The celebrated composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart , baptismal name Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart , was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical era. He composed over 600 works, many acknowledged as pinnacles of symphonic, concertante, chamber, piano, operatic, and choral music...

 (1756–1791) was raised Roman Catholic and remained a loyal member of the Catholic Church throughout his life.

Catholic upbringing

Mozart's parents (Leopold Mozart

Leopold Mozart

Johann Georg Leopold Mozart was a German composer, conductor, teacher, and violinist. Mozart is best known today as the father and teacher of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, and for his violin textbook Versuch einer gründlichen Violinschule.-Childhood and student years:He was born in Augsburg, son of...

 and Anna Maria Mozart

Anna Maria Mozart

Anna Maria Walburga Mozart was the mother of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Maria Anna Mozart.-Biography:...

) were Catholics and raised their children in this religion, insisting upon strict obedience to the requirements of the Church. They encouraged family prayer

Prayer

Prayer is a form of religious practice that seeks to activate a volitional rapport to a deity through deliberate practice. Prayer may be either individual or communal and take place in public or in private. It may involve the use of words or song. When language is used, prayer may take the form of...

, fasting

Fasting

Fasting is primarily the act of willingly abstaining from some or all food, drink, or both, for a period of time. An absolute fast is normally defined as abstinence from all food and liquid for a defined period, usually a single day , or several days. Other fasts may be only partially restrictive,...

, the veneration of 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...

s, regular attendance at Mass

Mass

Mass can be defined as a quantitive measure of the resistance an object has to change in its velocity.In physics, mass commonly refers to any of the following three properties of matter, which have been shown experimentally to be equivalent:...

, and frequent confession

Confession

This article is for the religious practice of confessing one's sins.Confession is the acknowledgment of sin or wrongs...

.

Leopold Mozart continued to urge strict observance upon Wolfgang even when the latter had entered adulthood. In 1777, he wrote to his wife and son, who at the time were on their journey to Paris:

Is it necessary for me to ask whether Wolfgang is not perhaps getting a little lax about confession? God must come first! From His hands we receive our temporal happiness; and at the same time we must think of our eternal salvation. Young people do not like to hear about these things, I know, for I was once young myself. But, thank God, in spite of all my youthful foolish pranks, I always pulled myself together. I avoid all dangers to my soul and ever kept God and my honor and the consequences, the very dangerous consequences, before my eyes.

By "very dangerous consequences", Leopold was most probably referring to a specific doctrine of Catholicism, namely that persons who die in a state of mortal sin

Mortal sin

Mortal sins are in the theology of some, but not all Christian denominations wrongful acts that condemn a person to Hell after death. These sins are considered "mortal" because they constitute a rupture in a person's link to God's saving grace: the person's soul becomes "dead", not merely weakened...

 will experience eternal punishment in hell

Hell

In many religious traditions, a hell is a place of suffering and punishment in the afterlife. Religions with a linear divine history often depict hells as endless. Religions with a cyclic history often depict a hell as an intermediary period between incarnations...

.

Leopold extended another important element of Catholic belief—the existence of earthly miracle

Miracle

A miracle often denotes an event attributed to divine intervention. Alternatively, it may be an event attributed to a miracle worker, saint, or religious leader. A miracle is sometimes thought of as a perceptible interruption of the laws of nature. Others suggest that a god may work with the laws...

s as signs from God—to the case of his son, whose abilities he considered to have a divine origin. In 1768, he wrote to his friend Lorenz Hagenauer, describing his son as

a miracle, which God has allowed to see the light in Salzburg ... And if it is ever to be my duty to convince the world of this miracle, it is so now, when people are ridiculing whatever is called a miracle and denying all miracles ... But because this miracle is too evident and consequently not to be denied, they want to suppress it. They refuse to let God have the honor.

In the phrase "denying all miracles," Leopold may have been referring to the emerging values of the Enlightenment

Age of Enlightenment

The Age of Enlightenment was an elite cultural movement of intellectuals in 18th century Europe that sought to mobilize the power of reason in order to reform society and advance knowledge. It promoted intellectual interchange and opposed intolerance and abuses in church and state...

, at the time in full swing. Participants in this cultural movement often favored scientific (as opposed to miraculous) explanations of natural phenomena.

Order of the Golden Spur

As a teenager, Mozart went on tours of Italy, accompanied by his father. During the first of these, Leopold and Wolfgang visited Rome

Rome

Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...

 (1770), where Wolfgang was awarded the Order of the Golden Spur, a form of honorary knighthood, by Pope Clement XIV

Pope Clement XIV

Pope Clement XIV , born Giovanni Vincenzo Antonio Ganganelli, was Pope from 1769 to 1774. At the time of his election, he was the only Franciscan friar in the College of Cardinals.-Early life:...

. The papal patent for the award said:

Inasmuch as it behoves the beneficence of the Roman Pontiff

Pontiff

A pontiff was, in Roman antiquity, a member of the principal college of priests . The term "pontiff" was later applied to any high or chief priest and, in ecclesiastical usage, to a bishop and more particularly to the Bishop of Rome, the Pope or "Roman Pontiff".-Etymology:The English term derives...

 and the Apostolic See

Apostolic See

In Christianity, an apostolic see is any episcopal see whose foundation is attributed to one or more of the apostles of Jesus.Out of the many such sees, five acquired special importance in Chalcedonian Christianity and became classified as the Pentarchy in Eastern Orthodox Christianity...

 that those who have shown them no small signs of faith and devotion and are graced with the merits of probity and virtue, shall be decorated with the honours and favors of the Roman Pontiff and the said See. (4 July 1770)

The following day Mozart received his official insignia, consisting of "a golden cross on a red sash, sword, and spurs," emblematic of honorary knighthood.

The papal patent also absolved the awardee from any previous sentence of excommunication

Excommunication

Excommunication is a religious censure used to deprive, suspend or limit membership in a religious community. The word means putting [someone] out of communion. In some religions, excommunication includes spiritual condemnation of the member or group...

 (unnecessary in Mozart's case) and stated "it is our wish that thou shalt at all times wear the Golden Cross." In the 1777 painting (shown here) known as the "Bologna Mozart", Mozart is indeed shown wearing his knightly insignia.

Mozart's Golden Spur decoration was the source of an unpleasant incident in October 1777, when he visited Augsburg

Augsburg

Augsburg is a city in the south-west of Bavaria, Germany. It is a university town and home of the Regierungsbezirk Schwaben and the Bezirk Schwaben. Augsburg is an urban district and home to the institutions of the Landkreis Augsburg. It is, as of 2008, the third-largest city in Bavaria with a...

 during the job-hunting tour (1777–1779) that ultimately took him to Paris. Following the advice of his father, Mozart wore his insignia in public, and in particular to a dinner arranged by a young aristocrat named Jakob Alois Karl Langenmantel. Langenmantel and his brother-in-law teased Mozart mercilessly about the insignia, and Mozart ultimately was moved to reply very sharply and eventually depart. Thenceforth Mozart showed condiderably more caution in wearing his decoration.

Freemasonry

Mozart joined the Freemasons

Freemasonry

Freemasonry is a fraternal organisation that arose from obscure origins in the late 16th to early 17th century. Freemasonry now exists in various forms all over the world, with a membership estimated at around six million, including approximately 150,000 under the jurisdictions of the Grand Lodge...

 in 1784, and remained an active member until his death; see Mozart and Freemasonry

Mozart and Freemasonry

For the last seven years of his life Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was a Mason. The Masonic order played an important role in his life and work.-Mozart's lodges:...

. His choice to enter the "Zur Wohltätigkeit" lodge was influenced by his friendship with the lodge's master, Baron Otto Heinrich von Gemmingen-Hornberg, and his attraction to the lodge's "shared devotion to Catholic tradition." Freemasonry was banned by the Catholic Church in a Papal Bull

Eminenti Apostolatus Specula

In eminenti apostolatus specula was a Papal Bull issued by Pope Clement XII on 28 April 1738, banning Catholics from becoming Freemasons.He noted that membership of Masonic Lodges, "spreading far and wide and daily growing in strength" was open to men of any religion or sect, who were sworn to...

 issued by Pope Clement XII

Pope Clement XII

Pope Clement XII , born Lorenzo Corsini, was Pope from 12 July 1730 to 6 February 1740.Born in Florence, the son of Bartolomeo Corsini, Marquis of Casigliano and his wife Isabella Strozzi, sister of the Duke of Bagnuolo, Corsini had been an aristocratic lawyer and financial manager under preceding...

 on 28 April 1738. The ban, however, "was published and came into force only in the Papal States, Spain, Portugal, and Poland." It was not promulgated in Austria, where Mozart lived, until 1792 (after Mozart's death). Hence, although the Catholic Church's opposition to Freemasonry would eventually become known in Austria, during Mozart's lifetime "a good Catholic could perfectly well become a Mason," and it is clear that Mozart saw no conflict between these two allegiances.

Last rites

There has been considerable scholarly debate over the question of whether Mozart received last rites

Last Rites

The Last Rites are the very last prayers and ministrations given to many Christians before death. The last rites go by various names and include different practices in different Christian traditions...

 of the Catholic Church on his death bed. In 1825, Mozart's sister-in-law Sophie Haibel, by then elderly, prepared a brief memoir of Mozart's death for her brother-in-law Georg Nikolaus von Nissen

Georg Nikolaus von Nissen

Georg Nikolaus von Nissen was a Danish diplomat and music historian...

, the second husband of Mozart's widow Constanze

Constanze Mozart

Constanze Mozart was the wife of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.-Early years:Constanze Weber was born in Zell im Wiesental. Her mother was Cäcilia Weber, née Stamm. Her father Fridolin Weber worked as a "double bass player, prompter and music copyist." Fridolin's half-brother was the father of composer...

, who was writing a Mozart biography. Nissen, who like Sophie was living in Salzburg

Salzburg

-Population development:In 1935, the population significantly increased when Salzburg absorbed adjacent municipalities. After World War II, numerous refugees found a new home in the city. New residential space was created for American soldiers of the postwar Occupation, and could be used for...

 at the time, conferred with Sophie and wrote marginal notes in her memorandum. While Sophie remembered that she had sent for a priest to come give Mozart the last rites, a marginal note in Nissen's hand indicates "The priests declined to come because the sick person himself did not send for them." The note added by Nissen, however, conflicts with a later annotation of Sophie's letter, which states that a priest did come, and that although a period of unconsciousness made it impossible for Mozart to receive the viaticum, he was given extreme unction.

While it is unclear whether Mozart received last rites on his deathbed, there is no evidence suggesting that he refused them. Even Nissen, who was of the opinion that the priests failed to come, notes, "If he hadn't been neglected [by the priests], he would have received the last rites."

According to Gutman, the reason for the priests' delay, or failure, in attending to Mozart was due to confusion. Constanze, who had sent Sophie to find a priest to administer last rites for her husband, wanted "a priest to arrive alone, as if on a passing, spontaneous sick call," in order to spare Mozart "the alarm at the sight and sounds of the last rites in full form—sextons ringing bells as they escorted a cleric in vestments." It is likely that the priests' tardiness was due to Sophie's failure to explain Constanze's strategy, or, in any case, her inability to communicate to him the urgency of the situation.

Funeral

Mozart received a Catholic funeral service at St. Stephen's Cathedral and was given postmortem last rites at a Requiem mass in St. Michael's church.

Mozart's religious beliefs

The degree of Mozart's personal commitment to Catholic doctrine is difficult to determine. Ruth Halliwell, a contributor to The Cambridge Mozart Encyclopedia, writes, "An educated guess at the totality of Mozart's beliefs based on reconciling the motley evidence would probably posit a broad belief in Christianity, but impatience with many of the requirements of the Catholic church." Another contributor, Bruce MacIntyre, suggests that Mozart "seems to have been a freethinking Catholic with a private relationship to God."

Liturgical works

During his lifetime, Mozart composed more than 60 pieces of sacred music; for a partial listing, see List of compositions by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. The majority were written between 1773 and 1781, when he was employed as court musician to the Prince-Archbishop of Salzburg. Important later liturgical works included the Mass in C minor (K.

Köchel-Verzeichnis

The Köchel-Verzeichnis is a complete, chronological catalogue of compositions by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart which was originally created by Ludwig von Köchel. It is abbreviated K or KV. For example, Mozart's Requiem in D minor was, according to Köchel's counting, the 626th piece Mozart composed....

 427), written for the Salzburg visit of 1783, the motet Ave verum corpus

Ave verum corpus (Mozart)

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's Ave verum corpus in D major was written for Anton Stoll who was musical co-ordinator in the parish of Baden bei Wien, near Vienna. This setting of the Ave verum corpus text was composed to celebrate the feast of Corpus Christi and the autograph is dated 17 June 1791...

 (K. 618), written in Baden

Baden bei Wien

-Points of interest:The town offers several parks and a picturesque surrounding, of which the most frequented is the Helenental valley. Not far from Baden, the valley is crossed by a widespread aqueduct of the Vienna waterworks...

 in 1791, and the Requiem mass

Requiem (Mozart)

The Requiem Mass in D minor by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was composed in Vienna in 1791 and left unfinished at the composer's death. A completion by Franz Xaver Süssmayr was delivered to Count Franz von Walsegg, who had anonymously commissioned the piece for a requiem Mass to commemorate the...

(K. 626), left incomplete at Mozart's death.