Theodor Niehaus

Theodor Niehaus

Theodor Niehaus (born September 28, 1820 in Barßel , † September 4, 1887 in Vechta ) was a German Catholic priest and episcopal official of the Oldenburg part of the diocese of Münster with his official seat in Vechta.

Life path

Niehaus was born in Barßel ​​and attended the Antonianum Vechta high school . Subsequently, he studied from 1846 to 1850 at the Muenster University theology . He was ordained a priest on May 25, 1850 . In the following years he worked as a vicar in Friesoythe and as a teacher at the grammar school in Vechta. In February 1854 he was appointed pastor of Oldenburg . For the growing number of Catholics in the residence city of the Grand Duchy , the construction of the new parish church of St. Peter began under Niehaus' leadership , and was completed in 1876 under his successor. In addition, Niehaus also excelled as the founder of the St. Pius Hospital, the city's first Catholic hospital. During the Franco-Prussian War , Niehaus stayed partly in the field with the troops of the Grand Duchy.

On March 12, 1873, Niehaus was appointed Episcopal Official of the Diocese of Münster in the Grand Duchy of Oldenburg and was introduced to his office on April 23. His office was in Vechta. Niehaus owed his appointment primarily to the Grand Duke, who wanted the position to be filled by the local clergy, while the Bishop of Munster had preferred the later Auxiliary Bishop Maximilian Gereon Graf von Galen . During Niehaus's tenure, the years of the Kulturkampf fell , so that he mainly had to take care of maintaining the good relationship between the state and the Catholic Church. To this end, he avoided any interference and tried to implement demands from the grand ducal government quickly and without contradiction. At least he was able to prevent the grand ducal government from enacting its own culture warfare laws, which, however, was not a result of their tolerant attitude, but rather was due to the yielding attitude of the official Niehaus. Niehaus' successor in the office of Episcopal Official was Anton Stukenborg .

Awards

On January 17, 1869, Niehaus was awarded the honor cross without the first class swords associated with the Grand Ducal Oldenburg House and Merit Order and on January 17, 1882 the capitular knight's cross, first class. Furthermore, Niehaus was awarded the German commemorative medal for the campaign of 1870/1871 for non-combatants .

literature

• Willi Baumann: Niehaus, Theodor. In: Hans Friedl u. a. (Ed.): Biographical manual for the history of the state of Oldenburg . Edited on behalf of the Oldenburg landscape. Isensee, Oldenburg 1992, ISBN 3-89442-135-5 , p. 517 ( online ).

Web links

• Literature by and about Theodor Niehaus in the catalog of the German National Library

predecessor	Office	successor
Engelbert Reismann	Episcopal Münsterscher official in the Oldenburg official district 1873 - 1887	Anton Stukenborg