Adolf III of Schauenburg () (1511-1556) was the

Archbishop-Elector of Cologne The Archbishop of Cologne governs the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cologne in western North Rhine-Westphalia. Historically, the archbishop was ''ex officio'' one of the prince-electors of the Holy Roman Empire and ruled the Electorate of Cologne ...

from 1547 to 1556.

Biography

Adolf of Schauenburg was born on January 19, 1511, and baptized on February 3. He was the son of

Jobst I, Count of Holstein-Schauenburg Jobst I, Count of Holstein-Schauenburg (1483-1531) was a German nobleman. He was the ruling Count of Schauenburg and Holstein-Pinneberg from 1527 until his death. He was a son of John IV (1449 – 30 March 1527) and his wife, Cordula of Ge ...

and his wife Mary of Nassau-Siegen. As a younger son, Adolf was groomed for a life in the church from a young age. From 1522 he studied at

Leuven Leuven (, , ), also called Louvain (, , ), is the capital and largest City status in Belgium, city of the Provinces of Belgium, province of Flemish Brabant in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is located about east of Brussels. The municipalit ...

. He became a

canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the material accepted as officially written by an author or an ascribed author * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western canon, th ...

Liège Cathedral Liège Cathedral, otherwise St. Paul's Cathedral (), is a Catholic Church, Roman Catholic cathedral in Liège, Belgium. Founded in the 10th century, it was rebuilt from the 13th to the 15th century and restored in the mid-19th century. It became ...

on September 2, 1528, and then

provost Provost may refer to: Officials Ecclesiastic * Provost (religion), a high-ranking church official * Prince-provost, a high-ranking church official Government * Provost (civil), an officer of local government, including the equivalent ...

of the cathedral on May 30, 1533. In 1529, he also became a canon of

Mainz Cathedral Mainz Cathedral or St. Martin's Cathedral ( or, officially, ') is located near the historical center and pedestrianized market square of the city of Mainz, Germany. This 1000-year-old Roman Catholic cathedral is the site of the episcopal see of th ...

and, on December 23, 1529, of

Cologne Cathedral Cologne Cathedral (, , officially , English: Cathedral Church of Saint Peter) is a cathedral in Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia belonging to the Catholic Church. It is the seat of the Archbishop of Cologne and of the administration of the Archd ...

. He became dean of

St. Gereon's Basilica St. Gereon's Basilica (''Basilika Sankt Gereon'') is a German Roman Catholic church in Cologne, dedicated to Saint Gereon, and designated a minor basilica on 25 June 1920. In the core of St. Gereon, significant remains of an oval central build ...

, and then its

in 1533. With his father's death in 1531, Adolf returned to

Schaumburg Schaumburg is a district (''Landkreis'') of Lower Saxony, Germany. It is bounded by (clockwise from the north) the districts of Nienburg, Hanover and Hameln-Pyrmont, and the state of North Rhine-Westphalia (districts of Lippe and Minden-Lübb ...

to act as his younger brothers' guardian. He played a role in the governance of Schaumburg until 1544. In the early 1530s, the Archbishop of Cologne,

Hermann of Wied Hermann of Wied (German: ''Hermann von Wied'') (14 January 1477 – 15 August 1552) was the Archbishop-Elector of Cologne from 1515 to 1546. In 1521, he supported a punishment for German reformer Martin Luther Martin Luther ( ; ; 10 N ...

, grew increasingly sympathetic to the

Protestant Reformation The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the papacy and ...

. To try to curb the archbishop's influence, on December 17, 1533, the

cathedral chapter According to both Catholic and Anglican canon law, a cathedral chapter is a college of clerics ( chapter) formed to advise a bishop and, in the case of a vacancy of the episcopal see in some countries, to govern the diocese during the vacancy. In ...

of Cologne Cathedral elected Adolf to be the

coadjutor bishop A coadjutor bishop (or bishop coadjutor) ("co-assister" in Latin) is a bishop in the Latin Catholic, Anglican and (historically) Eastern Orthodox churches whose main role is to assist the diocesan bishop in administering the diocese. The coa ...

Cologne Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city pr ...

. He was to be a conservative counterweight to Hermann's attempted reforms. On June 3, 1543,

Pope Paul III Pope Paul III (; ; born Alessandro Farnese; 29 February 1468 – 10 November 1549) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 13 October 1534 to his death, in November 1549. He came to the papal throne in an era follo ...

wrote to Adolf encouraging him to be vigilant in his efforts against the archbishop. The pope

excommunicated Excommunication is an institutional act of religious censure used to deprive, suspend, or limit membership in a religious community or to restrict certain rights within it, in particular those of being in communion with other members of the con ...

Hermann on July 3, 1546, naming Adolf the administrator of the archdiocese in his stead. The cathedral chapter elected Adolf as

Archbishop of Cologne The Archbishop of Cologne governs the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cologne in western North Rhine-Westphalia. Historically, the archbishop was ''ex officio'' one of the prince-electors of the Holy Roman Empire and ruled the Electorate of Cologne ...

on January 24, 1547.Catholic Hierarchy website, Archdiocese of Cologne page
/ref> He was

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are Consecration in Christianity, consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the religious denomination, denominationa ...

as a

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deity, deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in parti ...

by Bishop Johann Nopel on May 3, 1547. Adolf's first task was to roll back the reforms initiated by his predecessor. Hermann had installed

Martin Bucer Martin Bucer (; Early German: ; 11 November 1491– 28 February 1551) was a German Protestant reformer based in Strasbourg who influenced Lutheran, Anglican doctrines and practices as well as Reformed Theology. Bucer was originally a memb ...

, but Adolf now banned Protestant preaching throughout the archdiocese. Accompanied by Eberhard Billick,

provincial superior A provincial superior is an officer of a religious institute (including religious orders) acting under the institute's Superior General. A provincial superior exercises general supervision over all the members of that institute in a territorial ...

of the

Carmelites The Order of the Brothers of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel (; abbreviated OCarm), known as the Carmelites or sometimes by synecdoche known simply as Carmel, is a mendicant order in the Catholic Church for both men and women. Histo ...

, Adolf attended the

Diet of Augsburg The diets of Augsburg were the meetings of the Imperial Diet of the Holy Roman Empire held in the German city of Augsburg. Both an Imperial City and the residence of the Augsburg prince-bishops, the town had hosted the Estates in many such se ...

in 1547-48. He was ordained a bishop on April 8, 1548, in the presence of

and

Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor Charles V (24 February 1500 – 21 September 1558) was Holy Roman Emperor and Archduke of Austria from 1519 to 1556, King of Spain (as Charles I) from 1516 to 1556, and Lord of the Netherlands as titular Duke of Burgundy (as Charles II) ...

. He attended the 1551 session of the

Council of Trent The Council of Trent (), held between 1545 and 1563 in Trent (or Trento), now in northern Italy, was the 19th ecumenical council of the Catholic Church. Prompted by the Protestant Reformation at the time, it has been described as the "most ...

, accompanied by Billick and

Johann Gropper :''This is about the 16th century churchman. For the 20th Century political artist, see William Gropper.'' Johann Gropper (John or ; 24 February 1503 – 13 March 1559) was a German cardinal and church politician of the Reformation period. E ...

. Adolf died in Brühl on September 20, 1556.

Cornelis Floris de Vriendt Cornelis Floris or Cornelis (II) Floris De Vriendt (c. 1514 – 20 October 1575) was a Southern Netherlands, Flemish sculptor, architect, draughtsman, medallist and designer of prints and luxury. He operated a large workshop in Antwerp from wh ...

created matching tombs for Adolf and his younger brother

Anton of Schauenburg Anton of Schauenburg () (died June 18, 1558) was Archbishop-Elector of Cologne from 1557 to 1558. Biography Anton of Schauenburg was the son of Jobst I, Count of Holstein-Schauenburg and his wife Mary of Nassau-Siegen. His elder brother ...

(d. 1558) in Cologne Cathedral. Originally located in the choir, they were relocated to the radiating chapels in 1863.

References

*Norbert Trippen, ''Geschichte des Erzbistums Köln'' (Cologne, 2008) *Robert Haass
"Adolf III"
in ''Neue Deutsche Biographie'', Vol. 1 (Berlin: Duncker & Humblot, 1953), pp 83f. {{DEFAULTSORT:Adolf 03 Of Schauenburg 1511 births 1556 deaths Adolphus 03 Adolphus 03 Cathedral deans of Cologne

Biography

See also

References