Theodor Schneider (priest)
Theodor Schneider (baptized name: Theodor Friedrich) (born April 9, 1703 , in Geinsheim , Palatinate ; † July 10, 1764 in Goshenhoppen, today Bally, Pennsylvania , USA) was a Catholic priest from the Principality of Speyer, a Jesuit , missionary pioneer and the first German Catholic missionary in what is now the United States.
Origin and work in Germany
Theodor Schneider was born on April 9, 1703 in Geinsheim (today Neustadt-Geinsheim ), the son of the Prince-Bishop of Speyer, the collector and tithe administrator Georg Schneider and his wife Maria Elisabeth née. Appel born. From 1714 to 1718 the boy attended the Jesuit high school in Speyer . In 1721 he became a novice of the Society of Jesus (Jesuits). Schneider worked as a master's degree at various grammar schools in the Upper Rhine Jesuit Province. He was ordained a priest around 1732/33. From 1734 he was a teacher for "grammatica inf." and "grammatica media syntax" at the Jesuit high school in Mannheim . In 1737 the young priest took the four Jesuit vows and became professor of philosophy. In 1738 Theodor Schneider became rector of Heidelberg University .
Missionary in North America
In 1741 Theodor Schneider finally went to North America (Pennsylvania) as a missionary. He was the first German Catholic priest on the territory of the United States of America. Here he founded the first German Catholic community with Goshenhoppen (now Bally, Pennsylvania ) as a mission station. Among other things, he worked there as a teacher and doctor.
Unfortunately no picture of him is known. Father Ferdinand Steinmeyer, his friar in Pennsylvania, with whom he was friends, describes Father Schneider's appearance as follows: “He had an above-average and upright body shape, a healthy, strong appearance, strong, firm and full limbs, a high forehead, light, smooth and flushed cheeks and a pleasant and cheerful expression. "
Msgr. John Carroll , from 1789 the first Catholic bishop of North America, judged the Palatinate missionary: “With great hardship and privation, Father Schneider u. Father Wappeler her blessed work. Both were men of uncommon knowledge and unmeasured zeal. Schneider is also a man of great business acumen, consummate intelligence and unmeasured generosity. "
Schneider's zeal for soul, his charity, his friendliness towards everyone, his fearless courage and his business acumen are generally passed down as outstanding traits. The St. Aloysius Academy , which he founded in Goshenhoppen, is today the oldest Catholic school in the United States, and his church is the third oldest Catholic in the United States and the oldest in Pennsylvania. Father Schneider sent home mission letters, which were printed and distributed here. They also promoted the needs of the mission. Elector Carl Theodor was personally acquainted and friends with Father Schneider. It is believed that the Jesuit was once the teacher of the future elector. As a token of his appreciation, Carl Theodor had a painting of the Last Supper sent to him with a personal dedication to the USA, which hangs in the church founded by Father Schneider in Goshenhoppen near Bally (Pennsylvania) to this day .
Father Theodor Schneider died on July 10, 1763 at his mission station in Goshenhoppen and was buried in his church. His grave in front of the old high altar of the mission church (now St. Paul's chapel within the expanded church) was preserved. The simple grave slab bears the inscription: “ Hic jacet Rev. Theodorus Schneider, SJ, Missionis hujus fundator. Obiit July 10th 1764. Aetatis 62, Missionis 24. RIP “(Translator: Here rests Hochw. Theodor Schneider, member of the Society of Jesus, founder of this mission station. He died on July 10th 1764 at the age of 62 and in the 24th year of mission. May he rest in peace. ).
Approx. 100 years later, the young Palatinate teacher Karl Heinrich Heichemer from Grünstadt (1836–1893) came into contact with the Jesuit order at Father Schneider's missionary station . The emigrant initially acted as a teacher at the St. Aloysius Academy, entered the Jesuit order as a novice in 1867 and was ordained priest in 1875.
In 2003 the Palatinate local historian Norbert Kästel published a biography about Father Theodor Schneider on the occasion of his 300th birthday.
literature
- Norbert Kästel: Father Theodor Schneider SJ from Geinsheim, one of the founders of the Catholic Church in North America . Self-published, Neustadt (Weinstrasse) 2003.
- Viktor Carl: Lexicon of Palatinate personalities . 3rd revised and expanded edition. Hennig Verlag, Edenkoben 2004, ISBN 3-9804668-5-X , p. 783.
Web links
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Schneider, Theodor |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Schneider, Theodor Friedrich |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Priest, Jesuit, first Catholic German missionary in North America |
| DATE OF BIRTH | April 9, 1703 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Geinsheim (Neustadt) |
| DATE OF DEATH | July 10, 1764 |
| Place of death | Bally, Pennsylvania |