Peter von Richarz

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Peter von Richarz, contemporary painting in the Episcopal Ordinariate Speyer
Peter von Richarz as Bishop of Augsburg, contemporary lithograph
Peter von Richarz as Bishop of Augsburg.

Peter von Richarz (born May 23, 1783 in Würzburg ; † July 2, 1855 in Augsburg ) was a theologian, priest, school and university teacher and senior librarian in Würzburg, bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Speyer from 1835 to 1836 and from 1836 to 1855 Bishop of Augsburg .

Life

Peter Richarz was born on May 23, 1783 as the son of the corporal from Bonn to the Prince-Bishop's Hussars, Peter Richarz and his wife Katharina born. Zollmann, born in Würzburg. The father died early. After finishing school in Würzburg and Bamberg, the boy attended Bamberg University from 1800 . In 1802 he entered the spiritual seminary in Würzburg. There he was ordained a priest on April 11, 1807. After a brief activity as a chaplain in Haßfurt and as an educator in the house of Baron von Bechtolsheim in Würzburg, he became a grammar school teacher in Würzburg in 1809. From 1817 he held lectures on classical philology at Würzburg University as a professor ; Several times he was dean of the Faculty of Philosophy, rector of the university from 1829 to 1830 and also chief librarian there from 1832. As such, in 1833 he employed his godchild, the clergyman and later member of the Bavarian state parliament, Anton Ruland , as a librarian there. A little later he became head of the school department in the Lower Main District .

King Ludwig I appointed Richarz Bishop of Speyer on March 23, 1835; at the same time he raised him to the nobility. He received his episcopal ordination on November 1, 1835 in Bamberg from Archbishop Joseph Maria von Fraunberg . Bishop Adam Friedrich Groß zu Trockau from Würzburg and Auxiliary Bishop Bonifaz Kaspar von Urban from Regensburg acted as co-consecrators .

In his Modern History of the Bishops of Speyer , Franz Xaver Remling describes him as follows:

“A tall, lean man with an elongated, strongly drawn face, high forehead, thick, black hair, strong eyebrows, of a serious, somewhat gloomy appearance, which, however, was gently softened while speaking. He always showed untiring diligence, an extremely clear and bright mind, unwavering willpower, great knowledge of human nature and prudent wisdom ... His whole demeanor, his calm, measured speaking, in which one could easily recognize the long-term university professor from the many interspersed explanations, instilled respect and awe involuntarily a."

- Remling

Richarz showed great commitment from the start. At Christmas 1835 he preached personally in the cathedral pulpit, making him the first Speyer bishop since time immemorial to do this himself and not leave it to other clergymen. He traveled tirelessly to company and visit the diocese. He formed the closest friendship with the cathedral capitulars Nikolaus Weis and Johann Jakob Geissel , his two successors in the episcopate; He remained close friends with Geissel in particular and proposed him to the king as his desired successor.

Despite the goodwill of both parties, there were repeated controversies with the cathedral chapter, especially over the question of mixed marriages , where the bishop took a rather mild stance. The diocesan clergy also took offense at some of the shepherd's measures, such as the fact that he never stayed in the parsonage as a guest of the pastor during parish visits, but always in an inn. Richarz wanted to keep a certain distance in order to be able to properly reprimand the pastor if necessary, which would have been more difficult for him as his guest. One also viewed his conduct with the visitations, without consulting the local pastors, alone with the parishioners and church leaders, the lay people, because he always wanted to know the full truth about the behavior of his clergy. So there was no lack of friction, and the relationship between the Palatinate clergy and the Franconian shepherd suffered significantly.

Both the bishop and the government wanted to prevent conditions like those under the two also non-Palatinate predecessors, Matthäus Georg von Chandelle and Johann Martin Manl . In 1836, Richarz applied for the recently vacated bishopric in Augsburg and King Ludwig I immediately agreed. The Minister of State for Internal and Church Affairs Theodor von Zwehl summed up the causes: "Because experience has taught how the Palatinate clergy allows every exdiocesan (from outside their own diocese) to denigrate themselves as intruders."

Ludwig I appointed Peter von Richarz Bishop of Augsburg on September 20, 1836 and appointed him to the Chamber of Imperial Councils, of which he was a member until 1849. Richarz was very artistic and charitable; as a member of the Chamber of Imperial Councils, an opponent of liberalism loyal to the king. He stood up firmly for the rights of the church and contributed significantly to the consolidation of the relationship between state and church. The bishop died on July 2, 1855 in Augsburg and is buried in the cathedral there.

Peter von Richarz was friends with Professor Franz von Berks and his family, and he was also friends with the later Archbishop of Munich Anton von Steichele , who worked as a tutor in this family and later became Richarz's secretary in Augsburg. Bishop Richarz's special trust was in his vicar general Anton Mätzler from Vorarlberg (1780–1857). On August 6, 1852, Bishop Richarz ordained the later famous naturopath Sebastian Kneipp as a priest in the Augsburg Cathedral .

literature

Web links

Commons : Peter von Richarz  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Modern history of the bishops of Speyer . Pp. 521-522
predecessor Office successor
Johann Martin Manl Bishop of Speyer
1835–1836 		Johann Jakob von Geissel
Ignaz Albert von Riegg Bishop of Augsburg
1836–1855 		Michael von Deinlein
personal data
SURNAME Richarz, Peter von
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Bishop of Speyer and Augsburg
DATE OF BIRTH May 23, 1783
PLACE OF BIRTH Wurzburg
DATE OF DEATH July 2, 1855
Place of death augsburg