Abbé Franz Stock was a German

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

 Roman Catholic

Roman Catholic Church

The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...

 priest

Priest

A priest is a person authorized to perform the sacred rites of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particular, rites of sacrifice to, and propitiation of, a deity or deities...

. He is known for ministering to prisoners in France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

 during World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

, and to German prisoners of war in the years following.

Early life

Franz Stock was born as the first of nine children of a worker family in Neheim, Province of Westphalia

Province of Westphalia

The Province of Westphalia was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia and the Free State of Prussia from 1815 to 1946.-History:Napoleon Bonaparte founded the Kingdom of Westphalia, which was a client state of the First French Empire from 1807 to 1813...

. From 1910 to 1913, he attended a Catholic elementary school. At the age of twelve Franz expressed for the first time a wish to become a priest. From 1926 to 1932, he studied theology

Theology

Theology is the systematic and rational study of religion and its influences and of the nature of religious truths, or the learned profession acquired by completing specialized training in religious studies, usually at a university or school of divinity or seminary.-Definition:Augustine of Hippo...

 at a theological academy in Paderborn

Paderborn

Paderborn is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, capital of the Paderborn district. The name of the city derives from the river Pader, which originates in more than 200 springs near Paderborn Cathedral, where St. Liborius is buried.-History:...

. In 1926, he participated in an international peace meeting in Bierville near Paris, which was organized by Marc Sangnier

Marc Sangnier

Marc Sangnier was a French Roman Catholic thinker and politician, who in 1894 founded le Sillon , a liberal Catholic movement. He aimed to bring Catholicism into a greater conformity with French Republican ideals and to provide an alternative to anticlerical labour movements...

 under the motto "Peace via the young!" Franz then made got to know Joseph Folliet, who greatly influenced him. Later on, he studied at the Institut Catholique in Paris, and became a member of the "Compagnons de Saint François (Companions of saint Francis).

He was ordained to the subdiaconate

Subdeacon

-Subdeacons in the Orthodox Church:A subdeacon or hypodeacon is the highest of the minor orders of clergy in the Orthodox Church. This order is higher than the reader and lower than the deacon.-Canonical Discipline:...

 on 15 March 1931. He was then ordained to the priesthood on 12 March 1932 by the archbishop of Paderborn Kaspar Klein, and from 1932 to 1934 had his first appointment as priest in Effeln, near Lippstadt

Lippstadt

Lippstadt is a town in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is the largest town within the district of Soest.-Geography:Lippstadt is situated in the Lippe valley, roughly 70 kilometres east of Dortmund and roughly 30 kilometres west of Paderborn...

, and in Dortmund-Eving. In 1934, he was appointed as rector of the German Bonifatius

Bonifatius

Bonifatius can be interpreted as any of the following:*Saint Boniface, an 8th century English missionary, bishop and martyr*Bonifacius, a 5th century Roman general and governor*Nine popes by this name, see List of Popes*Boniface of Tarsus...

 parish in Paris.

World War II

A few days before the outbreak of World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

 on 1 September 1939, he returned to Germany, where he officiated as a priest in Dortmund-Bodelschwingh and in Klein-Wanzleben in central Germany. On 13 August 1940, he was named as priest for Germans residing in Paris during Nazi Germany's occupation of France

Vichy France

Vichy France, Vichy Regime, or Vichy Government, are common terms used to describe the government of France that collaborated with the Axis powers from July 1940 to August 1944. This government succeeded the Third Republic and preceded the Provisional Government of the French Republic...

, and returned in October 1940 to Paris. In 1941, he started to work as a chaplain

Chaplain

Traditionally, a chaplain is a minister in a specialized setting such as a priest, pastor, rabbi, or imam or lay representative of a religion attached to a secular institution such as a hospital, prison, military unit, police department, university, or private chapel...

 in the Fresnes Prison

Fresnes Prison

Fresnes Prison is the second largest prison in France, located in the town of Fresnes, Val-de-Marne South of Paris...

, La Santé Prison

La Santé Prison

La Santé Prison is a prison operated by the Ministry of Justice located in the 14th arrondissement of Paris, France. It is one of the most famous prisons in France, with both VIP and high security wings....

 and Cherche-Midi Prison

Cherche-Midi prison

The Cherche-Midi prison was a French military prison located in Paris, France. It housed military prisoners from 1851 until 1947.Construction on the prison began in 1847, when the former convent of the Daughters of the Good Shepherd was demolished on Rue du Cherche-Midi in Paris...

 in Paris. He was also a chaplain at the execution site at the Mont Valérien during the German occupation of France in World War II, owing him his nickname L'Aumônier de l'Enfer (The chaplain of Hell) and L'archange des prisons (The archangel of the prisons). Often, because of his German nationality, he was the only priest who could freely visit the prisoners without being a part of the Nazi war apparatus. He then met with more than 2,000 prisoners, among whom the French Navy officer Henri Honoré d'Estienne d'Orves

Henri Honoré d'Estienne d'Orves

Henri Honoré d'Estienne d'Orves was a French Navy officer, reputed "first martyr of Free France" and one of the major heroes of the French Resistance.-Early life:...

, the Communist

French Communist Party

The French Communist Party is a political party in France which advocates the principles of communism.Although its electoral support has declined in recent decades, the PCF retains a large membership, behind only that of the Union for a Popular Movement , and considerable influence in French...

 Gabriel Péri

Gabriel Péri

Gabriel Péri was a prominent French Communist journalist and politician, and member of the French Resistance. He was executed by Nazi-occupied France during World War II.-Early life:Péri was born in Toulon to a Corsican family...

 and the Gaullist Edmond Michelet

Edmond Michelet

Edmond Michelet was a French politician.On 17 June 1940, he distributed tracts calling to continue the war in all Brive-la-Gaillarde's mailboxes...

. As part of his pastoral mission, and with great peril to his life, he passed messages from the prisoners to their families and back, sometimes memorizing them. Exploiting every possible avenue to help the prisoners, he delivered German information on them to their families, so as to prepare them when interrogated. The information thus delivered prevented many arrests. This he did under a double threat to his life: besides the obvious peril of arrest, incarceration and/or execution if discovered, Stock suffered severe heart disease (a fact he kept from others) and thus had been ordered to rest. Nevertheless, he went on in his endeavor.

On 10 June 1941, he was officially acknowledged as military chaplain with the rank of non-commissioned officer. At the time of the liberation of Paris on 25 August 1944, Stock was in the Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital

Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital

The Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital is a teaching hospital located in Paris, France. Part of the Assistance publique - Hôpitaux de Paris, it is one of Europe's largest hospitals...

, where more than 600 wounded German soldiers together with 200 English and American soldiers were lying, unfit for transport. When the Americans took command of the hospital, the Stock became a prisoner of war of the Americans, and was sent to the POW camp of Cherbourg. This he accepted willingly, for it enabled him to help those who now needed most his services - the defeated German POWs. The Aumônerie Générale in Paris, planning to set up a seminary for captured German Catholic students of theology at the POW Camp Depot 51 at Orléans

Orléans

-Prehistory and Roman:Cenabum was a Gallic stronghold, one of the principal towns of the Carnutes tribe where the Druids held their annual assembly. It was conquered and destroyed by Julius Caesar in 52 BC, then rebuilt under the Roman Empire...

, contacted him. Shortly thereafter, Stock was asked to head this seminary as managing director, supported in particular by the Gaullist Edmond Michelet.

On 24 April 1945, the Abbé Le Meur accompanied him to Orléans, where already twenty-eight theology students awaited them. On 17 August 1945, the "barbed-wire seminary", the séminaire des barbelés, was transferred from Orléans to Camp 501 at Le Coudray

Le Coudray

Le Coudray is a commune in the Eure-et-Loir department in northern France.-Population:-External links:*...

, near Chartres

Chartres

Chartres is a commune and capital of the Eure-et-Loir department in northern France. It is located southwest of Paris.-Geography:Chartres is built on the left bank of the Eure River, on a hill crowned by its famous cathedral, the spires of which are a landmark in the surrounding country...

. On 19 August 1945, Raoul-Octove-Marie-Jean Harscouët, Bishop of Chartres

Roman Catholic Diocese of Chartres

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Chartres is a Roman Catholic Latin Rite diocese in France.The diocese is a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Tours.-Pilgrimages:...

, accompanied by his secretary Abbé Pierre André, visited the POW seminary. Later, he visited the camp repeatedly and addressed the seminarians, always calling them "Mes chers enfants (My dear children). 18 On September 1945, Nuncio

Nuncio

Nuncio is an ecclesiastical diplomatic title, derived from the ancient Latin word, Nuntius, meaning "envoy." This article addresses this title as well as derived similar titles, all within the structure of the Roman Catholic Church...

 Roncalli (future Pope John XXIII

Pope John XXIII

-Papal election:Following the death of Pope Pius XII in 1958, Roncalli was elected Pope, to his great surprise. He had even arrived in the Vatican with a return train ticket to Venice. Many had considered Giovanni Battista Montini, Archbishop of Milan, a possible candidate, but, although archbishop...

), came for a longer visit at the camp and returned on 16 July 1946, declaring:

Post-war and death

From 1945 till 1947, Stock was managing director of the prisoner of war séminaire des barbelés of Chartres. On 14 May 1947, Cardinal Suhard of Paris visited the seminary, which was closed on 5 June 1947. 949 lecturers, priests, brothers and seminarists had been at the seminary. When it was closed, only 369 were still there.

On 16 December 1947, Stock received notification about his appointment as honorary doctor of the University of Freiburg

University of Freiburg

The University of Freiburg , sometimes referred to in English as the Albert Ludwig University of Freiburg, is a public research university located in Freiburg im Breisgau, Baden-Württemberg, Germany.The university was founded in 1457 by the Habsburg dynasty as the...

, in Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany. He died unexpectedly on 24 February 1948 at the Hôpital Cochin

Hôpital Cochin

The Hôpital Cochin is a famous hospital of public assistance in the rue du Faubourg-Saint-Jacques Paris 14e. It houses the central burn treatment center of the city. The Hôpital Cochin is a section of the Faculté de Médecine Paris-Descartes...

 in Paris. Since he was still considered a POW, very few people were made aware of his death at the time. His funeral was held four days later, at the Saint-Jacques-du-Haut-Pas church in Paris, with Nuncio Roncalli officiating. Only about 12 people accompanied his body to the cemetery of Thiais in Paris.

Legacy

On 15/16 June 1963 his body was transferred to the newly built church Saint Jean-Baptiste in Chartres

Chartres

Chartres is a commune and capital of the Eure-et-Loir department in northern France. It is located southwest of Paris.-Geography:Chartres is built on the left bank of the Eure River, on a hill crowned by its famous cathedral, the spires of which are a landmark in the surrounding country...

. On 18 November 1981, in Fulda

Fulda

Fulda is a city in Hesse, Germany; it is located on the river Fulda and is the administrative seat of the Fulda district .- Early Middle Ages :...

, during his visit to Germany, Pope John Paul II

Pope John Paul II

Blessed Pope John Paul II , born Karol Józef Wojtyła , reigned as Pope of the Catholic Church and Sovereign of Vatican City from 16 October 1978 until his death on 2 April 2005, at of age. His was the second-longest documented pontificate, which lasted ; only Pope Pius IX ...

 mentioned the name of Franz Stock along with the names of great saints of German history.

On 1 March 1998, the commemoration of the 50th anniversary of his death was held in the Chartres Cathedral. The archbishop of Paris

Archbishop of Paris

The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Paris is one of twenty-three archdioceses of the Roman Catholic Church in France. The original diocese is traditionally thought to have been created in the 3rd century by St. Denis and corresponded with the Civitas Parisiorum; it was elevated to an archdiocese on...

, Cardinal Jean-Marie Lustiger, celebrated Pontifical High Mass

Pontifical High Mass

In the context of the Tridentine Mass of the Roman Catholic Church, a Pontifical High Mass, also called Solemn Pontifical Mass, is a Solemn or High Mass celebrated by a bishop using certain prescribed ceremonies. The term is also used among Anglo-Catholic Anglicans.-Origins:In the early Church,...

 in the presence of many French and German bishops, and of René Monory

René Monory

René Monory was a French centre-right politician.-Biography:René Monory was born in Loudun and began his career as the owner of a garage. He was the founder of the Poitiers Futuroscope.Monory first became a Senator in 1968...

, President of the French Senate

French Senate

The Senate is the upper house of the Parliament of France, presided over by a president.The Senate enjoys less prominence than the lower house, the directly elected National Assembly; debates in the Senate tend to be less tense and generally enjoy less media coverage.-History:France's first...

 and of Helmut Kohl

Helmut Kohl

Helmut Josef Michael Kohl is a German conservative politician and statesman. He was Chancellor of Germany from 1982 to 1998 and the chairman of the Christian Democratic Union from 1973 to 1998...

, Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany, who, beforehand, had laid down a wreath on Stock's grave.
There is an ongoing effort to have Franz Stock named a saint

Saint

A saint is a holy person. In various religions, saints are people who are believed to have exceptional holiness.In Christian usage, "saint" refers to any believer who is "in Christ", and in whom Christ dwells, whether in heaven or in earth...

.

Quotes

• "Abbé Franz Stock — that is no name, it is a program!" Nuncio Angelo Roncalli, who became later Pope John XXIII
  Pope John XXIII
  -Papal election:Following the death of Pope Pius XII in 1958, Roncalli was elected Pope, to his great surprise. He had even arrived in the Vatican with a return train ticket to Venice. Many had considered Giovanni Battista Montini, Archbishop of Milan, a possible candidate, but, although archbishop...
  
  , said this on 28 February 1948, when carrying out the blessing of the deceased priest. In July 1962, he repeated these words in front of an international pilgrim group.

• Joseph Folliet said about him:

External links

• Abbé Franz Stock -english - Start at www.franz-stock.org
• Abbé Franz Stock - Franz-Stock-Komitee für Deutschland at www.franz-stock.de