Sebastian Obermaier

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Sebastian Wilhelm Obermaier Mayer , or Pater Sebastian (Padre Sebastian) for short , (born October 24, 1934 in Rosenheim ; † August 2, 2016 in El Alto ) was a German Roman Catholic missionary in Bolivia .

Life

Sebastian Obermaier, the third of six children, received after his theological training on 29 June 1959 Freising Cathedral , the ordination . He was initially a chaplain in Ebersberg, in St. Augustin in Munich and finally at the Hasenbergl in Munich. The Munich Archbishop Julius Döpfner sent him to Latin America in 1966. After working for the German community in Venezuela, based in Caracas , he came to El Alto, Bolivia, in 1978, a city with 80,000 inhabitants at the time. He experienced the immense influx of mostly indigenous, destitute citizens and the growth of the city to almost 900,000 people.

Obermaier was pastor of the parish Cuerpo de Cristo in El Alto. He learned the indigenous Aymara language and was the founder of 34 schools and builder of 72 churches in Bolivia, mostly with onion domes and twin towers like the Frauenkirche in Munich, as well as an old people's home for 40 residents, six daycare centers and a children's home for victims of domestic violence. In addition to the “Foundation for Bolivia Aid” in Germany, on September 12, 2000 he founded the Fundación Cuerpo de Cristo , a foundation for social and religious works, and was its director. In 2016 he founded a nationwide Catholic TV channel.

Bishop Jesús Juárez Párraga said: “Father Sebastian was a giant for the Catholic Church in Bolivia”. In an obituary, the Bolivian President Evo Morales thanked him for his commitment, one “who stood up for the poorest”.

On August 3, 2016, he was posthumously appointed an Honorary Senator by the Bolivian House of Representatives Cámara de Senadores for his outstanding and selfless religious education and social work on behalf of the city of El Alto and the country of Bolivia .

In 1999 he was awarded the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany with the Order of Merit, 1st Class, for his commitment . For his selfless work in the so-called "gas war" in Bolivia, he was named "Man of the Year" by the Bolivian press in 2003.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Paulo Cuiza: "Un paro cardiaco se lleva al padre Sebastián Obermaier a los 81 años" , La Razón Digital, August 2, 2016 (Spanish)
  2. ↑ a b "A" giant "of the Church of Bolivia is dead. Bavarian missionary Sebastian Obermaier has died" , on kathisch.de of August 3, 2016
  3. ↑ "72 churches built in Bolivia: Father Sebastian Obermaier died" , Münchner Merkur , August 3, 2016
  4. ↑ a b Anja Perkuhn, Georg Ismar: “A Rosenheimer in Bolivia. Sebastian Obermaier: Missionary with Body and Soul ” , evening newspaper , August 3, 2016
  5. ↑ "Senado rinde homenaje póstumo al Padre Sebastián Obermaier" on senado.gob.bo , August 3, 2016 (Spanish)
  6. ↑ "Senado rinde homenaje póstumo al padre Sebastián Obermaier" on correodelsur.com , August 3, 2016 (Spanish)
  7. ↑ "Values ​​create values" on rosenheim24.de , June 1, 2011
personal data
SURNAME Obermaier, Sebastian
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Obermaier Mayer, Sebastian Wilhelm (maiden name); Padre Sebastian (Spanish)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German Roman Catholic clergyman in Bolivia
DATE OF BIRTH October 24, 1934
PLACE OF BIRTH Rosenheim , Germany
DATE OF DEATH 2nd August 2016
Place of death El Alto , Bolivia