Gisela Forster (born 27 March 1946 in

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

) is a German writer, teacher, and Catholic theologian.

Life

Forster was born in Munich to parents from Bavaria and Hungary. After school at the Elsa-Brändström-Gymnasium in Munich-Pasing, Forster studied Catholic theology, philosophy, arts and architecture at the

Technical University of Munich The Technical University of Munich (TUM or TU Munich; ) is a public research university in Munich, Bavaria, Germany. It specializes in engineering, technology, medicine, and applied and natural sciences. Established in 1868 by King Ludwig II ...

. After graduating, Forster worked as teacher at the

Benedictine The Benedictines, officially the Order of Saint Benedict (, abbreviated as O.S.B. or OSB), are a mainly contemplative monastic order of the Catholic Church for men and for women who follow the Rule of Saint Benedict. Initiated in 529, th ...

Schäftlarn school from 1972 to 1989. In 1989, Forster left the job to marry Anselm Forster, with whom she had two children. She was elected to the district council of

Starnberg Starnberg is a Town#Germany, town in Bavaria, Germany, some southwest of Munich. It is at the north end of Lake Starnberg, in the heart of the "Five Lakes Country", and serves as capital of the Starnberg (district), district of Starnberg. Recor ...

in 1989, serving as chairman on the council until 2002. Since the 1990s, Forster is working as an art teacher in Munich. Forster is a member of the German organisation ''Gruppe Maria Magdala, Priesteramt für die Frau'', which promotes priesthood for women. On 29 June 2002, Forster and six others were ordained priests by Independent Catholic Bishop

Rómulo Antonio Braschi Rómulo Antonio Braschi (born December 25, 1941) is an Argentine independent Catholic bishop, not in communion with the Catholic Church. Braschi was labeled as being an ''episcopus vagans'' in the early 2000s. Biography Born in Buenos Aires, and ...

, a former Roman Catholic bishop from Argentina who left the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

out of disagreement with the anti-liberation theology of the

Vatican Vatican may refer to: Geography * Vatican City, an independent city-state surrounded by Rome, Italy * Vatican Hill, in Rome, namesake of Vatican City * Ager Vaticanus, an alluvial plain in Rome * Vatican, an unincorporated community in the ...

to join the Catholic Apostolic Charismatic Church of "Jesus the King". In the media, the ordained women were called the

Danube Seven The Danube Seven are a group of seven women from Germany, Austria and the United States who were ordained as priests on a ship cruising the Danube river on 29 June 2002 by Rómulo Antonio Braschi, Ferdinand Regelsberger, and a third unknown bishop ...

because they were ordained on the

Danube River The Danube ( ; see also other names) is the second-longest river in Europe, after the Volga in Russia. It flows through Central and Southeastern Europe, from the Black Forest south into the Black Sea. A large and historically important riv ...

near the town of

Passau Passau (; ) is a city in Lower Bavaria, Germany. It is also known as the ("City of Three Rivers"), as the river Danube is joined by the Inn (river), Inn from the south and the Ilz from the north. Passau's population is about 50,000, of whom ...

on the border between Germany and Austria. In 2003 the Danube Seven were

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 ...

from the Roman Catholic Church. In 2003, she was nonetheless unofficially ordained a bishop, and in conjunction with another woman unofficially ordained bishop, ordained nine women in Canada in 2005.

Works

* * * * * * ''Dr. Patricia Fresen – Engagement für Menschlichkeit und Gleichberechtigung''. Denkzettelverlag, .

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Forster, Gisela 20th-century German Catholic theologians Women Christian theologians 20th-century German Roman Catholic priests Christian feminist theologians People excommunicated by the Catholic Church 1946 births Living people Technical University of Munich alumni Women religious writers 21st-century German Catholic theologians 20th-century German women writers 21st-century German women writers Clergy from Munich