Johannes Joachim Degenhardt | |
|---|---|
| CardinalArchbishop of Paderborn | |
 | |
| Diocese | Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Paderborn |
| Appointed | April 1974 |
| Term ended | 25 July 2002 |
| Predecessor | Lorenz Jaeger |
| Successor | Hans-Josef Becker |
| Other post | Cardinal-Priest of San Liborio |
| Previous post | Auxiliary Bishop of Paderborn (1968–1974) |
| Orders | |
| Ordination | 6 August 1952 by Lorenz Jaeger |
| Consecration | 1 May 1968 by Lorenz Jaeger |
| Created cardinal | 21 February 2001 byJohn Paul II |
| Rank | Cardinal-Priest |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1926-01-31)31 January 1926 |
| Died | 25 July 2002(2002-07-25) (aged 76) |
| Nationality | German |
| Denomination | RomanCatholic Church |
| Coat of arms |  |
Johannes Joachim Degenhardt (31 January 1926 – 25 July 2002) was the Roman CatholicArchbishop of Paderborn (Germany) from 1974 until his death in 2002.[1] He was namedCardinal in 2001.[2]
Degenhardt grew up inHagen, where he attended thehumanisticAlbrecht DürerGymnasium. He belonged to the Catholic youth group,Bund Neudeutschland;[2] as a member of this youth organisation, which was banned by theNazis, he was arrested by theGestapo in 1941, when he co-organised a demonstration of young people to show loyalty to the new spiritual leader,Lorenz Jaeger, on the day of his consecration as the Bishop of Paderborn.
Degenhardt had already been suspected by the Gestapo for some time, since he had risked his life by secretly circulating the sermons of theMünster BishopClemens August Graf von Galen. He was held in solitary confinement for several weeks in theDortmund Gestapo headquarters, imprisoned in a 3 x 1.5 m cell, beaten by the guards and not released until Christmas of 1941, with the warning that he would be sent to aconcentration camp if he said anything about his imprisonment. After his release, he was expelled from theGymnasium.
During the Second World War, he was conscripted as an aid in theLuftwaffe and was taken as aprisoner of war,[3] from which he was released in 1946. After the War, he completed secondary school and studied philosophy andtheology in Paderborn andMunich.[2] On 6 August 1952 he was ordained as a priest by Archbishop Lorenz Jaeger in thePaderborn Cathedral.
He was acurate inBrackwede for five years after that. As of 1957, he was administrator of the priest's office there, and then temporary substitute for the priest until he was appointed as aprefect of the archiepiscopalCollegium Leonium inPaderborn by Archbishop Jaeger.
On 28 January 1964 he received his doctorate degree in theology from ProfessorRudolf Schnackenburg; the topic of his dissertation was "Luke - Evangelist of the Poor".[4] He then worked as an assistant professor at theRuhr-Universität Bochum.
In 1965, Degenhardt became university chaplain at thePädagogische Hochschule Westfalen/Lippe in Paderborn and then in February of the same year, he became diocese representative of theKatholisches Bibelwerk.
On 18 March 1968Pope Paul VI named Degenhardt asauxiliary bishop in Paderborn andtitular bishop ofVicus Pacati. The motto of Degenhardt wasSurrexit Dominus vere (The Lord has truly risen, from the Easter liturgy). Cardinal Lorenz Jaeger, Archbishop of Paderborn, had Degenhardt consecrated as bishop on 1 May 1968. The consecrators were Ruhr BishopFranz Hengsbach and Auxiliary BishopPaul Nordhues.
Cardinal Jaeger resigned from his office as archbishop at the beginning of 1973. The cathedral chapter of the archdiocese of Paderborn then elected Degenhardt asvicar capitular, and Pope Paul VI named him as the new archbishop of Paderborn in April 1974. In 1999, he celebrated his 25th anniversary in that office at theLiborifest, a traditional Paderborn celebration in honor of St.Liborius of Le Mans.
On 8 October 1991 Archbishop Degenhardt withdrew ecclesiastical teaching authorization from the priest and university teacher,Eugen Drewermann, after he refused to retract certain statements which were not in agreement with Catholic teachings;[3] among other things, Drewermann had questioned thevirgin birth and thebodily resurrection of Jesus. On 26 March 1992 Drewermann was also suspended from the priesthood.
Pope John Paul II named Archbishop Degenhardt to be a cardinal, along with BishopKarl Lehmann ofMainz and five other bishops, on 28 January 2001, after he had just named 37 cardinals one week earlier. Pope John Paul II himself explained his naming only one year later on the occasion of Degenhardt's death in a letter of condolence written from theWorld Youth Day in Toronto as follows: "With his appointment to cardinal, I wanted to make visible the faithful evidence of the Paderborn spiritual leader for the entire world church."
On 21 February 2001 he received the Paderborn archbishop as acardinal priest with thetitular church ofSan Liborio into thecollege of cardinals in the largestconsistory of modern church history. Degenhardt held various ecclesiastical offices, including the leadership of theEccumenical Commission of theGerman Bishops Conference from 1974 to 1976.
Degenhardt died suddenly in the early morning of 25 July 2002 in the archiepiscopal palace in Paderborn at the age of 76.[1] The funeral took place on 3 August 2002.
In 2003,Hans-Josef Becker became Degenhardt's successor as archbishop of Paderborn.
Cardinal Degenhardt held numerous high decorations and awards. He was an honorary citizen of the city of Paderborn and bearer of the GreatBundesverdienstkreuz with Star. In accordance with his rank as a cardinal, he was also a Grand Crusader in theOrder of the Holy Sepulchre, apapal lay order. In addition, he was an honorary member of theK.D.St.V. Guestfalo-Silesia Paderborn in theCV. He received the Award of the French OrderChevalier dans l'Ordre national du mérite in 1998.[4]
Degenhardt was a cousin of the German poet and singerFranz Josef Degenhardt.
Johannes Kreuzenbeck (2005). "Degenhardt, Johannes Joachim". In Bautz, Traugott (ed.).Biographisch-Bibliographisches Kirchenlexikon (BBKL) (in German). Vol. 25. Nordhausen: Bautz. cols. 196–199.ISBN 3-88309-332-7.
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| Preceded by | Archbishop of Paderborn 1974–2002 | Succeeded by |
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