Wendelin Rauch

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Archbishop Wendelin Rauch

Wendelin Rauch (born August 30, 1885 in Zell am Andelsbach ; † April 28, 1954 in Freiburg im Breisgau ) was Archbishop of Freiburg from 1948 to 1954 .

Life

The Rauch family is an old farming family that has lived in the Meßkirch area for centuries .

Wendelin Rauch was born on August 30, 1885, not far from the parish church of St. Peter and Paul in Zell, on his parents' farm on Kirchberg. In addition to his work as a farmer, his father Joseph Rauch was also the mayor of Zell. At the age of five, Wendelin fell ill with life-threatening encephalitis. At the suggestion of the local pastor, his strongly religious parents vowed to let him study theology when he got well again. After the early death of his father, Rauch spent his youth in Illmensee with his uncle Mayor Thomas Braun and his wife.

The gifted pupil received his secondary education in the Archbishop's Knabenkonvikt and in the high school in Rastatt, which he graduated with an excellent Abitur in 1904. Wendelin Rauch then studied Catholic theology and philosophy at the University of Freiburg . There he became a member of the KDSt.V. Wildenstein Freiburg im Breisgau in the Cartell Association (CV) and member of the Unitas (UV) . After just three years, just 22 years old, he was able to complete his studies.

In the autumn of 1907, Wendelin Rauch continued his theological studies, in particular ethics and moral theology , at the Collegium Germanicum and at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome . There he received his doctorate in philosophy and was ordained a priest on October 28, 1910 .

In 1911 Rauch returned to Freiburg and from Easter 1911 was a tutor at the Archbishop's Theologian Convict in Freiburg, the Collegium Borromaeum . At the same time he continued his studies of theology at the Freiburg University, around 1916 with a thesis on the Freiburg dogmatist Engelbert Klüpfel, who died in 1811, with summa cum laude for Dr. theol. to do a PhD . At the same time, he was already active as a volunteer field chaplain on various fronts during the First World War and in 1918 became divisional pastor in the 218th Infantry Division.

Bishop's coat of arms Wendelin Rauch

After the end of the First World War he worked at the Collegium Borromaeum and completed his habilitation in 1922 with a thesis on being and ought in the areas of ethics and moral theology. From 1925 to 1938 he was a professor of moral theology at the seminary in Mainz .

In the Third Reich he took a stand against the National Socialist regime, accepted several professional disadvantages and, not least, risked his life. For example, in his Freiburg lecture on the problems of eugenics in the light of Christian ethics in 1933, he resolutely opposed the hereditary health policy, forced sterilization and euthanasia of the Hitler regime. He was founded shortly before the Second World War , namely in 1938 by Pope Pius XII. appointed Bishop of Fulda , but could not be appointed because of the opposition of the National Socialists.

In 1948 he succeeded Archbishop Conrad Gröber as Archbishop of Freiburg im Breisgau. The episcopal ordination donated him on October 28, 1948 Josef Cardinal Frings ; Co- consecrators were Albert Stohr , Bishop of Mainz , and Wilhelm Burger , Auxiliary Bishop in Freiburg im Breisgau. Rauch carried out his office until his death. His episcopal motto was Vi Veri ("Live the Truth").

He died on April 28, 1954 after a serious illness and was buried on May 4, 1954 in front of the sacramental altar of the Freiburg Minster.

Honor

Photo-request.svg
 Image wanted 
BW

On September 7, 1951, Rauch was granted honorary citizenship by the Illmensee community for his commitment to people who could not defend themselves, as well as his ties to home . On March 13, 1953, he was granted honorary citizenship of the city of Walldürn for services to the pilgrimage to the Holy Blood , out of gratitude for the support of the community and as an expression of his admiration in the Baden Franconian region . Furthermore, the honorary citizenship in Zell am Andelsbach was granted. On December 11, 2011, a memorial designed by the blacksmith Peter Klink with the Wendelin Rauch plaque at the Illmenseer Rathaus, the former schoolhouse, was presented in his honor with a ceremony, an organ concert with the participation of the church choir and an exhibition in the parsonage with items from private property Rauch as well as pictures of the stages of his life are revealed and inaugurated.

Works (selection)

  • Problems of eugenics in the light of Christian ethics. [Lecture on July 6, 1933] (= The Christian Germany 1933–1945 . Catholic Series, Issue 9) , Freiburg i.Br .: Herder 1948.

literature

Web links

Commons : Wendelin Rauch  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Gräbner-Reutter (jgr): Divine service for thanks . In: Südkurier from July 15, 2004.
  2. ↑ Karl-Heinz Braun:Rauch, Wendelin (1885–1954): 1948–1954 Archbishop of Freiburg(PDF; 551 kB) . In: Erwin Gatz (ed.): The bishops of the German-speaking countries 1945 to 2001. Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 2002, pp. 212–215.
  3. ↑ a b c d e f g Sabine Hug (hug): Memorial for Wendelin Rauch . In: Südkurier of December 13, 2011
  4. ↑ Christoph Schmider: After only five months of vacancy: Archbishop Wendelin Rauch (1885–1954) ( Memento of October 9, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) . In: Konradsblatts No. 14 of April 7, 2002.
  5. ↑ Our city, historical and personal, honorary citizens. www.wallduern.de, accessed on March 9, 2015 .
  6. ^ Sabine Hug (hug): Monument for honorary citizens . In: Südkurier of October 27, 2011
  7. ↑ Commemoration. Organ concert for honorary citizen Rauch . In: Südkurier of December 10, 2011
predecessor Office successor
Conrad Groeber Archbishop of Freiburg
1948–1954 		Eugen Seiterich
personal data
SURNAME Rauch, Wendelin
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Archbishop of Freiburg im Breisgau
DATE OF BIRTH August 30, 1885
PLACE OF BIRTH Zell am Andelsbach
DATE OF DEATH April 28, 1954
Place of death Freiburg in Breisgau