Sigisbert Kraft

Sigisbert Kraft (born September 7, 1927 in Bingen am Rhein ; † January 6, 2006 in Waghäusel-Kirrlach ) was the eighth bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Old Catholics in Germany .

Life

After studying Roman Catholic theology in Würzburg , he was ordained a priest there in 1951 and, after years of service as a chaplain (Kitzingen) and religion teacher (Aschaffenburg) in the diocese of Würzburg, joined the old Catholic diocese in 1961.

From 1961 to 1963 he served as parish vicar in Mannheim. He was then elected pastor of the old Catholic community in Karlsruhe. There he worked as a parish chaplain and finally as dean for the North Baden Old Catholics until he was elected bishop in 1985. He was ordained bishop on October 6, 1985 in the Protestant Christ Church in Karlsruhe as the successor to Bishop Josef Brinkhues and then took up residence old catholic bishopric Bonn. He headed the Catholic Diocese of Old Catholics until 1995.

In 1976 he received his doctorate from the University of Bern with a thesis on the development of German old Catholic church singing in the previous hundred years. One focus of his work was the renewal of the liturgy and the musical design of church services. He was a member of various national and international Old Catholic and ecumenical liturgical commissions and working groups, including the Societas Liturgica . During his tenure as bishop, important decisions were made by old Catholic synods for the inclusion of women in the priesthood. In 1988 he ordained the first woman to be a deaconess.

Even after his retirement he published numerous articles in theological periodicals, especially on liturgical and ecumenical issues.

He was married to Erentrud, b. Sprenzel. The marriage had four children.

He died on January 6, 2006 at his retirement home Waghäusel-Kirrlach. His grave is in the Würzburg main cemetery.

Works (selection)

• German parish singing in the old Catholic Church. Karlsruhe 1976
• With Erentrud Kraft: Basic liturgy course. Bonn 1998

Collaboration on:

• Praise God, Christians. Hymn book of the Catholic Diocese of Old Catholics in Germany. Bonn 1986 (out of print)
• The celebration of the Eucharist in the Catholic Diocese of Old Catholics in Germany (Altarbuch). Bonn 1995 (published by the Bishop and Synodal Representation, meanwhile second, improved edition)

• As a festive gift for his 65th birthday appeared:
  • Angela Berlis , Klaus-Dieter Gerth (Ed.): Christ spes. Liturgy and Faith in an Ecumenical Context. Festschrift for Bishop Dr. Sigisbert Kraft. Frankfurt / Main 1994 (with a list of his publications until 1994)

literature

• Peter H. Görg:  Kraft, Sigisbert. In: Biographisch-Bibliographisches Kirchenlexikon (BBKL). Volume 27, Bautz, Nordhausen 2007, ISBN 978-3-88309-393-2 , Sp. 770-781.

Web links

• Literature by and about Sigisbert Kraft in the catalog of the German National Library

predecessor	Office	successor
Josef Brinkhues	German Old Catholic Bishop 1986–1995	Joachim Vobbe