Theodor Breher
Theodor Breher OSB (* 21st August 1889 in Ottobeuren when Hermann Breher; † 2. November 1950 in Windach ), a German Benedictine was abbot and missionary bishop . He was Vicar Apostolic of Yenki in China from April 13, 1937 to April 11, 1946 .
Life
His father was a master painter. After an apprenticeship in stonemason, Hermann Breher went to the grammar school of the Archabbey of St. Ottilien in 1902 , where he entered the novitiate after graduating from high school , took the religious name Theodor and took his religious vows on October 8, 1911 . After studying in Dillingen, he was ordained a priest on July 16, 1915 by Bishop Maximilian von Lingg and sent to Berlin to do a doctoral degree in Sinology . After completing these studies, he went to Seoul , Korea , in the summer of 1921 .
His superior in Korea was Abbot Bishop Bonifaz Sauer , who soon sent Breher to Manchuria . He became Prior of the Mission in Yenki and Apostolic Prefect (February 5, 1929). This mission station was elevated to the status of Holy Cross Abbey in Yenki in 1934; Breher was the first abbot. His benediction he received on September 5, 1934 in St. Ottilien by Bishop Joseph Kumpfmüller . After the prefecture was elevated to the position of Apostolic Vicariate and his appointment as Titular Bishop of Hieron , Auguste Gaspais , the Vicar Apostolic of Northern Manchuria, donated him episcopal ordination on September 5, 1937 in Yenki . Co-consecrators were the bishops Bonifatius Sauer OSB, Apostolic Vicar of Wonsan , and Adrien-Joseph Larribeau MEP , Apostolic Vicar of Seoul . His episcopal motto was: Vincit Crux ("The cross wins"). When the vicariate was elevated to a diocese on April 11, 1946, Breher was its first bishop.
Missionary work was limited during World War II and the Japanese occupation of Manchuria; after the Communists came to power, it was stopped entirely. The monastery was closed on May 20, 1946; Abbot bishop and monks were arrested. Breher was only able to return to Germany in November 1949, as he fell ill while in custody. After he arrived in Rome on December 12, 1949, he was received by Pope Pius XII. receive. The conversation is said to have been tense because the Pope wanted the missionaries to remain in China.
Theodor Breher took part in June 1950 in the General Chapter of the Benedictine Missionary Congregation in St. Ottilien. Shortly afterwards he suffered a stroke and was admitted to the hospital in Memmingen . He died in a traffic accident on November 2, 1950 during a subsequent ambulance.
literature
- Hermenegild Walter: In the fight for the cross: Dr. Theodor Breher OSB: missionary, abbot, bishop, 1889-1950. St. Ottilien 1952.
- Peter Hutter: Back then in Unterallgäu. Clenze 2014, ISBN 978-3-86037-555-6 , pp. 48-53.
Web links
- Entry on Theodor (Hermann) Breher, OSB on catholic-hierarchy.org ; accessed on March 12, 2017.
- Biography with pictures (pfarrei-ottobeuren.de)
Individual evidence
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Breher, Theodor |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Breher, Hermann (birth name) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | German Benedictine abbot and mission bishop |
| DATE OF BIRTH | August 21, 1889 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Ottobeuren |
| DATE OF DEATH | November 2, 1950 |
| Place of death | Windach |