Peter Rascher

Peter de Raschèr (1549–1601) Prince-Bishop of Chur 1582–1601

Peter (von) Rascher ( Romansh Peter (de) Raschèr ; * 1549 in Zuoz , Switzerland , † January 3, 1601 in Chur ) was Roman Catholic Bishop of Chur .

Life

Peter was the son of a Landammann (mayor) in the Upper Engadin with the same first name and grandson of Johann Martin Rascher, who was ennobled in 1550. His mother was the daughter of Johann Travers , ennobled in 1519 , Landammann in the Upper Engadine, governor of the Valtellina and commander in the Müsserkrieg . His brother Hans de Raschèr (1546–1620) was a castle captain at the Fürstenburg , court master in Chur, guild master of the shoemaker and from 1616 city judge in Chur. The father placed the upbringing of his son in the hands of Carthusian monks in the Buxheim monastery in Swabia . In 1568 he went to study at the University of Ingolstadt . He was canon in Chur, pastor in Bergün / Bravuogn and from 1578 cathedral cantor .

As a candidate for the Association of Churches , he was elected Bishop of Chur as the successor to the resigned Beatus a Porta in 1581, despite concerns from the nuncio Giovanni Francesco Bonomi who was present . The election was confirmed on November 6, 1581 by Pope Gregory XIII and given a dispensation because of the lack of a doctorate . He was ordained bishop on March 25, 1582 in the parish church of Feldkirch, the auxiliary bishop in Constance, Balthasar Wurer . The parish church is today the cathedral of St. Nikolaus , cathedral of the diocese of Feldkirch . On August 16, 1582 he received imperial regalia from Emperor Rudolf II .

Bishop Peter Rascher had little spiritual and spiritual ties, he lived like some of his predecessors in cohabitation , his brother, the episcopal court master, had converted to the new faith and remained in office. The apostolic nuncio had to repeatedly demand the long overdue reforms from the resolutions of the Council of Trent . Furthermore, the relationship between the Roman Curia and the Diocese of Chur was tense during Bishop Peter Rascher's tenure. The Archbishop of Milan , Carlo Cardinal Borromeo , carried out the first reforms in the Misox Valley in autumn 1583 , but was prevented by the heads of the Three Leagues from continuing to Chur and Hohenems . At the urging of the imperial family and the nunciature, he appointed clerics willing to reform as visitors , who brought sobering results to light in Vorarlberg and Vinschgau about the lifestyle of the clergy and their priestly spirituality. Vicar General Nicolaus Venosta issued strict rules for pastoral care , the dispensing of the sacraments and the administration of ecclesiastical goods immediately after knowing the situation . The basis was the Missale Curiense from 1589, the Rituale Curiense from 1590 and the changed new edition the Breviarium Curiense from 1490/1520. In 1599, after his visit to Chur , Nuncio Giovanni della Torre issued new ordinances for the bishop and cathedral chapter. He also called for the establishment of an educational facility for the next generation of priests, which was built in the rooms of the Benedictine Abbey of Disentis . Towards the end of his tenure, Peter Rascher showed himself open to the Tridentine reform.

Weakened by illness, he died on January 3, 1601 and was buried in the Cathedral of the Assumption in Chur.

literature

• Erwin Gatz : The Bishops of the Holy Roman Empire. 1448 to 1648. Duncker and Humblot, Berlin 1996, ISBN 3-428-08422-5 , pp. 549 f.
• Albert Fischer: Reformatio and Restitutio: The Diocese of Chur in the Age of Tridentine Faith Renewal. At the same time a contribution to the history of priestly formation and pastoral reform (1601-1661). Chronos, Zurich 2000, ISBN 3-905314-14-2 , pp. 148–155.
• Pierre Louis Surchat:  Peter de Raschèr. In: New German Biography (NDB). Volume 20, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 2001, ISBN 3-428-00201-6 , p. 220 f. ( Digitized version ).
• Pierre Surchat: Raschèr, Peter de. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland .

Web links

Commons : Peter de Rascher  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• Entry on Peter von Rascher on catholic-hierarchy.org ; accessed on November 14, 2016.
• The portraits of the Chur (prince) bishops in the knight's hall of the Episcopal Palace in Chur - Peter von Raschèr 1581–1601 ( Memento from November 11, 2013 in the Internet Archive )

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Constant Wieser: Travers, Johann [Gian]. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland .
2. ↑ Ursula Kecklin: Raschèr, Hans von. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland .
3. ↑ Le Petit Episcopologist. Issue 204, No. 16, 827
4. ↑ Hierarchia Catholica Medii et Recentioris Aevi. Volume 3, p. 183
5. ^ Albert Fischer: Peter Raschèr 1581–1601.

predecessor	Office	successor
Beatus a Porta	Bishop of Chur 1581–1601	Johann Flugi