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Peter Canisius. who from 1549, in the capacity of cathedral preacher, confessor, and cat€chist, exercised a remarkably fruitful and efficacious ministry. In 1549 Bishop btto founded a seminary in DUlingen for the training of priests, obtained from the ])ope (1554) a decree raising it to the rank of a imiversity, and in 1564 gave the direction of the new university to the Jesuits, for whom he had built a college in Dillingen. It is due to his untiring labours and tho.se of Cani-sius that much larger portions of the diocese were not lost to the Church. Under the immediate successors of Otto the revival instituted by him progressed rapidly, and many excellent decrees were formulated. Under Marquardll von Berg (1575-91) a pontifical boarding school {alumnaius) was founded in Dillingen, colleges were established by the Jesuits in Landsberg, and. through the bounty of the Fugger family, in Augs- burg (15S0). Heinrich von Knoringen, made bishop at the early age of twenty-eight, took especial interest in the University and the Seminary of Dillingen. both of which he enriched with many endowments; he convened several synods, converted Duke Wolfgang of Neuburg to Catholicism, and during his long episcopate (1598-1646) reconciled many Protestant cities antl parishes to the Catholic Church, being aided in a particular manner by the Jesuits, for whom he founded establishments in Neuburg. Memmingen, and Kaufbeuren. By means of the Edict of Restitution of Emperor Ferdinand II (1629), \-igorously and even too forcefully executed by the bishop, the Thirty Years' War fii-st acc:iinplished an almost complete restoration of the former possessions of the Diocese of Augsburg. The occupation of Augsburg by Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden (16.'i2) restored temporarily the balance of power to the Protestants. Until the relief of the city by the imperial troops (1635) the Catho- lics were hard pressed and were forced to give up all they had gained by the Edict of Restitution. Fi- nally, the Treaty of Westphalia (1648) estabUshed equality between Catholics and Protestants, and was followed by a long period of internal peace. On ac- count of the losses entailed on the diocese by the treaty, a solemn protest was laid before the imperial chancery by Bishop Sigmund Franz. Archduke of Austria (1646-65). This bishop, on account of his youth, ruled the diocese through administrators. and later resigned his office. His successor, Johann Christopher von Freiberg (1665-90), was particularly desirous of liquidating the heavy burden of debt borne by the chapter, but was nevertheless generous towards churches and monasteries. His successor, Alexander Sigmund (1690-17.37), son of the Palatine Elector, guarded the purity of doctrine in liturgical books and prayerbooks. Johann Friedrich von Stauffenberg (1737-40) founded the Seminary of Meersburg and introduced missions among the people. Joseph, Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt (1740-68) ex- himied with great ceremony the bones of St. Ulrich and instituted an investigation into the life of Cres- centia Hoss of Kaufbeuren, who had dietl in the odour of sanctity. Klemens Wenzeslaus, Prince of Saxony and Poland (1768-1812), made a great number of excellent disciplinarj' regulations, and took measures for their execution; after the suppression of the Society of Jesus he afforded its members protection and employment in his diocese; he matle a vigorous resistance to the rapidly spreading Rationalism and infidelity, and was honoured by a visit from Pope Pius VI (1782).

(4) French Revolution and Secularization. — During this episcopate began the world-wide upheaval in- augurated by the French Revolution. It was destined to put an end to the temporal power of the Church in (iermany, and to bring about the fall of Augsburg from the dignity of a principality of the Empire. In 1802, by act of the Delegation of the Imperial Diet (Reichsdeputatio7isrezes>:), the territory of the

Diocese of Augsburg was given to the Elector of Bavaria, who took possession 1 December, 1802. The cathedral chapter, together with forty canoni- cates, forty-one benefices, nine colleges, twenty-five abbeys, thirty-four monasteries of the mendicant orders, and two convents were the victims of this act of secularization. Unfortunately, owing to the inconsiderate conduct of the commissioners ap- pointed by the Bavarian minister, Montgelas, in- numerable artistic treasures, valviable books, and documents were destroyed. For five years after the death of the last bishop of princely rank (1812) the episcopal see remained vacant; the parts of the dio- cese lying outside of Bavaria were separated from it and annexed to other dioceses. It was not until 1817 that the Concordat between the Holy See and the Bavarian government reconstructed the Diocese of Augsburg, and made it subject to the Metropolitan of Munich-Freising. In 1821 the territory subject to the ecclesiastical authority of Augsburg was increased by the addition of sections of the suppressed See of Constance, and the present limits were then defined.

(5) The Nineteenth Century. — As the new bishop, Franz Karl von Hohenlohe-Schillingsfiirst, died (1819) before assuming office, and Joseph Maria von Fraunberg was soon called to the archiepiscopal See of Bamberg, there devolved upon their success- ors the important task of rearranging the external conditions and reanimating religious life, which had suffered sorely. Ignatius Albert von Riegg (1S24- 36) was successful in his endeavours to further the interests of souls, to raise the standard of popular education through the medium of munerous ordi- nances and frequent visitations. He assigned the administration and direction of studies in the Lyceum to the monks of the Benedictine Abbey of St. Stephen in Augsburg, foimded by King Ludwig (1834). Petrus von Richarz (1837-55) displayed energj' and persistent zeal in promoting the interests of his dio- cese and the Catholic Church in general, and en- couraged the giving of mi.ssions to the people, the establishment of many religious institutions for the care of the sick and for educational purposes, and carefully superintended the training of the clergy. The same spirit characterized the labours of the suc- ceeding bishops: Michael von Deinlein (1856-58), who after a short episcopate was raised to the Arch- bishopric of Bamberg; Pankratius von Dinkel (1858- 94), under whom both seminaries and the deaf and dumb asylum were established in Dillingen, and many monastic institutions were founded; Petrus von Hotzl (1895-1902) whose episcopate was marked by the attention paid to soci.al and intellectual pursuits, and the number of missions given among the people as well as by the solemn celebration of the beatifica- tion of the pious nun Creseentia Hoss. He was succeeded bv Maximilian von Lingg. b. at Nesselwang, 8 March, 1842; ordained priest, 22 July, 1865; ap- pointed bishop, 18 March, 1902, consecrated, 20 July, 1902.

II. Religious Statistics. — According to the cen- sus of 1 December, 1900, the Diocese of Augsburg contained 777,958 Catholics and about 100,000 of other beliefs; at present there are about 818,074 Catholics. Socially, the population is chiefly of the middle class; recently, however, on account of the great growth of the industrial arts in the city of Augsburg, in Lechhausen, Memmingen, and other places, the working classes are increasing in numbers. Leaving out of consideration the larger cities, in which the various denominations are well represented, it may be said that the southern part of the diocese, Algau and the adjoining parts of Altbayern (Bavaria proper), are almost entirely Catholic, while in the northern part a mixture of creeds predominates. That small portion of Mittelfranken (Central Fran- conia) which belongs to the diocese is overwhelnKi-

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