Liborius Wagner (5 December 1593 – 9 December 1631) was a German Roman Catholic

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deity, deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in parti ...

. He administered throughout his pastoral mission in

Würzburg Würzburg (; Main-Franconian: ) is, after Nuremberg and Fürth, the Franconia#Towns and cities, third-largest city in Franconia located in the north of Bavaria. Würzburg is the administrative seat of the Regierungsbezirk Lower Franconia. It sp ...

and was killed "in odium fidei" (in hatred of the faith). He performed a wide range of charitable acts and he was more than willing to - at the time of his death - shed his blood for his beliefs and for his fellow Christians. In recognition of his murder

Pope Paul VI Pope Paul VI (born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini; 26 September 18976 August 1978) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 21 June 1963 until his death on 6 August 1978. Succeeding John XXII ...

beatified him on 24 March 1974.

Life

Liborius Wagner was born on 5 December 1593 to

Lutheran Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

parents. He served as a scholar who grew up in a Protestant household during the

Counter-Reformation The Counter-Reformation (), also sometimes called the Catholic Revival, was the period of Catholic resurgence that was initiated in response to, and as an alternative to or from similar insights as, the Protestant Reformations at the time. It w ...

period. His decision was - in 1613 - to learn Counter-Reformation theological matters in

and this was a decision that his parents disapproved of. He was firm in his faith as a Christian - he had converted during this time and earned the ire of his parents - and continued his studies for the priesthood. He became a teacher in 1617 and was

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are Consecration in Christianity, consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the religious denomination, denominationa ...

as a

on 29 March 1625. He became the pastor to an area split between Protestants and Catholics. He attempted to reconcile both as best as he could but the divisions ran far too deep for him to do this. Wagner was driven from his parish to another town during a time of conflict in Central Europe. Protestant soldiers apprehended him in a schoolhouse and tortured him for almost a week. He refused to renounce his faith and killed him on 9 December 1631. He was shot and his corpse stripped and left into a river; his corpse was recovered sometime later. He was buried and then exhumed and later transferred for the final time on 15 December 1637.

Beatification

The cause for Wagner's beatification was formally opened on 18 October 1939, granting him the title of

Servant of God Servant of God () is a title used in the Catholic Church to indicate that an individual is on the first step toward possible canonization as a saint. Terminology The expression ''Servant of God'' appears nine times in the Bible, the first five in ...

. On 18 October 1973 he was recognized as one who died in hatred of the faith and it allowed for

to celebrate his beatification on 24 March 1974. The pope hailed Wagner for his "testament to faith".

References

External links

Hagiography Circle
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wagner, Liborius 1593 births 1631 deaths 17th-century venerated Christians 17th-century Roman Catholic martyrs 17th-century German Roman Catholic priests German beatified people Executed German people Martyred Roman Catholic priests Converts to Roman Catholicism from Lutheranism