Richard Thalmann

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Richard Thalmann (born June 3, 1915 in Gossau ; † May 28, 2002 in Walenstadt , von Jonschwil ) was a Swiss Catholic theologian and priest .

Life

Richard Thalmann was a citizen of Jonschwil (SG) and grew up in Gossau and Flums . After the high school years with the Capuchins in Stans, he decided to study theology. From 1936 until the German troops marched into Austria in 1938, he studied with the Jesuits (including Karl Rahner and Hugo Rahner ) at the Canisianum in Innsbruck . He completed his further studies at the University of Freiburg i.Ü. , from 1939 to 1941 at the Theological Faculty and, after he was ordained a priest in 1941, at the Philosophical Faculty in the subjects of history, philosophy and art history.

In 1945 he completed his studies with a doctorate and became vicar in St. Georgen St. Gallen . Here he founded the Catholic student pastoral care of the University of St. Gallen (HSG) on a private basis . From 1952 to 1960 he was a pastor in Balgach , where he distinguished himself as a pastor and preacher as well as an initiating "builder" in the renovation of the church.

In 1956 the HSG gave him a lectureship in Catholic theology , which he held until his retirement in 1982. In 1960, a Catholic student pastoral care was officially created at the HSG and Dr. Richard Thalmann installed as a student pastor. In 1962 he set up the adult education institution “Gallus Institute” under the sign of the pastoral care of students and academics. In 1964 he created the “Akademikerhaus” in St. Gallen as a place for lectures, discussions and concerts and in 1973 the “Predigerhaus” in Flums as a further place for cultural and religious encounters. In 1979 he was appointed titular professor for Catholic theology by the University Council of the HSG . Countless articles have appeared in newspapers and magazines over the years. In addition to numerous small fonts, he published over a dozen illustrated books with meditation texts in his own “Rat-Verlag”. Even after his retirement, Richard Thalmann remained active as a pastor, tireless publicist and preacher as well as a visual artist. A large part of his estate is now in the St. Gallen State Archives.

Act

Richard Thalmann has been active in many different ways in his life, such as a preacher, pastor, writer, painter, entrepreneur and representative for matters of faith in the media. His books are characterized by poetic and lyrical texts on meditation. The University of St.Gallen appointed him the first official Catholic student chaplain.

Preacher and pastor

He was an eloquent rhetorician and writer. For example, Werner Zurfluh judges: “In his fluency in words and language he is almost reminiscent of Old Testament prophets. He literally forces his contemporaries to think. Whereby there is an essential difference: while the prophets conjure up a 'hard', often punishing God, the other way round with Thalmann it is a 'dear', loving God. ”The main theme in sermons, writings and books by Richard Thalmann is the encounter of the poor-blessed People with the good, loving, philanthropic God. Blum put it this way: “It is crucial that he shows people in dialogue with God. God is the one with whom man can always speak, and that gives light and warmth and security to man's life ”.

Preacher who writes, paints and is present in the media

According to A. Meier, Thalmann loved “the creative diversity of artistic expression of words and language and colors”. Blum describes it as follows: "For him, colors are synonymous with terms such as heaven and earth, God and man, life and death, light and dark, warmth and cold." Remember the books Sacraments as an Exchange between God and Man and the Rules of the Game of Human Existence as well as the 14 meditation books published between 1977 and 1991 by the St. Galler Rat-Verlag, some of which were published in coproduction with the Kyrios-Verlag in Meitingen.

Richard Thalmann was present in the media as a “writing preacher” through countless newspaper articles for decades, the “Sunday thoughts” appeared from around 1950 in the magazine Die Ostschweiz , the “Words for the Week” appeared from 1985 to 2001 in the magazine Sonntag and he was from 1977 to 1995 editor for the parish gazette of the city of St. Gallen . He was also involved in preaching the Faith on radio and television. On the radio he was broadcast on Radio DRS , Radio International and Radio aktuell , on television he could be seen in Word for Sunday . In theory, he dealt with the possibilities of preaching in an open society, so in 1982 he published the article Die Medienpredigt am Radio in the Catholic magazine COMMUNIO .

Student chaplain at the St. Gallen Commercial College

The establishment and development of Catholic pastoral care for students at the St. Gallen Commercial College (HSG), today's University of St. Gallen, is linked to Richard Thalmann. Decades before people began to think of the company as a social system, as Vicar of St. Georgen / St. Gallen he already vehemently advocated that all economic thinking and acting could only be successful on a clear ethical basis. In 1960, Richard Thalmann was officially appointed the HSG's first Catholic student chaplain. In this function he developed many activities until his retirement in 1982: 41 semesters, 45 different lecture cycles, over 10,000 students. The lecture series, often with the help of well-known guest speakers, dealt with topics such as “From Council to Action” (1966), “The Opinion Process in Today's Church” (1972/73) or “Questions to the Most Inquired Theologians of Today” (1978). Acoustic documents are available in the St. Gallen State Archives. Thalmann thus made a significant contribution to better anchoring the HSG in the Catholic part of St. Gallen.

The student pastor as "entrepreneur"

In the interests of Catholic student pastoral care and free adult education within the framework of the “Notker Academy”, Richard Thalmann, according to E. Kobler, knew how to gather people who were completely in agreement with him and who worked on the whole . With the support of the “Fastenopfer” of the Swiss Catholics and private donors, the “Catholic Akademikerhaus St.Gallen” in Dufourstrasse 87 was able to host religious and cultural events in 1963 and in 1969 the “Catholic Student House St. Gallen” in Zwinglistrasse 15 as an inn for University students are established. Both houses have existed since then with their original purpose. Richard Thalmann also created other places of spiritual encounters on a private basis, from 1962 the "Haus Egg" existed in Eggersriet and from 1973 the medieval "Prediger- or Alemannenhaus" existed in Flums until the day of his death.

"Circling the Secret" - Meditation

The need to lead people to meditation is unmistakable in Richard Thalmann's life work. He used the combination of meditative texts and color-symbolic images into an often lyrical wholeness as a key aid for his listeners and readers to “become still, reflect, meditate, pray”. This may be exemplified by his poem The secret circling from 1984:

To proclaim the secret,
as a deep blue and sky-bright
secret
between God and man,
is not only our preciousness,
but also a mission
to testify before all the world:
God is with us and in us -
He seeks us, blesses us all.

Publications (in chronological order)

  • 1955 The way back. Leo bookstore St. Gallen. 63 pages
  • 1963 Pentecost letters. Ars Sacra Munich. 46 pages
  • 1966 Christian through Christ. NZN Buchverlag Zurich. 168 pages
  • 1968 Contemplations of the Sacred Heart. Antonius Verlag Solothurn. 39 pages
  • 1973 beginning and completion. Timeless meditation. Matthias-Grünewald-Verlag Mainz. ISBN 3-7867-0438-4 , 100 pages
  • 1975 The Three Kings. [25 depictions of the Three Kings] with an accompanying text to each of the individual pictures by Richard Thalmann and a historical overview by Hans Heinrich Schmid . NZN Buchverlag AG Zurich, ISBN 3-85827-028-8 , 105 pages.
  • 1977 The present God. Sacred Heart Contemplations. 2nd Edition. Kyrios Verlag Meitingen / Rat-Verlag. St. Gallen, ISBN 3-7838-0169-9 , 43 pages
    • Man in the Ten Commandments. Kyrios Verlag Meitingen / Rat-Verlag St. Gallen, ISBN 3-7838-0168-0 , 37 pages
    • Sacraments as an exchange between God and man. Rat-Verlag St.Gallen / Kyrios Verlag Meitingen. 76 pages
    • Rules of the game of human existence. Rat-Verlag St.Gallen / Kyrios Verlag Meitingen. (Image and text Richard Thalmann (R.Th.))
    • Hour stop for pilgrims. Rat-Verlag St.Gallen. 24 pages
    • The spirit of the earth. Rat-Verlag St.Gallen / Kyrios Verlag Meitingen, ISBN 3-7838-0167-2 (picture and text R.Th.)
  • 1979 God is. Rat-Verlag St.Gallen / Kyrios Verlag Meitingen, ISBN 3-7838-0199-0 (picture and text R.Th.)
    • Time for eternity. The three rosaries. Rat-Verlag St.Gallen / Kyrios Verlag Meitingen, ISBN 3-7838-0208-3 (picture and text R.Th.)
    • Bridge between heaven and earth. The Lord's Prayer. Rat-Verlag St.Gallen / Kyrios Verlag Meitingen, ISBN 3-7838-0208-3 (picture and text R.Th.)
    • Come on, Holy Spirit. 3. Edition. Kanisius Verlag Freiburg i.Ue, ISBN 3-85764-085-5 . (Cover photo R.Th.)
  • 1980 The Psalter. Roses that don't wilt. Kanisius Verlag Freiburg i.Ue, ISBN 3-85764-092-8 (cover picture R.Th.)
    • It doesn't work without love. Kanisius Verlag Freiburg i.Ue.
    • Hymns to the Triune God. Kanisius Verlag Freiburg i.Ue.
  • 1981 The Christian's Liturgy of the Hours. Kanisius Verlag Freiburg i.Ue, ISBN 3-85764-115-0
    • The last day. Way of the Cross. Rat-Verlag St.Gallen / Kyrios Verlag Meitingen, ISBN 3-7838-0243-1 (picture and text R.Th.)
    • Signals from God. Rat-Verlag St.Gallen / Kyrios Verlag Meitingen, ISBN 3-7838-0239-3 (picture and text R.Th.)
  • 1982 Dialogue between God and man. Rat-Verlag St.Gallen / Kyrios Verlag Meitingen, ISBN 3-7838-0263-6 (picture and text R.Th.)
    • The media sermon on the radio. International Catholic magazine COMMUNIO, 139-145
  • 1984 say yes to me. Rat-Verlag St.Gallen / Kyrios Verlag Meitingen, ISBN 3-7838-0316-0 (picture and text R.Th.)
    • Circling the secret. Rat-Verlag St.Gallen / Kyrios Verlag Meitingen, ISBN 3-7838-0293-8 (picture and text R.Th.)
    • Search for Jesus - find Jesus. Kanisius Verlag Freiburg i.Ue, ISBN 3-85764-173-8 (cover picture R.Th.)
  • 1985 Salve Regina. Kanisius Verlag Freiburg i.Ue, ISBN 3-85764-194-0 , 15 pages (cover picture R.Th.)
  • 1986 The earth was asleep when the sky opened. Rat-Verlag St.Gallen / Kyrios Verlag Meitingen, ISBN 3-7838-0356-X (picture and text R.Th.)
  • 1988 The message from the rock face. Rat-Verlag St.Gallen / Kyrios Verlag Meitingen, ISBN 3-85819-118-3 (picture and text R.Th.)
    • There will be no more time. Rat-Verlag St.Gallen / Kyrios Verlag Meitingen, ISBN 3-7838-4021-X
  • 1990 You are our God. Rat-Verlag St.Gallen / Kyrios Verlag Meitingen, ISBN 3-7838-4024-4 (cover picture R.Th.)
  • 1991 God's interest in people. Rat-Verlag St.Gallen, ISBN 3-9520201-0-9 (cover picture R.Th.)
  • More publishments:

All stages of my life / Seven Mass meditations / The Christian's Liturgy of the Hours / Little Sun Mass / etc. (Antonius Verlag Solothurn); Christ in Contrast (Verlag des Gallus-Institut St.Gallen) / The best words for the week (Verlag Sonntag) ... and others

The seven days / Requiem / Mass of heaven and earth / God's word for Lent / Missa brevis / Triptych (Christmas 1964) / Redeemer Mass / Mass meditation / Word service for the Trinity Mass / Beginning and completion (with woodcuts by Ferdinand Gehr) / The Heilge Mass ( Cover picture chalice by R.Th.) / Praying - but like / The teamwork of the Triune God / Meditation on the five wounds of the crucified (15 pages) The seven words of Jesus on the cross / The revelation of the glory of God at the end of the day, part 6, (Catholic Faith Course IGK) ... and many others.

swell

  • M. Marthy-Thalmann, H. Thalmann (Ed.): Friends congratulate Richard Thalmann on his seventieth birthday. 56 pages. Printed by E. Enderle, St. Gallen 1985, with contributions by R. Koller, E. Oehler, V. Villiger, E. Kohler, K. Ammann, U. Blum, A. Meier, F. Oswald-Büchel, A. Riklin , R. Hellstern, W. Gaemperle, H..J. Marthy,

http://openlibrary.org/books/OL22058555M .

  • Various articles in Sarganserländer (newspaper):

LP, honoring student chaplain Dr. Richard Thalmann, Sarganserländer on February 5, 1979. Arnold B. Stampfli, change after 42 successful semesters, Sarganserlander on July 7th, 1982. LP, 4 new honorary citizens in Flums, Sarganserlander on March 25th, 1985. -st-, Richard Thalmann is Turned 70, Sarganserländer on June 4, 1985. -st-, Richard Thalmann 50 years priest, Sarganserlander on March 26th, 1991. Katrin Wetzig, Inspired art needs meditative space, vernissage by Richard Thalmann in the Alemannenhaus in Flums, Sarganserländer on January 9th 2001.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ The Catholic parish church of Balgach. Brochure on the renovation 1952/53, 36 pages. Posts:
    • R. Thalmann: "By God".
    • P. Starkkle: About the development and work of the Catholic parish Balgach.
    • L. Broder: From the building history of the parish church.
    • H. Burkhard: The latest renovation work.
  2. ↑ a b L. Broder: The medieval preacher's house in Flums. Terra Plana, No. 3, pp. 25-28, 1974.
  3. ↑ a b Proof of R. Thalmann's written estate in the St. Gallen State Archives.
  4. ↑ W. Zurfluh: Am I one of your stars? In: Sunday. (Wochenillustrierte), No. 15, 1981, pp. 40-41, Walter-Verlag AG, Olten
  5. ↑ a b c U. Blum: The writer and painter as a publisher. In: M. Marthy-Thalmann, H. Thalmann (ed.): Friends congratulate Richard Thalmann on his seventieth birthday. 56 pages. Printed by E. Enderle, St. Gallen 1985
  6. ↑ A. Meier: ... behind the theology. In: Marthy-Thalmann et al. (Ed.): Friends congratulate ... 1985
  7. ↑ K. Ammann: The writing preacher. In: Marthy-Thalmann et al. (Ed.): Friends congratulate ... 1985
  8. ^ W. Kamber: Richard Thalmann - Farewell with pain. In: Sunday middle. No. 18, pp. 30-31. Cat Media AG, Olten, 2001
  9. ↑ R. Hellstern: As a media officer of our parish. In: Marthy-Thalmann et al. (Ed.): Friends congratulate ... 1985
  10. ↑ F. Oswald-Büchel: Represented in the media. In: Marthy-Thalmann et al. (Ed.): Friends congratulate ... 1985
  11. ^ V. Villiger: The storm and stress years of the HSG student pastoral care. In: Marthy-Thalmann et al. (Ed.): Friends congratulate ... 1985
  12. ^ A. Riklin : A personally colored tribute to the former student pastor. In: Marthy-Thalmann et al. (Ed.): Friends congratulate ... 1985
  13. ^ E. Kobler: The student pastor as "entrepreneur". In: Marthy-Thalmann et al. (Ed.): Friends congratulate ... 1985
  14. ↑ http://www.akademikerhaus.ch
  15. ↑ http://www.zwinglistrassse15.ch  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.@1@ 2Template: dead link / www.zwinglistrassse15.ch  
personal data
SURNAME Thalmann, Richard
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Swiss Catholic theologian and priest
DATE OF BIRTH June 3, 1915
PLACE OF BIRTH Gossau SG
DATE OF DEATH May 28, 2002
Place of death Walenstadt