Paul Melchers (6 January 1813 – 14 December 1895) was a

Cardinal Cardinal or The Cardinal may refer to: Animals * Cardinal (bird) or Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **''Cardinalis'', genus of cardinal in the family Cardinalidae **''Cardinalis cardinalis'', or northern cardinal, the ...

and

Archbishop of Cologne The Archbishop of Cologne is an archbishop governing the Archdiocese of Cologne of the Catholic Church in western North Rhine-Westphalia and is also a historical state in the Rhine holding the birthplace of Beethoven and northern Rhineland-Palati ...

. At the height of the ''

Kulturkampf (, 'culture struggle') was the conflict that took place from 1872 to 1878 between the Catholic Church led by Pope Pius IX and the government of Prussia led by Otto von Bismarck. The main issues were clerical control of education and ecclesiastic ...

'' he took refuge in the Netherlands.

Life

Melchers was born in Münster. He studied law at Bonn (1830–33), and a few years practice at Münster, took up theology at Munich under

Heinrich Klee Heinrich Klee (20 April 1800 in Münstermaifeld, Rhine province – 28 July 1840 in Munich) was a German theologian and Biblical exegete who argued against liberal and Rationalist currents in Catholic thought. Biography At the age of sevent ...

Joseph Görres Johann Joseph Görres, since 1839 von Görres (25 January 1776 – 29 January 1848), was a German writer, philosopher, theologian, historian and journalist. Early life Görres was born in Koblenz. His father was moderately well off, and sent hi ...

Karl Joseph Hieronymus Windischmann Karl Joseph Hieronymus Windischmann (25 August 1775, in Mainz – 23 April 1839, in Bonn) was a German philosopher and anthropologist. Biography Windischmann attended the Gymnasium in Mainz, and in 1772 took the course in philosophy at t ...

and Ignaz von Döllinger. Ordained in 1841, he was assigned to duty in the village of Haltern. In 1844 he became vice-rector of the diocesan seminary, rector (1851), canon of the cathedral (1852), vicar-general (1854).

Pope Pius IX Pope Pius IX ( it, Pio IX, ''Pio Nono''; born Giovanni Maria Mastai Ferretti; 13 May 1792 – 7 February 1878) was head of the Catholic Church from 1846 to 1878, the longest verified papal reign. He was notable for convoking the First Vatican ...

appointed him Bishop of Osnabrück (1857) and

(1866). He inaugurated (1867) at

Fulda Fulda () (historically in English called Fuld) is a town in Hesse, Germany; it is located on the river Fulda and is the administrative seat of the Fulda district (''Kreis''). In 1990, the town hosted the 30th Hessentag state festival. History ...

, meetings of the German bishops. He regarded the formal definition of papal infallibility as untimely, a conviction which he, with thirteen other bishops, expressed in a letter to the pope, 4 September 1869. In the

First Vatican Council The First Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the First Vatican Council or Vatican I was convoked by Pope Pius IX on 29 June 1868, after a period of planning and preparation that began on 6 December 1864. This, the twentieth ecu ...

Melchers took a prominent part. At the session of 13 July 1870, he voted negatively on the question of papal infallibility; but he refused to sign an address in which fifty-five other members of the minority notified the pope of their immediate departure and reiterated their ''non placet''. He left Rome before the fourth session, giving as his reason the outbreak of the Franco-Prussian war, and declaring his readiness to abide by the decisions of the Council. On his return to Cologne he proclaimed in an address (24 July) the dogma defined on 18 July. As a means of ensuring obedience to the Council, the bishops assembled by him in Fulda, published (1 September) a joint letter, for which Pius IX (20 October) expressed gratitude. To eliminate the opposition at Bonn, the archbishop (20 Sept. and 8 Oct.) called on professors Franz Xaver Dieringer,

Franz Heinrich Reusch Franz Heinrich Reusch (4 December 1825 – 3 March 1900) was an Old Catholic theologian. He was born at Brilon, in Westphalia, studied general literature at Paderborn, and theology at Bonn, Tübingen and Munich. The friend and pupil of Döl ...

, Joseph Langen, and

Franz Peter Knoodt Franz Peter Knoodt (6 November 1811 – 27 January 1889) was a German Catholic theologian who was a native of Boppard. He studied theology in Bonn und Tübingen, and later worked as a chaplain and teacher in Trier. In 1841-43 he furthered hi ...

to sign a declaration accepting the Vatican decree and pledging conformity thereto in their teaching. Dieringer alone complied; the others were suspended and eventually (12 March 1872) excommunicated. The ''Kulturkampf'' was firmly resisted by Archbishop Melchers. In June, 1873, he excommunicated two priests who had joined the Old Catholics; for this and other administrative acts he was fined and imprisoned for six months (12 March–October, 1874). On 2 December 1875, the President of the

Rhine Province The Rhine Province (german: Rheinprovinz), also known as Rhenish Prussia () or synonymous with the Rhineland (), was the westernmost province of the Kingdom of Prussia and the Free State of Prussia, within the German Reich, from 1822 to 1946. It ...

demanded his resignation on pain of deposition; he refused, but learning that preparations were being made to deport him to Küstrin he escaped (13 December) to Maastricht and took refuge with the Franciscans. From their monastery he administered his dioceses for ten years. On different occasions he informed Pope Leo XIII of his willingness to resign for the general good. The pope at last consented, but called him to Rome, and created him cardinal (27 July 1885). In 1892, during a serious illness he was received into the Society of Jesus and lived as a Jesuit until his death three years later in Rome. He was laid to rest in the cathedral of Cologne. St. Paul's Church, Cologne, completed in 1908, commemorates Melchers.

Works

His principal publications are: ''Erinnerungen an die Feier des 50jährigen Bischofsjubiläums des h. Vaters Pius IX.'' (Recollections on the Golden Jubilee of Pope Pius IX; Cologne, 1876); ''Eine Unterweisung über das Gebet'' (Cologne, 1876); ''Einer Unterweisung über des heilige Messopfer'' (Cologne, 1879); ''Das Sendschreiben des heiligen Vaters Papst Leo XIII. über den Socialismus'' (Cologne, 1880); ''Die katholische Lehre von der Kirche'' (Cologne, 1881); ''Das eine Nothwendige'' (Cologne, 1882); ''De canonica dioecesium visitatione'' (Rome, 1892).

References

*Heinrich Maria Ludwigs, ''Kardinal Erzbischof Dr. Paulus Melchers und die St. Pauluskirche in Köln'' (Cologne, 1909) *

Theodor Granderath Theodor Granderath (19 June 1839, Giesenkirchen, Rhine Province – 19 March 1902, Valkenburg, Netherlands) was a German Jesuit scholar. Life After completing the course in the gymnasium at Neuss, he studied theology in the University of Tübin ...

/Konrad Kirch, ''Geschichte des Vatikanischen Konzils'', I, II, III (Freiburg, 1903–1906) *Theodor Granderath, ''Acta et Decreta S. S. conciliorum recentiorum'', tom. VII (Freiburg, 1890)

External links

* , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Melchers, Paul 1813 births 1895 deaths People from Münster Roman Catholic bishops of Osnabrück Archbishops of Cologne 19th-century German cardinals Cardinals created by Pope Leo XIII 19th-century German Jesuits People from the Province of Westphalia Burials at Cologne Cathedral Jesuit cardinals 20th-century German Roman Catholic priests