Josef Stangl

Josef Stangl (* August 12 1907 in Kronach, † April 8, 1979 in Schweinfurt, Germany ) was a Catholic bishop of Würzburg by 1957 until 1979.

Home, school and university

Stangl was born the son of a lawyer, had five siblings and attended during the First World War, in which his father took part as an officer in the rank of major, a one-class village school in Heidenheim and from 1916, the Old Gymnasium in Bamberg. Stangl lived due to poor transport links in Bamberg Church Home Aufseesianum.

From 1921 he attended the New School in Würzburg, where he graduated from high school, and lived in the local Ferdinandeum, also a church dormitory.

During his school days Würzburg Stangl was a member of the Catholic Youth Organization Federation Neudeutschland and in the Marian Congregation. For the profession of priest Stangl had already decided when he received his leaving certificate in April 1925. After a semester at the University of Munich he picked up his philosophy and theology studies in Würzburg in 1926 and entered into the Würzburg seminary. An avid sportsman, he joined 1927 DJK ( German Youth ) force for and acquired even 1952, the German Sports Badge in Gold.

Professional lives up to the episcopal ordination

The priests ordained Stangl on 16 March 1930 and was then a chaplain in Thüngersheim, sky city and the Sacred Heart parish in Aschaffenburg.

From 1 September 1934, he was a religion teacher at the Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Würzburg. His career also Stangl were: diocesan youth minister (1938-1943), pastor in Karlstadt (1943-1947), teacher and seminar leader at the teacher training college in Würzburg ( 1947-1952 ). In 1953 he became the first pastoral care of the diocese of Würzburg Speaker, 1956 rain (leader) of the seminary.

The appointment of bishops Stangl from June 27, 1957 was not so surprising, as is sometimes shown in the literature in the face of these diverse activities and its leading features in the diocesan administration and training of young scientists. He received his episcopal consecration on 12 September, the Archbishop of Bamberg, Josef Schneider.

Episcopal Coat of Arms

The coat of arms shows in field 1 and 4 three silver spikes on red background - the Franks rake - it stands for the Diocese of Würzburg. Field 2 and 3 shows, in blue field seven golden tongues of fire over four and three under a golden cross flow. He symbolizes the water, the flames, both the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit and the seven sacraments.

His motto Domino plebem perfectam ( " the Lord a willing people" ) comes from the Gospel of Luke ( Lk 1.17 EU).

Act as Bishop

In the German Bishops' Conference was Stangl's most important function of the youth speakers from 1961 to 1970. Moreover, he was from 1961 a member of the Commission for Latin America, from 1966 to the Commission for lay and pastoral questions Commission, from 1968 to the Commission for Ecumenical questions. The latter corresponded to a particular focus of his work: Since 1960 he was a member of the Papal Secretariat for Promoting Christian Unity ( "Unity Secretariat") and National President of the Pontifical work " Catholica Unio " which used the dialogue with the Eastern Churches. The unit responsible Secretariat prepared important documents of the Second Vatican Council before: Unitatis redintegratio ( ecumenical decree ), Dignitatis Humanae ( Declaration on Religious Freedom) and Nostra Aetate (ratio to non-Christian religions). The most important contribution Stangl was a sensational speech at the Council, with which he helped the so-called Jewish declaration to a breakthrough here.

A special role is played Stangl also the host of the Joint Synod of the German dioceses in Germany, which met in eight sessions in Wuerzburg Cathedral, 1971-1975. An outstanding event in this period was the beatification of Würzburg diocesan priest Liborius Wagner (1593-1631) on 24 March 1974 in Rome. In the wake of that Pope Paul VI. Stangl in 1975, the Congregation for the Causes of Saints.

In the world known Josef Stangl was in connection with the so-called exorcism of Klingenberg: arranged the prayer of exorcism for the pedagogy student Anneliese Michel from Klingenberg to urgent requests of the parties he had as competent bishop, who died on 1 July 1976 of physical exhaustion. The parents and the priests involved in the exorcism were made responsible for ensuring that - the desire of Anneliese Michel following - no medical assistance had been invited to attend. Bishop Stangl was though never formally charged, but was violently attacked, especially in the media, because he had become his duty of supervision does not do justice.

At Pentecost Saturday, May 28, 1977 took Stangl, after the death of Cardinal Julius Dopfner temporary chairman of the Bavarian bishops' conference, the consecration of the new Archbishop of Munich and Freising, Joseph Ratzinger ( April 19, 2005 to February 28, 2013 Pope Benedict XVI. ), before the Munich Liebfrauendom.

From about 1978 were found in Josef Stangl as symptoms of a slowly progressive disease of motor skills, speech, and difficulty concentrating. Its filed in Rome in November 1978 resignation was accepted in January 1979; Stangl died soon after. Cardinal Ratzinger headed then on 11 April 1979, the Requiem at the funeral of Bishop Stangl in Würzburg.

During his lifetime and far beyond his death enjoyed Stangl especially in his diocese a very great sympathy, which was hardly affected by the events of Klingenberg. As decisive reasons on the one hand his proverbial kindness, his pedagogical charisma and his personal modesty are called, on the other hand his efforts to boost the role of the laity in the Church.

Bishop Stangl price

Since 2011, the Bishop Stangl Prize of the Federation of German Catholic Youth ( BDKJ ) Würzburg is presented annually by the Foundation "Youth is the Future " award, with the church youth work in the diocese of Würzburg and the volunteer work of young people who have raised themselves daily in youth associations, acolytes or parish groups involved.

Swell

The extensive estate of Josef Stangl is located in the archives of the diocese of Würzburg. It's generally still blocked due to protection periods, but a consultation for scientific research in the context of special permits possible.