Peter Paul Cahensly

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Peter Paul Cahensly

Simon Peter Paul Cahensly (born October 28, 1838 in Limburg an der Lahn , † December 25, 1923 in Koblenz ) was a German wholesale merchant and Catholic social politician. In particular, he made a contribution to the support of German Catholic emigrants .

Life and professional commitment

Cahensly's grandparents originally came from the Swiss Grisons , but also owned a house in Limburg that later became the family seat. Cahensly attended the Realschule in Limburg and the Realgymnasium in Trier . He then completed a commercial apprenticeship in Cologne and later worked as a businessman in Le Havre . There he got to know the hard fate of emigrants overseas. Professionally, he traveled to many parts of Germany and numerous European countries. In 1868 he took over the family business in Limburg, which operated wholesale of colonial goods and was active in the banking business. Cahensly continued to expand the company.

Cahensly was strictly Catholic, which is why he attended mass every day and let his company's apprentices live with him in order to raise them to be good Christians. He also campaigned for the settlement of the Pallottines in Limburg.

In 1870, Cahensly was one of the co-founders of the Nassauer Bote , which from then on was printed in the Limburger Vereindruckerei , of which Cahensly was also one of the founders.

Emigration aid

Cahensly's brochure on the problem of emigrants, 1887
Cahensly's tomb in the cathedral cemetery in Limburg

In 1871 Cahensly founded the “ St. Raphaels Association for the Protection of German Emigrants ” to offer them organizational help and protection. The religious component was also important to him, as the association was particularly concerned with the “salvation of the soul” of the emigrants.

Cahensly traveled to the United States in 1883 as the general secretary of the association . The aim was to get to know the living conditions of the emigrants on the crossing, their situation after arriving in New York City and in the destination areas. On the three-month trip, he visited German settlers in various states.

In 1898 he was appointed to the Advisory Board for Emigration. A year later he became President of the St. Raphael Society. In the long term, Cahensly's work led to an improvement in conditions in the ports and on the emigrant ships. International organizations for the protection of emigrants emerged. In Germany, not least at the instigation of Cahensly, an imperial law on emigration was passed (1897).

In addition to the emigrants, he also tried to find Catholic seamen by founding seafaring missions and Italian seasonal workers.

Dispute over Cahenslyism

In the United States, the attempt of his association to create German-language pastoral care for emigrants met with resistance because it was assumed to be a national "Cahenslyism". In fact, as the spokesman for a section of the German-born Catholics who were mostly anti-liberal because of the culture war in their homeland , Cahensly claimed a certain independence and consideration of this group by the church hierarchy in America. On the other hand, Archbishop John Ireland and Cardinal James Gibbons pleaded for a rapid Americanization of immigrants. Pope Leo XIII. In 1899 he wrote “Testem benevolentiae” to Cardinal Gibbons, with which he wanted to bring calm to the lively American discussion.

Political activity

Cahensly was also politically active. From 1904 to 1914 he was head of the city council and a member of the district council. He was also a member of the Prussian House of Representatives for the Center Party between 1886 and 1916 and of the Reichstag from 1898 to 1903 .

At the end of the 19th century he campaigned for the preservation of the Seltersbrunnen after the fountain had lost its top position in the market in 1875 and was taken over by the bottle manufacturer Friedrich Siemens in 1894. Also Cahensly called for an expansion of up to now with the municipalities low- and Oberselters agreed house trunks to the citizens of several neighboring municipalities, but could not prevail. In addition, he fought unsuccessfully on behalf of the Westerwald Kannenbäcker for the contractually agreed purchase of two million jugs per year with Siemens, which the company did not adhere to.

Honors

Memorial plaque in Limburg, Kornmarkt 9

In 1899 Cahensly received the papal cross of honor "Pro ecclesia et pontifice" in gold and in 1907 was appointed papal secret chamberlain. In 1911 the 58th General Assembly of German Catholics elected him honorary president on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the St. Raphaels Association. In 1913 he was made an honorary member of the German Caritas Association. In 1903 he received the title of Royal Prussian Commerce Council. On October 28, 1913, he was made an honorary citizen of Limburg. Today the Peter-Paul-Cahensly School and a street in Limburg are named after him.

Individual evidence

  1. ^ The way of Europe and the public task of theologies p. 61 Digitalisat , also Hermanns, 2011, p. 49–56.
  2. ^ Mann, Bernhard (edit.): Biographical manual for the Prussian House of Representatives. 1867-1918 . Collaboration with Martin Doerry , Cornelia Rauh and Thomas Kühne . Düsseldorf: Droste Verlag, 1988, p. 93 (handbooks on the history of parliamentarism and political parties: vol. 3)
  3. ↑ Honest in trade, christian in change on fnp.de, accessed on March 15, 2014
  4. ↑ Limburg PPC School. Retrieved September 14, 2017 .

literature

Web links

Commons : Peter Paul Cahensly  - collection of images, videos and audio files
personal data
SURNAME Cahensly, Peter Paul
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German politician (center), MdR
DATE OF BIRTH October 28, 1838
PLACE OF BIRTH Limburg
DATE OF DEATH December 25, 1923
Place of death Koblenz