Johannes Beutler SJ (3 October 1933 – 6 November 2024) was a German theologian and

Catholic priest The priesthood is the office of the ministers of religion, who have been commissioned ("ordained") with the holy orders of the Catholic Church. Technically, bishops are a priestly order as well; however, in common English usage ''priest'' refe ...

. Focused on the

Gospel of John The Gospel of John () is the fourth of the New Testament's four canonical Gospels. It contains a highly schematic account of the ministry of Jesus, with seven "Book of Signs, signs" culminating in the raising of Lazarus (foreshadowing the ...

, he taught at

Sankt Georgen Graduate School of Philosophy and Theology Sankt Georgen Graduate School of Philosophy and Theology (German: ''Philosophisch-Theologische Hochschule Sankt Georgen'') is a higher education Jesuit college in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. The school offers a 10-semester Magister in Catholic T ...

, the

Pontifical Gregorian University Pontifical Gregorian University (; also known as the Gregorian or Gregoriana), is a private university, private pontifical university in Rome, Italy. The Gregorian originated as a part of the Roman College, founded in 1551 by Ignatius of Loyo ...

, and the

Pontifical Biblical Institute The Pontifical Biblical Institute (also known as Biblicum) is a research and postgraduate teaching institution specialised in biblical and ancient Near Eastern studies located in Rome. Founded in 1909 by Pope Pius X, it is an institution of the ...

Biography

Beutler was born in

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

on 3 October 1933, the third of four children of a family of teachers. After his ''

Abitur ''Abitur'' (), often shortened colloquially to ''Abi'', is a qualification granted at the end of secondary education in Germany. It is conferred on students who pass their final exams at the end of ISCED 3, usually after twelve or thirteen year ...

'', achieved in 1952, he became a candidate for priesthood in the

Diocese of Osnabrück In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associated ...

and studied philosophy at the

in Frankfurt. He joined the

Society of Jesus The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rome. It was founded in 1540 ...

as a novice in Eringerfeld near

Paderborn Paderborn (; Westphalian language, Westphalian: ''Patterbuorn'', also ''Paterboärn'') is a city in eastern North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, capital of the Paderborn (district), Paderborn district. The name of the city derives from the river Pade ...

in 1954. He studied philosophy further at the Berchmanskolleg in Pullach from 1956 to 1958, and then worked for two years as an educator at the

Aloisiuskolleg The Aloisiuskolleg is a co-educational, Jesuit (Catholic church, Catholic), University-preparatory school in Bonn-Bad Godesberg, Germany, which includes boarding school, boarders. It is named for Saint Aloysius Gonzaga. Highly ranked academically ...

in Bad Godesberg. He then studied theology in Frankfurt from 1960 to 1964, where he was ordained as a priest at the

Frankfurt Cathedral Frankfurt Cathedral (), officially Imperial Dome of Saint Bartholomew (), is a Roman Catholic Gothic church located in the heart of Frankfurt am Main, Germany. It is dedicated to Saint Bartholomew. It is the largest religious building in the c ...

by Bishop Kempf in 1963. He was trained in Jesuit matters in Wéplon, Belgium, and completed his studies in Rome from 1965 to 1971, with a PhD in Frankfurt in 1972. Beutler taught theology at Sankt Georgen and focused on theology of the

New Testament The New Testament (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus, as well as events relating to Christianity in the 1st century, first-century Christianit ...

and fundamental theology. He was appointed professor of New Testament in 1974. He served at the institute's rector twice, from 1978 to 1982 and from 1992 to 1996. He also taught as a guest, including in Bolivia, Colombia, Mexico and Nigeria. Beutler was a member of the

Pontifical Biblical Commission The Pontifical Biblical Commission () is a pontifical commission established within the Roman Curia to ensure the proper interpretation and defense of the Bible. Since 1988, it has been closely attached to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the ...

in Rome from 1993 to 2001. He was appointed vice-rector of the

in Rome in 1998 and taught as a professor at the Pontifical Bible Institute from 2001 to 2007. He specialized in the

and the

Johannine epistles The Johannine epistles, the Epistles of John, or the Letters of John are the First Epistle of John, the Second Epistle of John, and the Third Epistle of John, three of the catholic epistles in the New Testament. In content and style they resembl ...

. As emeritus, Beutler returned to Frankfurt to focus on writing and pastoral work. He was chaplain of the Jugendbund Neudeutschland youth organisation and signed the memorandum " Kirche 2011 : Ein notwendiger Aufbruch". His knowledge of several languages helped him to minister to foreign-language congregations in Frankfurt. He was also a priest for imprisoned people, at the Opus Spiritus Sanci in Königstein-Mammolshain and in internal Jesuit education. He moved to the Peter-Faber-Haus in

Berlin-Kladow Kladow () is the southernmost district of the Borough of Spandau in Berlin, Germany. Geography Located approximately 17 Km from central Berlin (Charlottenburg), the district of Kladow is bordered by the District of Gatow to the north, by the Have ...

in 2023. Beutler died there on 6 November 2024, at the age of 91.

Publications

;Dissertation * ;In German * * * * * ;In French * ;In English * *

References

External links

Sankt Georgen: Prof. em. Dr. theol., Lic. in re bibl. Johannes Beutler SJ
{{DEFAULTSORT:Beutler, Johannes 1933 births 2024 deaths 20th-century German Roman Catholic priests 21st-century German Roman Catholic priests Academic staff of the Pontifical Gregorian University Clergy from Hamburg German Roman Catholic theologians

Biography

Publications

References

Further reading

Obituaries

External links