of three children and came from a poor background. He was baptized in the name of Joseph. The family was forced to move frequently due to the father's job as a railway attendant. “He himself once mentioned that his upbringing was 'completely closed off from the outside', perhaps explained by the many transfers that the family threw back on itself” (Schäfer 2005, p. 35). Together with his older brother, Josef attended the seminary in Dillingen an der Donau . In July 1885 he was ordained and a few weeks later, in August 1895, he was proposed as a candidate for the Benedictine mission house in Sankt Ottilien . When he was accepted as a novice , he was given the religious name Norbert. On November 1, 1897 Weber took the religious vows . On December 18, 1902, at the age of 32, Father Norbert Weber became the first abbot of the Emming-St. Ottilien elected. He chose “ Ave Maris Stella - Greetings from the Sea Star ” as the motto of his office , the beginning of the well-known Marian hymn. In 1907 he became an honorary member of the KBStV Rhaetia Munich .

To support St. Ottilien, the monasteries Münsterschwarzach and Schweiklberg were founded in Bavaria and elevated to abbeys in 1914. Together with St. Ottilien (abbey since 1902) and Seoul (abbey since 1913) they formed the Benedictine Congregation of St. Ottilien. St. Ottilien itself was made an archabbey.

Father Norbert Weber's reign from 1902 to 1930, which was very much characterized by extensive trips to mission countries such as Korea, East Africa and South America, did not pass without internal and external crises: The disruptions of the First World War , a certain inhomogeneity of the still young convention and financial problems of the monastery , also caused by the business inexperience of the archabbot, made the community and Weber's sensitive disposition very difficult. There were considerable difficulties with the house superiors, since the archabbot allowed the “card game in recreation, football with the brothers, smoking with the clergy and walks for two” (Schäfer 2005, p. 134). After lengthy disputes, the abbot primate Fidelis von Stotzingen endorsed Weber's resignation with the following words: “The events of the last few years, which are largely due to the poor health of the archabbot, have damaged his authority so badly that another promising leadership of the Congregation is difficult, if not impossible. ” (Quoted in Schäfer 2005, p. 180).

Nevertheless, the overall balance of Weber's abbot years remains impressive: when he resigned after 30 years, he had transferred the Upper Bavarian foundation , which had 99 monks at the beginning of his abbatement, into a globally widespread and respected mission society with almost 1,000 members. During his term of office, the congregation expanded into Switzerland and East Asia, Latin America and South Africa, the USA and the Westphalian Sauerland.

After his resignation, which he felt as an insulting defeat, he worked at the East African mission station Litembo in the Matengo mountainous region. Archabbot Norbert traveled to the mission stations in the Apostolic Prefecture of Lindi , held retreats for the sisters and monks who worked there, heard confessions, visited the sick and regularly went on extensive confirmation journeys. He also ran an art workshop “in which he made altars, statues and pictures in a neo-Gothic folk style for the often bare missionary churches ... His diverse interests and experiences made him a valued advisor to the missionaries, but also always lent a hand in the small needs of everyday life and enjoyed doing manual work. ” (Schäfer 2005, p. 184).

In 1952 Weber traveled again to Germany to celebrate his golden jubilee in the Archabbey of St. Ottilien. He found his final resting place in the cemetery of Peramiho (Tanzania).

Works (selection)

  • In the land of the morning calm. Travel memories of Korea, Munich 1915
  • The sacred willow, St. Otillien 1919
  • In the diamond mountains of Korea, St. Ottilien 1927
  • Father Lukas Etlin, St. Ottilien 1931

Literature (selection)

  • Cyrill Schäfer: Stella Maris. Size and limits of the first Archabbot of St. Ottilien P. Norbert Weber OSB 1870–1956. EOS-Verlag, St. Ottilien 2005, ISBN 3-8306-7223-3 .
  • P. Frumentius Renner (Ed.): Norbert Weber . In: Lebensbilder from Bavarian Swabia , Vol. 11, Augsburg 1977, pp. 327–347.
  • Godfrey Sieber, Cyrill Schäfer: Persistence and Mission. Festschrift St. Ottilien, St. Ottilien 2003, pp. 103–179.

Web links
predecessor Office successor
Ludger Leonhard Abbot of St. Ottilien
1902–1914 / 1930 		Chrysostom Schmid
Ildefon's racks Superior General of the Congregation of St. Ottilien
1902–1914 / 1931 		Chrysostom Schmid
--- Archabbot of St. Ottilien and the Ottilian Congregation
1914–1930 / 31 		Chrysostom Schmid
personal data
SURNAME Weber, Norbert
BRIEF DESCRIPTION first abbot of the Benedictine Archabbey of St. Ottilien
DATE OF BIRTH December 20, 1870
PLACE OF BIRTH Langweid am Lech
DATE OF DEATH April 3, 1956
Place of death Litembo , Tanzania