Rev. Otto Faller SJ (18 February 1889 – 16 May 1971) was Provincial Superior of the Jesuit order in Germany,
educator
A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching.
''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. w ...
,
teacher
A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching.
''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. w ...
and
Dean at
Stella Matutina in Feldkirch, Austria and
Kolleg St. Blasien in Germany, professor of
patristic studies at the
Gregorian University. He was lifelong editor of the works of
St. Ambrose. At the request of
Pope Pius XII
Pope Pius XII (; born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli; 2 March 18769 October 1958) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 2 March 1939 until his death on 9 October 1958. He is the most recent p ...
, he contributed to the preparation of the
dogma of the
assumption of Mary
The Assumption of Mary is one of the four Catholic Mariology#Dogmatic teachings, Marian dogmas of the Catholic Church. Pope Pius XII defined it on 1 November 1950 in his apostolic constitution as follows:
It leaves open the question of w ...
and organized new
Papal charity
Charity may refer to:
Common meanings
* Charitable organization or charity, a non-profit organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being of persons
* Charity (practice), the practice of being benevolent, giving and sha ...
and
Papal refugee
A refugee, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), is a person "forced to flee their own country and seek safety in another country. They are unable to return to their own country because of feared persecution as ...
offices during World War II.
Life
Early years
Otto Faller was born on 18 February 1889 in
Saig, a small village in the
Black Forest
The Black Forest ( ) is a large forested mountain range in the States of Germany, state of Baden-Württemberg in southwest Germany, bounded by the Rhine Valley to the west and south and close to the borders with France and Switzerland. It is th ...
. He entered the Jesuit Order in 1910. As Jesuits had been outlawed in Germany since the time of the
Kulturkampf, he studied
theology
Theology is the study of religious belief from a Religion, religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an Discipline (academia), academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itse ...
in Tisis,
Austria
Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...
, and
Valkenburg,
Holland
Holland is a geographical regionG. Geerts & H. Heestermans, 1981, ''Groot Woordenboek der Nederlandse Taal. Deel I'', Van Dale Lexicografie, Utrecht, p 1105 and former provinces of the Netherlands, province on the western coast of the Netherland ...
. After his philosophical and theological studies, he studied
classical languages in
Vienna
Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...
and
Münster
Münster (; ) is an independent city#Germany, independent city (''Kreisfreie Stadt'') in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is in the northern part of the state and is considered to be the cultural centre of the Westphalia region. It is also a ...
, Germany. Otto Faller obtained two
doctorate
A doctorate (from Latin ''doctor'', meaning "teacher") or doctoral degree is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism '' licentia docendi'' ("licence to teach ...
s, in
theology
Theology is the study of religious belief from a Religion, religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an Discipline (academia), academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itse ...
and
philosophy
Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...
. In 1918 he was ordained
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 ...
and in 1924 he began teaching at the prestigious Kolleg
Stella Matutina in
Feldkirch, Austria.
Educator
At first educator, then teacher, he was named director (dean) of the
Stella Matutina Kolleg in Feldkirch, Austria. After the
Nazis
Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...
passed the "1000 Mark law" in 1933, which de facto prohibited any German entering Austria without prior payment of the tax and thus excluded German students from attending Austrian schools, he helped in the foundation of
Kolleg St. Blasien in the Black Forest and became its dean. Five years later, the
National Socialist forced the closing of the school, which was to become an
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his suicide in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the lea ...
school
A school is the educational institution (and, in the case of in-person learning, the Educational architecture, building) designed to provide learning environments for the teaching of students, usually under the direction of teachers. Most co ...
. Like several other Jesuits, he was asked to leave Germany, despite an ardent protest by the local bishop.
Assistant to Pope Pius XII
Otto Faller went to Rome, where the General of the
Jesuit
The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...
Order
Wlodimir Ledochowski named him Professor at the
Gregorian University and Father
Superior at the Scriptorium, then the residence of Jesuit scholars in Rome. Together with Monsignor
Ferdinando Baldelli, he was asked in 1943 by
Pope Pius XII
Pope Pius XII (; born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli; 2 March 18769 October 1958) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 2 March 1939 until his death on 9 October 1958. He is the most recent p ...
to develop a Papal charity
Pontificia Commissione di Assistenza from scratch. This was developed quickly in cooperation with the charity efforts of Sister
Pascalina Lehnert and Monsignore
Giovanni Battista Montini. In 1944 the Pope asked him to form a new Papal refugee office to assist the tens of thousands of displaced persons in Italy.
In this capacity he was involved in the organisation of charities, especially food items, clothing and shelter for Italians and displaced persons, the negotiation of the transfer of all portable religious art from
Monte Cassino
The Abbey of Monte Cassino (today usually spelled Montecassino) is a Catholic Church, Catholic, Benedictines, Benedictine monastery on a rocky hill about southeast of Rome, in the Valle Latina, Latin Valley. Located on the site of the ancient ...
, prior to its destruction. Much effort was devoted behind the scenes to a plan by the Pope, to create a Papal fleet in order to allow refugees to leave Europe for the Americas and to bring in badly needed food shipments from there; safe conduct could not be obtained by the war parties.
Career After 1946
After the war in 1946 he returned to the Black Forest and reopened Kolleg St. Blasien against the initial advice of his superiors, but with significant material assistance of Pope Pius XII via Madre
Pascalina Lehnert. In 1949, he initiated the formation of a nationwide Jesuit
alumni association
An alumni association or alumnae association is an association of graduates or, more broadly, of former students ( alumni). In the United Kingdom and the United States, alumni of universities, colleges, school
A school is the educati ...
.
As a leading educator and Dean, Faller had experienced the State, to determine content and orientation of education on a local and national level at the expense of private educational institutions. In 1949, he formed an alliance of Catholic, Protestant and secular non-governmental schools to assure some freedom for private educational institutions especially in the State of Baden-Württemberg. They succeeded in influencing relevant legislation in several State parliaments and on the national level. On 24 September 1967, the President of the Federal Republic of Germany awarded him the pour le merite first class for his effort.
In 1950, the Jesuit general
Jean-Baptiste Janssens named Father Otto Faller the head the German Jesuit Province, which included in those days the province of
Kerala
Kerala ( , ) is a States and union territories of India, state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile ...
in
India
India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
and parts of
Indonesia
Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...
. As Provincial, he continued pushing for the interests of
private schools
A private school or independent school is a school not administered or funded by the government, unlike a public school. Private schools are schools that are not dependent upon national or local government to finance their financial endowme ...
in Germany. In 1951, he forwarded all necessary documentation for the
beatification
Beatification (from Latin , "blessed" and , "to make") is a recognition accorded by the Catholic Church of a deceased person's entrance into Heaven and capacity to intercede on behalf of individuals who pray in their name. ''Beati'' is the p ...
of
Rupert Mayer to Rome,
[Anton Körbling, Pater Rupert Mayer, Regensburg, 1997, p.204] and successfully supported it: Only five years later, in 1956,
Pope Pius XII
Pope Pius XII (; born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli; 2 March 18769 October 1958) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 2 March 1939 until his death on 9 October 1958. He is the most recent p ...
declared
Rupert Mayer a
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 ...
.
Otto Faller was considered to be intelligent, compassionate, caring but also strict as superior. In 1970, he referred apologetically to this: ''Do not remind me of the time of my youthful transgressions.'' After a
heart attack
A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...
in 1956, he stepped down and continued his publications of Ambrose for the Commission for Editing the Corpus of the Latin Church Fathers (
CSEL) in Vienna, Austria. He died at
Kolleg St. Blasien on 16 May 1971.
Writings
Many of the writings of Faller are in various Journals. In ''
Stimmen der Zeit'', Otto Faller published a number of articles on patristic topics. Aside from his book on the assumption, his main focus was St. Ambrose.
Dogma of the Assumption of Mary
While in
Rome
Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...
, preparations for the
dogma of the
Assumption of Mary
The Assumption of Mary is one of the four Catholic Mariology#Dogmatic teachings, Marian dogmas of the Catholic Church. Pope Pius XII defined it on 1 November 1950 in his apostolic constitution as follows:
It leaves open the question of w ...
were underway. Pope Pius XII asked Otto Faller, then a patristic scholar at
Gregorian University, to research this issue; from this research Faller published a book in 1946, ''On the Silence of the Early Centuries'' in Latin.
[Otto Faller, De Priorum Saeculorum Silentio circa Assumptionem BMV, Rome, 1946].
Saint Ambrose of Milan
Earlier, Otto Faller began research on the writings of
Ambrose of Milan, one of only four
Church Fathers
The Church Fathers, Early Church Fathers, Christian Fathers, or Fathers of the Church were ancient and influential Christian theologians and writers who established the intellectual and doctrinal foundations of Christianity. The historical peri ...
and a
Doctor of the Church. His publications focused on the authenticity of several writings attributed to Ambrose. At the expressed wish of
Pope Pius XI
Pope Pius XI (; born Ambrogio Damiano Achille Ratti, ; 31 May 1857 – 10 February 1939) was head of the Catholic Church from 6 February 1922 until his death in February 1939. He was also the first sovereign of the Vatican City State u ...
, a devoted Ambrose
scholar
A scholar is a person who is a researcher or has expertise in an academic discipline. A scholar can also be an academic, who works as a professor, teacher, or researcher at a university. An academic usually holds an advanced degree or a termina ...
and former head of the
Ambrosian Library, he began research with a text critical edition of the works of Ambrose underway for the Academy of Science in Vienna since 1860. He published Ambrose works on the sacraments, explanation of symbols, the mysteries, confession, fath, Holy Spirit, and the death of emperors Theodosius and Valentinian. The letters of Ambrose he completed shortly before his death, but without, the all important prolegomena, which would have explained his apparatus and methods. Therefore, his last Ambrose publication Epistulae et acta raised some methodological questions.
Selected publications
** Otto Faller, ''De Priorum Saeculorum Silentio circa Assumptionem BMV'', Rome, 1946
** Otto Faller, ''Ambrosius, Explanatio symboli, De sacramentis, De mysteriis, De paenitentia, De excessu fratris Satyri, De obitu Valentiniani, De obitu Theodosii'', Vienna 1955, CSEL Corpus Scriptorum Ecclesiasticorum Latinorum Vol. 73
** Otto Faller,'' Ambrosius, De fide ad Gratianum Augustum'', Vienna 1962, CSEL Corpus Scriptorum Ecclesiasticorum Latinorum, Vol. 78
**Otto Faller, ''Ambrosius, De spiritu sancto, De incarnationnis dominicae'', Vienna 1964, CSEL Corpus Scriptorum Ecclesiasticorum Latinorum Vol. 79
**Otto Faller, Ambrosius, ''Epistulae et acta'' – Vienna, 1968, CSEL Corpus Scriptorum Ecclesiasticorum Latinorum ; Vol 82/1
Notes
{{DEFAULTSORT:Faller, Otto
1889 births
1971 deaths
People from Breisgau-Hochschwarzwald
Pope Pius XII advisers
20th-century German Jesuits
20th-century German Catholic theologians
Catholic Mariology
German male non-fiction writers
Officers Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany