Johannes Ronge (16 October 1813 – 26 October 1887) was the principal founder of the
New Catholics
The German Catholics (german: Deutschkatholiken) were formed in December 1844 by German dissidents from the Roman Catholic Church, under the leadership of Johannes Ronge. The movement originated in Breslau (now Wrocław). They were joined for a tim ...
. A
Roman Catholic
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...
priest from the region of
Upper Silesia
Upper Silesia ( pl, Górny Śląsk; szl, Gůrny Ślůnsk, Gōrny Ślōnsk; cs, Horní Slezsko; german: Oberschlesien; Silesian German: ; la, Silesia Superior) is the southeastern part of the historical and geographical region of Silesia, locate ...
in
Prussia
Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an ...
, he was suspended from the priesthood for his criticisms of the church, and went on to help found and promote the New Catholic movement. When the movement split, he led the more liberal wing, which became known as the
German Catholics
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, image = Hohe_Domkirche_St._Petrus.jpg
, imagewidth = 200px
, alt =
, caption = Cologne Cathedral, Cologne
, abbreviation =
, type = Na ...
. Following his involvement in the
political struggles of 1848 he went into exile in England, where he and his wife
Bertha Ronge Bertha Ronge (born Meyer, 25 April 1818, Hamburg; died 18 April 1863) was an activist in the causes of childhood education, women's education and religious freedom. She established the kindergarten movement in England, where she founded the first th ...
established a
kindergarten
Kindergarten is a preschool educational approach based on playing, singing, practical activities such as drawing, and social interaction as part of the transition from home to school. Such institutions were originally made in the late 18th cent ...
in
Manchester
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshir