Page:Catholic Encyclopedia, volume 6.djvu/612

 GESELLENVEREINE

538

GESELLENVEREINE

made to him. Mention of iiis feast is already made in the additions to the Hieronymic martyrology, and in the ninth century in the niaityrologies of Wandalbert of Prnm and of Rabaniis Maurus. This feast is cele- t)iated on 11 August. The institution of the feast of liis exhumation, IS November, and of his translation, 24 September, dates probably from 1245, as his relics were exhumed in that year by Bishop Guido of Cam- brai. Relics of the saint are preserved at Ste-Marie de Liessies, at the Church of St-G6ry at Brussels, at the church of the same name at Arras, at St^Donatien at Bruges, at St-Pierre at Douai, and in other churches of Belgium. St-Gery is the patron of Cam- brai, subsidiary patron of Brussels, and he is honoured as a protector at Braine-le-Comte (Hainaut, Belgium). On the reliquary in the form of an ostensorium at the Cathedral of Cambrai, which contains the skull of St. G^ry, he is represented in the attire of a bishop, mitre on head, without liis crosier, right hand lifted in a gesture of benediction and left folded upon his breast.

Analecta Bollandiana, vii, 388-398; Acta SS., August, II, 672-693; Acta SS. Belg., 11, 271-315; Mon. Germ. Hist., Script. Rer. Meroving., Ill, 652 sq.; Krusch, Das Leben des Bischofs Oangerich von Cambrai in Neue^ Archiv., XVI, 227-234; Van DER Essen, Etude critique et litteraire dur les Vitw des saints Merovingiens de Vancienne Belgique {Louvain, 1907), 206-211; BoscHlus, De S. Gaugerico . . . commentarius prcevius in Acta SS. Belg., II, 256-270; Flahault, Notes et documents relati'

S. Gem (Charleville, 1851).

L. VAN DER E.S.SEN.

Gesellenvereine, German Catholic societies for the religious, moral, and professional improvement of young men. They owe their origin and present con- dition to Adolph Kolping, surnamed the Journey- men's Father {Gesellenvater) . He was born 8 Dec, 1.S13, of poor parents, and, though he gave early evi- dence of inclination to study, he was obliged to learn t he trade of a shoemaker. As a poor young workman, he became acquainted with the disadvantages suffered by men of his class on their journeys, in factories, and in city lodging-houses. At the age of twenty-three Kolping felt drawn to the priesthood, but reached that goal only in 1845, after years of patient study amidst troubles, privations, and sickness. He was first sent as chaplain to Elberfeld, where a number of journey- men carpenters had founded a choral society with the aid of a teacher and the local clergy. It grew rapidly into a Young Workmen's Society with the acknowl- edged object of fostering the religious life by means of a closer union among its members, and at the same time of improving their mechanical skill. Kolping frequently addressed the members on subjects of in- terest to mechanics. He was elected president in 1847, and soon gave to the association the features tliat have since been distinctive of the Gesellenverein, or Society of Young Journeymen. Hitherto little at- tention had been paid to this class of workmen. Kol- ping recognized that, to uplift them morally and socially, it was advisable to establish a widespread organization of similar societies. Its first fruits could not fail to be a respectable body of master-workmen. He resolved to make Cologne, one of the great indus- trial centres of Germany, the seat of his life-work in this direction. In 1849 he was appointed assistant- priest at the cathedral of that city. With a few zeal- ous friends, ecclesiastics and laymen, he founded at once a Gesellenverein, and began to instruct its mem- bers gratuitously on various subjects. The Cologne society soon acquired its own home, and opened therein a refuge, or hospice, for young travelling jour- neymen. In his efforts to develop the work Kolping was energetic and undaunted. He was eloquent both as speaker and writer. Filled with the zeal of an apostle, he visited frequently the great industrial centres of Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and Hun- gary. His propaganda bore good fruit, and in a short time societies of young (Catholic journeymen were

formed in many Rhenish towns, in Westphalia, and finally throughout the German-speaking world. When Kolping died (4 Dec, 1865). the Gesellenverein num- bered about 400 branch unions. In 1901 they had reached the number of 1086, with a membershij) of 80,000 journeymen and 120,000 master-workmen. There are at present more than 1170 unions affiliated to the C'entral Union at Cologne. Of these there are in Prussia and Northern Germany 505, in Bavaria 222, in the rest of Germany 1.34. There are 263 in Austria and Hungary, 34 in Switzerland, S in Holland, 2 in Luxemburg, 2 in Brussels, 2 at Paris, 1 each in Lon- don, Stockholm, Rustchuk (Bulgaria), and Rome. About 360 unions own their own houses — over 220 in Germany, and 90 in Austria-Hungary. There are a general burial fund (establishetl 1904'), about 195 local sick funds, besides the general fund, and a gen- eral fund to aid travelling journeymen.

These societies or unions aim, in general, at the moral, mental, and professional improvement of young German Catholic journeymen, apprentices, etc. (Gesellen). They develop and cultivate in them strong religious principles and civic virtue. The re- sult is a large and united body of self-respecting and respected master-workmen, distributed over all parts of Germany and throughout the lands bordering on the German Empire. Persuaded that the middle classes can thrive only when they repose on a basis of religion and practical faith, the Gesellenverein culti- vates assiduously the religious and moral sense of its members. The entire organization exists primarily for this purpose. There is a quarterly general Com- munion, and the Easter Communion is preceded by a retreat, or brief spiritual preparation. On Sundays and great holidays special Mass is said for the mem- bers of the society. Lectures are given on Sunday evenings by clergymen and laymen; the subjects treated are quite varied, ranging from religious topics to the purely instructive or entertaining. Non-reli- gious festivities, such as excursions, theatricals, evening entertainments, and the like, are allowed, but in mod- eration, lest they should develop in the members that excessive love of amusement which characterizes modern youth. Since 1890 much attention has been paid to the instruction of members in technical, indus- trial, and mercantile subjects (538 unions in 1908). Besides providing for Christian doctrine, the societies conduct classes in book-keeping, arithmetic, drawing, literary composition, music, natural sciences, etc. In the larger cities there are free classes in several crafts, e. g., for bakers, tailors, carpenters, workers in metal, painters, shoemakers. This instruction is de- signed especially for those workmen who aim at estal> lisiiing a business of their own. Frequently, in the large cities, these classes are attached to local technical and industrial schools, municipal or governmental.

In its organization the Verein contains patriarchal, monarchical, and ecclesiastical elements. In accord- ance with the "general statute" which Kolping framed and which, with various modifications, is still in force, each Verein conducts its own affairs as local cir- cumstances require, yet always with a regard for the general principles of the organization. At the head of each is a Catholic priest, whose control is supreme. He is nominated by the diocesan "Prseses" (presi- dent) after consultation with the local authorities, and is appointed by the bishop. He is assisted by a board of managers composed partly of citizens actively inter- ested in the work and partly of memliers chosen by the Verein. The diocesan president acts as intermediary between the bishop anil the Vereins, organizes meet- ings, hokis conferences, etc. In Bavaria, Saxony, the Netherlands, and Switzerland, thei-e is, besides the diocesan president, a "central" president, and in Hungary a "federation" president. All these asso- ciations are united in the "Catholic Gesellenverein" under the headslii]) of a president general, who, ac-