Joachim Opser (born c. 1548 in Wil; died 24 August 1594 in St. Gallen) was

abbot Abbot is an ecclesiastical title given to the head of an independent monastery for men in various Western Christian traditions. The name is derived from ''abba'', the Aramaic form of the Hebrew ''ab'', and means "father". The female equivale ...

of the

Abbey of Saint Gall The Abbey of Saint Gall () is a dissolved abbey (747–1805) in a Catholic religious complex in the city of St. Gallen in Switzerland. The Carolingian-era monastery existed from 719, founded by Saint Othmar on the spot where Saint Gall had er ...

from 1577 until 1594.

Life

Joachim's father Michael was chancellor of the prince-abbot; he moved to Wil for confessional reasons. Joachim took his

vows A vow ( Lat. ''votum'', vow, promise; see vote) is a promise or oath. A vow is used as a promise that is solemn rather than casual. Marriage vows Marriage vows are binding promises each partner in a couple makes to the other during a wedding ...

on 17 June 1563. He started studying at the university of Dillingen in 1564 and then studied at the

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

Jesuit College between 1570 and 1574. In Paris, he became witness to the

St. Bartholomew's Day massacre The Saint Bartholomew's Day massacre () in 1572 was a targeted group of assassinations and a wave of Catholic mob violence directed against the Huguenots (French Calvinist Protestants) during the French Wars of Religion. Traditionally believed ...

and in two letters to the Saint Gall Abbot Otmar Kunz he told about the violent events. He was listed as deacon of Saint Gall on 8 April 1576 and was elected abbot on 29 January 1577. The papal confirmation was conferred by

Gregory XIII Pope Gregory XIII (, , born Ugo Boncompagni; 7 January 1502 – 10 April 1585) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 13 May 1572 to his death in April 1585. He is best known for commissioning and being the namesake ...

on 16 April 1578, while the benediction was performed by the

Auxiliary Bishop An auxiliary bishop is a bishop assigned to assist the diocesan bishop in meeting the pastoral and administrative needs of the diocese. Auxiliary bishops can also be titular bishops of sees that no longer exist as territorial jurisdictions. ...

Balthasar Wurer of Konstanz on 24 June 1578. On 27 November 1578, Joachim Opser was chosen by Beatus a Porta and the Chur cathedral chapter to be an auxiliary bishop and thus also designated successor of the acting bishop. However, he was met with strong opposition because he did not come from one of the

Three Leagues The Three Leagues, sometimes referred to as Raetia, was the 1471 alliance between the League of God's House, the League of the Ten Jurisdictions, and the Grey League. Its members were all Swiss Associates, associates of the Old Swiss Confederacy, ...

and thus had to forego his appointment to

Chur '' Chur (locally) or ; ; ; ; ; ; or ; , and . is the capital and largest List of towns in Switzerland, town of the Switzerland, Swiss Cantons of Switzerland, canton of the Grisons and lies in the Alpine Rhine, Grisonian Rhine Valley, where ...

Works

During his abbacy at Saint Gall, Joachim Opser repeatedly received papal

nuncio An apostolic nuncio (; also known as a papal nuncio or simply as a nuncio) is an ecclesiastical diplomat, serving as an envoy or a permanent diplomatic representative of the Holy See to a state or to an international organization. A nuncio is ...

s, who on their visitations called for reforms after the model 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 ...

. Joachim indeed seems to have demanded stern discipline from his monks as a result. Apparently this led to open conflict in one part of the convent in 1590. The abbot was accused of demanding a level of discipline from his subordinates he was not subject to himself. The nuncio in Lucerne launched an investigation which concluded that those accusations were baseless. Nevertheless, Abbot Joachim was forced to loosen his policy of uncompromising discipline. During Joachim Opsers abbacy, the abbey was in a state of financial distress, which necessitated the sale of estates in Neu-Ravensburg and

Wangen im Allgäu Wangen im Allgäu (, ; Low Alemannic German, Low Alemannic: ''Wãnge'') is a historic city in southeast Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It lies north-east of Lake Constance in the Westallgäu. It is the second-largest city (population: 26,927 in 2020) ...

. The abbey's financial hardship was exacerbated by the plague which was spreading in 1594 and caused many monks to leave the abbey. Abbot Joachim stayed in Saint Gall and died during a sermon on 24 August 1594. He was buried on the left side of the minster choir by the altar of Saint Benedict. His legacy consists of the reformist document ''Liber exercitiorum spiritualium''.

Notes and references

External links

Joachim Opser
on the website of the Stiftsarchiv St. Gallen.
Joachim Opser
in the city lexicon of Wil; cited from Johannes Duft, die Abtei St. Gallen. * {{DEFAULTSORT:Opser, Joachim 1540s births 1594 deaths Year of birth uncertain Abbots of Saint Gall 16th-century Christian abbots