Rudolph Hittmair

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Bishop Rudolph Hittmair
Rudolph Hittmair monument in front of the monastery church of the Brothers of Mercy in Linz
Rudolph Hittmair's coat of arms on the monument in Linz
Memorial plaque in the Dachstein Chapel

Rudolph Hittmair (born July 23, 1859 in Mattighofen , † March 5, 1915 in Linz ) was the Roman Catholic Bishop of Linz. He died caring for people with typhus in the Mauthausen prison camp , where mainly Italians and Serbs were interned during the First World War from 1916 to 1918.

Life

Hittmair studied law in Vienna and theology in Linz, he did his doctorate in Vienna and became cathedral preacher in Linz in 1888, five years later professor of pastoral theology and soon afterwards Regens . Hittmair was Bishop of the Diocese of Linz from 1909 to 1915 . He was appointed bishop on May 30, 1909 in the old cathedral and was consecrated as the first diocesan bishop in the new cathedral . As a pastoral professor , he was most recently head of the seminary . Rudolph Hittmair was an excellent speaker and preacher, and his charitable work became an example and demand for the pastoral care of his time.

As with so many, the outbreak of World War I had initially provoked patriotic feelings in him . After just a few months, however, on August 1, 1914, Hittmair appointed Balthasar Scherndl as vicar general to manage his diocese and now devoted himself to the care of the wounded and sick. He helped out in the hospital of the Merciful Brothers in Linz and trained as a nurse. He, who suffered from an excessive fear of pathogenic microorganisms and, because of this phobia , avoided funerals, now looked after Serbian prisoners of war suffering from typhus in the Mauthausen camp, where he contracted typhus and died of the consequences. On March 5, 1915, the day of his death, he was buried for sanitary reasons. Bishop Rudolph Hittmair first found his resting place in the old cathedral in Linz. After the completion of the New Cathedral , his remains (like those of the other Bishops of Linz buried in the Old Cathedral) were moved to the new Cathedral in 1924.

According to a will, he had his personal notes destroyed.

Hittmair promoted charitable and religious institutions in particular, he expanded, among other things, the educational institute for the blind to include employment and care facilities. The seminary for priests and boys were used as hospitals during the First World War and the students were relocated to alternative quarters. He even made the seminary for priests and boys available in case the imperial army was mobilized.

Commemoration

In 1925 a memorial was erected to Hittmair in the Dachstein Chapel. A monument with a bust commemorates him at the entrance to the church of the Barmherzigen Brüder Hospital in Linz. In Linz , Hittmairstraße in the Franckviertel is named after him.

literature

Web links

Commons : Rudolph Hittmair  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ "Hittmairstraße" , City of Linz.
predecessor Office successor
Franz Maria Doppelbauer Bishop of Linz
1909 - 1915 		Johannes Maria Gföllner
personal data
SURNAME Hittmair, Rudolph
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Hittmair, Rudolf; Hittmair, Rudolphus
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Austrian Roman Catholic Bishop of Linz
DATE OF BIRTH July 23, 1859
PLACE OF BIRTH Mattighofen , Upper Austria
DATE OF DEATH March 5, 1915
Place of death Linz