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Wilhelm Emmanuel Freiherr von Ketteler | |
|---|---|
| Bishop of Mainz | |
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| Church | Latin Church |
| Diocese | Mainz |
| Appointed | 20 May 1850 |
| Term ended | 13 July 1877 |
| Predecessor | Petrus Leopold Kaiser |
| Orders | |
| Ordination | 1 June 1844 |
| Consecration | 25 July 1850 by Hermann von Vicari |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1811-12-25)25 December 1811 |
| Died | 13 July 1877(1877-07-13) (aged 65) |
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Baron Wilhelm Emmanuel von Ketteler (25 December 1811 – 13 July 1877) was a German theologian and politician who served asBishop of Mainz. His social teachings became influential during the papacy ofLeo XIII and his encyclicalRerum novarum.[1]
Ketteler was born inMünster inWestphalia. In 1828, he finishedmatura inBrig, Switzerland.[citation needed] He studied theology atGöttingen, Berlin,Heidelberg, andMunich, and was ordained as a priest in 1844. He dedicated much of his life to maintaining the freedom of the Church from the control of the State, which often brought him into conflict with political powers.[2]
During the1848 Revolutions, Ketteler was elected as a deputy for the District of Tecklenburg and Warendorf to theFrankfurt National Assembly. During this time, he became noted for his foresight, energy, and eloquence. He established a reputation for his decisiveness, rather than his scholarliness.[2]
In 1850, Ketteler was made bishop ofMainz by order of theVatican. He was selected over ProfessorLeopold Schmidt, ofGießen, whoseliberal sentiments were not in line with the current Papal beliefs. When elected, Ketteler refused to allow theology students in hisdiocese to attend lectures at Giessen, and ultimately founded an opposition seminary in the diocese of Mainz itself.[2]
Ketteler founded severalreligious institutes of School Brothers and School Sisters to work in the various educational agencies he had created. He also worked to create orphanages and rescue homes.[2] In 1851, he founded thecongregation of the Sisters of Divine Providence, withStephanie Amelia Starkenfels de la Roche.[citation needed]
Ketteler died in 1877, atBurghausen, inUpper Bavaria.
In Mainz, "Workers' Day" is celebrated in honor of Ketteler, and theHerz-Jesu-Kirche was dedicated to him. Thefuchsiacultivar "Baron de Ketteler" is named after him. Ketteler's nephew,Klemens von Ketteler, was Germany's envoy in China, and was murdered during theBoxer Rebellion.[citation needed]
He is cited in Pope Benedict's encyclicalDeus caritas est for his role in the Catholic social tradition.
In 1861, Ketteler published a book on reconciliation between Catholics and Protestants in Germany,Freiheit, Autorität, und Kirche; in it, he proposed the founding of a prayer society "for the Reunion of Christendom".[3] Ketteler was friends withJulie von Massow, a Lutheran woman from Prussian nobility, who established one of these prayer societies.[4]
Ketteler was opposed the dogma ofpapal infallibility on the ground that it was being promulgated at an inappropriate time. After the dogma was defined in 1870, he submitted to the decrees.[2]
In 1858, Ketteler issued a pamphlet on the rights of the RomanCatholic Church in Germany, drawing a hard line between the Church and the State. In 1863 he adoptedFerdinand Lassalle's views, and published hisDie Arbeitfrage und das Christenthum.[2] He was a vocal opponent of the State in theKulturkampf provoked by PrinceOtto von Bismarck after the publication of the Vatican decrees, and was largely instrumental in compelling von Bismark to retract the pledge he had given to never "go to Canossa."[2] In 1874, Ketteler forbade his clergy from celebrating the anniversary of theBattle of Sedan, and declared theRhine to be a "Catholic river."[2]
One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Lias, John James (1911). "Ketteler, Wilhelm Emmanuel, Baron von". InChisholm, Hugh (ed.).Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 15 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 763.| Catholic Church titles | ||
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| Preceded by | Prince-Episcopal Delegate for Brandenburg and Pomerania 1849–1850 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Bishop of Mainz 1850–1877 | Vacant Title next held by Paul Leopold Haffnerinterim AdministratorChristoph Moufang |
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