Paul Melchers
Encyclopedia
Paul Melchers was a Cardinal
and Archbishop of Cologne. At the height of the Kulturkampf
he took refuge in the Netherlands
.
. He studied law at Bonn
(1830–33), and a few years practice at Münster
, took up theology at Munich
under Heinrich Klee
, Joseph Görres, Karl Joseph Hieronymus Windischmann
and Ignaz von Döllinger. Ordained in 1841, he was assigned to duty in the village of Haltern
. In 1844 he became vice-rector of the diocesan seminary, rector (1851), canon of the cathedral (1852), vicar-general (1854).
Pope Pius IX
appointed him Bishop of Osnabrück
(1857) and Archbishop of Cologne (1866). He inaugurated (1867) at Fulda
, meetings of the German bishops. He regarded the formal definition of papal infallibility
as untimely, a conviction which he, with thirteen other bishops, expressed in a letter to the pope, 4 September 1869.
In the First Vatican Council
Melchers took a prominent part. At the session of 13 July 1870, he voted negatively on the question of papal infallibility; but he refused to sign an address in which fifty-five other members of the minority notified the pope of their immediate departure and reiterated their non placet. He left Rome before the fourth session, giving as his reason the outbreak of the Franco-Prussian war
, and declaring his readiness to abide by the decisions of the Council.
On his return to Cologne he proclaimed in an address (24 July) the dogma defined on 18 July. As a means of ensuring obedience to the Council, the bishops assembled by him in Fulda, published (1 September) a joint letter, for which Pius IX (20 October) expressed gratitude. To eliminate the opposition at Bonn, the archbishop (20 Sept. and 8 Oct.) called on professors Franz Xaver Dieringer
, Franz Heinrich Reusch
, Joseph Langen
, and Franz Peter Knoodt
to sign a declaration accepting the Vatican decree and pledging conformity thereto in their teaching. Dieringer alone complied; the others were suspended and eventually (12 March 1872) excommunicated.
The Kulturkampf was firmly resisted by Archbishop Melchers. In June, 1873, he excommunicated two priests who had joined the Old Catholics; for this and other administrative acts he was fined and imprisoned for six months (12 March–October, 1874). On 2 December 1875, the President of the Rhine Province
demanded his resignation on pain of deposition; he refused, but learning that preparations were being made to deport him to Küstrin
he escaped (13 December) to Maastricht
and took refuge with the Franciscans. From their monastery he administered his dioceses for ten years. On different occasions he informed Pope Leo XIII
of his willingness to resign for the general good. The pope at last consented, but called him to Rome, and created him cardinal (27 July 1885).
In 1892 during a serious illness he was received into the Society of Jesus
and lived as a Jesuit until his death three years later in Rome
. He was laid to rest in the cathedral of Cologne. St. Paul's Church, Cologne, completed in 1908, commemorates Melchers.
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Cardinal (Catholicism)
A cardinal is a senior ecclesiastical official, usually an ordained bishop, and ecclesiastical prince of the Catholic Church. They are collectively known as the College of Cardinals, which as a body elects a new pope. The duties of the cardinals include attending the meetings of the College and...
and Archbishop of Cologne. At the height of the Kulturkampf
Kulturkampf
The German term refers to German policies in relation to secularity and the influence of the Roman Catholic Church, enacted from 1871 to 1878 by the Prime Minister of Prussia, Otto von Bismarck. The Kulturkampf did not extend to the other German states such as Bavaria...
he took refuge in the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
.
Life
Melchers was born in MünsterMünster
Münster is an independent city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located in the northern part of the state and is considered to be the cultural centre of the Westphalia region. It is also capital of the local government region Münsterland...
. He studied law at Bonn
Bonn
Bonn is the 19th largest city in Germany. Located in the Cologne/Bonn Region, about 25 kilometres south of Cologne on the river Rhine in the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, it was the capital of West Germany from 1949 to 1990 and the official seat of government of united Germany from 1990 to 1999....
(1830–33), and a few years practice at Münster
Münster
Münster is an independent city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located in the northern part of the state and is considered to be the cultural centre of the Westphalia region. It is also capital of the local government region Münsterland...
, took up theology at Munich
Munich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
under Heinrich Klee
Heinrich Klee
Heinrich Klee was a German theologian and Biblical exegete who argued against liberal and Rationalist currents in Catholic thought....
, Joseph Görres, Karl Joseph Hieronymus Windischmann
Karl Joseph Hieronymus Windischmann
Karl Joseph Hieronymus Windischmann was a German philosopher and anthropologist.He attended the Gymnasium in Mainz, and in 1772 took the course in philosophy at the university there. He continued this course at Würzburg, where he also studied the natural sciences and medicine until 1796...
and Ignaz von Döllinger. Ordained in 1841, he was assigned to duty in the village of Haltern
Haltern
Haltern is a town and a municipality in the district of Recklinghausen, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is situated on the Lippe and the Wesel–Datteln Canal, approx...
. In 1844 he became vice-rector of the diocesan seminary, rector (1851), canon of the cathedral (1852), vicar-general (1854).
Pope Pius IX
Pope Pius IX
Blessed Pope Pius IX , born Giovanni Maria Mastai-Ferretti, was the longest-reigning elected Pope in the history of the Catholic Church, serving from 16 June 1846 until his death, a period of nearly 32 years. During his pontificate, he convened the First Vatican Council in 1869, which decreed papal...
appointed him Bishop of Osnabrück
Bishop of Osnabrück
The Bishop of Osnabrück is the ordinary of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Osnabrück, the current incumbent is Franz-Josef Hermann Bode. Theodor Kettmann is his auxiliary bishop.- List of Bishops of Osnabrück :*Paul Ludolf Melchers...
(1857) and Archbishop of Cologne (1866). He inaugurated (1867) at 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 :...
, meetings of the German bishops. He regarded the formal definition of papal infallibility
Papal infallibility
Papal infallibility is a dogma of the Catholic Church which states that, by action of the Holy Spirit, the Pope is preserved from even the possibility of error when in his official capacity he solemnly declares or promulgates to the universal Church a dogmatic teaching on faith or morals...
as untimely, a conviction which he, with thirteen other bishops, expressed in a letter to the pope, 4 September 1869.
In the First Vatican Council
First Vatican Council
The First Vatican Council was convoked by Pope Pius IX on 29 June 1868, after a period of planning and preparation that began on 6 December 1864. This twentieth ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic Church, held three centuries after the Council of Trent, opened on 8 December 1869 and adjourned...
Melchers took a prominent part. At the session of 13 July 1870, he voted negatively on the question of papal infallibility; but he refused to sign an address in which fifty-five other members of the minority notified the pope of their immediate departure and reiterated their non placet. He left Rome before the fourth session, giving as his reason the outbreak of the Franco-Prussian war
Franco-Prussian War
The Franco-Prussian War or Franco-German War, often referred to in France as the 1870 War was a conflict between the Second French Empire and the Kingdom of Prussia. Prussia was aided by the North German Confederation, of which it was a member, and the South German states of Baden, Württemberg and...
, and declaring his readiness to abide by the decisions of the Council.
On his return to Cologne he proclaimed in an address (24 July) the dogma defined on 18 July. As a means of ensuring obedience to the Council, the bishops assembled by him in Fulda, published (1 September) a joint letter, for which Pius IX (20 October) expressed gratitude. To eliminate the opposition at Bonn, the archbishop (20 Sept. and 8 Oct.) called on professors Franz Xaver Dieringer
Franz Xaver Dieringer
Franz Xaver Dieringer was a Catholic theologian, b. 22 August 1811, at Rangendingen ; d. 8 September 1876, at Veringendorf .-Life:...
, Franz Heinrich Reusch
Franz Heinrich Reusch
Franz Heinrich Reusch was an Old Catholic theologian.He was born at Brilon, in Westphalia, studied general literature at Paderborn, and theology at Bonn, Tübingen and Munich. The friend and pupil of Döllinger, he took his degree of Doctor in Theology at Munich. He was ordained a priest in 1849,...
, Joseph Langen
Joseph Langen
Joseph Langen was a German theologian and priest, who was instrumental for the German Old Catholic movement.He was born at Cologne, studied at Bonn, and was ordained priest for the Roman Catholic Church in 1859...
, and Franz Peter Knoodt
Franz Peter Knoodt
Franz Peter Knoodt was a German Catholic theologian who was a native of Boppard.He studied theology in Bonn und Tübingen, and later worked as a chaplain and teacher in Trier. In 1841-43 he furthered his studies in Vienna, where he was a student of Anton Günther...
to sign a declaration accepting the Vatican decree and pledging conformity thereto in their teaching. Dieringer alone complied; the others were suspended and eventually (12 March 1872) excommunicated.
The Kulturkampf was firmly resisted by Archbishop Melchers. In June, 1873, he excommunicated two priests who had joined the Old Catholics; for this and other administrative acts he was fined and imprisoned for six months (12 March–October, 1874). On 2 December 1875, the President of the Rhine Province
Rhine Province
The Rhine Province , also known as Rhenish Prussia or synonymous to the Rhineland , was the westernmost province of the Kingdom of Prussia and the Free State of Prussia, within the German Reich, from 1822-1946. It was created from the provinces of the Lower Rhine and Jülich-Cleves-Berg...
demanded his resignation on pain of deposition; he refused, but learning that preparations were being made to deport him to Küstrin
Küstrin
Before 1945 Küstrin was a town in the former Prussian province of Brandenburg in Germany, situated on both sides of the Oder river...
he escaped (13 December) to Maastricht
Maastricht
Maastricht is situated on both sides of the Meuse river in the south-eastern part of the Netherlands, on the Belgian border and near the German border...
and took refuge with the Franciscans. From their monastery he administered his dioceses for ten years. On different occasions he informed Pope Leo XIII
Pope Leo XIII
Pope Leo XIII , born Vincenzo Gioacchino Raffaele Luigi Pecci to an Italian comital family, was the 256th Pope of the Roman Catholic Church, reigning from 1878 to 1903...
of his willingness to resign for the general good. The pope at last consented, but called him to Rome, and created him cardinal (27 July 1885).
In 1892 during a serious illness he was received into the Society of Jesus
Society of Jesus
The Society of Jesus is a Catholic male religious order that follows the teachings of the Catholic Church. The members are called Jesuits, and are also known colloquially as "God's Army" and as "The Company," these being references to founder Ignatius of Loyola's military background and a...
and lived as a Jesuit until his death three years later in 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...
. He was laid to rest in the cathedral of Cologne. St. Paul's Church, Cologne, completed in 1908, commemorates Melchers.
Works
His principal publications are: Erinnerungen An die Feier des 50 jährigen Bischofsjubiläums des h. Vaters Pius IX (Recollections on the Golden Jubilee of Pope Pius IX; Cologne, 1876); Eine Unterweisung über das Gebet (Cologne, 1876); Einer Unterweisung über des heilige Messopfer (Cologne, 1879); Das Sendschriben des heilige Vaters Papst Leo XIII über den Socialismus (Cologne, 1880); Die katholiche Lehre von der Kirche (Cologne, 1881); Das enine Nothwendige (Cologne, 1882); De canonica dioecesium visitatione (Rome, 1892).External links
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