Beda Angehrn (born 7 December 1725 in Hagenwil, modern day

Amriswil , neighboring_municipalities= Egnach, Erlen, Hefenhofen, Muolen (SG), Salmsach, Sommeri, Zihlschlacht-Sitterdorf , twintowns = Amriswil ( Low Alemannic: ''Amerschwiil'') is a town and a municipality in Arbon District in the canton of Thurga ...

; died 19 May 1796 in

St. Gallen , neighboring_municipalities = Eggersriet, Gaiserwald, Gossau, Herisau (AR), Mörschwil, Speicher (AR), Stein (AR), Teufen (AR), Untereggen, Wittenbach , twintowns = Liberec (Czech Republic) , website = ...

) was

prince-abbot A prince-abbot (german: Fürstabt) is a title for a cleric who is a Prince of the Church (like a Prince-bishop), in the sense of an ''ex officio'' temporal lord of a feudal entity, usually a State of the Holy Roman Empire. The territory ruled ...

of the Abbey of Saint Gall from 1767 until 1796. Abt_beda-anghern

St_Gallen_Stiftskirche_Ostkrypta_Grab_2_Beda_img03

Life

Johann Konrad Angehrn was the son of the surgeon and ''Gerichtsammann'' Johann Konrad and his wife Maria Katharina (née Willi). He studied at the

Jesuit College The Jesuits (Society of Jesus) in the Catholic Church have founded and managed a number of educational institutions, including the notable secondary schools, colleges and universities listed here. Some of these universities are in the United Stat ...

Konstanz Konstanz (, , locally: ; also written as Constance in English) is a university city with approximately 83,000 inhabitants located at the western end of Lake Constance in the south of Germany. The city houses the University of Konstanz and was th ...

and later at the

benedictine , image = Medalla San Benito.PNG , caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal , abbreviation = OSB , formation = , motto = (English: 'Pray and Work') , foun ...

Abbey of Saint Gall The Abbey of Saint Gall (german: Abtei St. Gallen) 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 ...

. He took his vows in the Abbey in 1744 and was given the monastic name Beda. He was subsequently

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform ...

priest in 1749. He taught

theology Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

and philosophy in

for 12 years. In 1753 he was made

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an academic rank at universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who professes". Professors ...

of theology. In 1763 Beda was appointed prior and Stadtholder of St. Johann in the Thur valley. On 11 March 1767 the Nuncio

Luigi Valenti Gonzaga Luigi Valenti Gonzaga (15 October 1725 – 29 December 1808) was a cardinal of the Catholic Church. He was elected to the Roman Curia and the Papal diplomacy, and was also nuntius of Switzerland and Spain. Valenti Gonzaga was born at Rove ...

presided the election where Beda was ultimately elected abbot.

Pope Clement XIII Pope Clement XIII ( la, Clemens XIII; it, Clemente XIII; 7 March 1693 – 2 February 1769), born Carlo della Torre di Rezzonico, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 6 July 1758 to his death in February 1769. ...

confirmed the election on 27 April 1767, while the benediction was given by the Nuncio on 8 September 1767. On 19 December 1767,

Emperor Joseph II Joseph II (German: Josef Benedikt Anton Michael Adam; English: ''Joseph Benedict Anthony Michael Adam''; 13 March 1741 – 20 February 1790) was Holy Roman Emperor from August 1765 and sole ruler of the Habsburg lands from November 29, 1780 un ...

granted him the ''

Jura Regalia ''Jura regalia'' is a medieval legal term which denoted rights that belonged exclusively to the king, either as essential to his sovereignty (''jura majora'', ''jura essentialia''), such as royal authority; or accidental (''jura minora'', ''jura a ...

''. Abbot Beda achieved lasting significance through his efforts in road construction. The ''Fürstenlandstrasse'' connecting Rorschach, St. Gallen, and Wil is generally regarded as his most important work and is an important connection between the abbey-principality and the Old Swiss Confederacy. The military and scientific endeavour of the Abbey were also lastingly improved by the Abbot. However, in his plans he failed to consider the available means, which led to the ruin of the Abbey's finances. He also disregarded the control rights of the chapter and ruled his realm autocratically. A few younger monks lodged complaint against the Abbot that reached the

pope The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...

, but to no avail. After the outbreak of the French Revolution in 1789, the ''Gotteshausleute'', i.e. the inhabitants of the Abbey, demanded more rights. When lamentations culminated in revolutionary movements in 1794, Prince-abbot Beda yielded remarkably easily. Despite his chapter being against him, he made wide admissions without much resistance. In the "''Gütlicher Vertrag''" (amicable agreement) of Gossau of 1795 he abolished the

serfdom Serfdom was the status of many peasants under feudalism, specifically relating to manorialism, and similar systems. It was a condition of debt bondage and indentured servitude with similarities to and differences from slavery, which deve ...

and abandoned further feudal rights or narrowed them. The convent agreed to the treaty on 18 January 1796. Abbot Beda died on 19 May 1796 in Saint Gall.

Works

* ''Oraison funèbre de'' ... Beda Anghern d'Hagenwyl, Prince-Abbé de Saint-Gall..., à prononcer Le 19 Mai 1797, jour de l'anniversaire de sa mort... .l. .n. a. 1797* ''Einiges aus den Tagebüchern des Fürstabtes Beda von St. Gallen (reg. 1767-96)''. published by Pfr. K rlSteiger. special print, St. Gallen: Buchdruckerei <>, 1919.

Reading list

* ''Beda Angehrn'', in: Helvetia Sacra III/1/2 (1986), S. 1345–1348. * Johannes Duft: ''Die Abtei St.Gallen''. St. Gallen 1986 * (NDB). Band 1, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 1953, , p. 288 (Digital copy
/span>). * in: ''

Historisches Lexikon der Schweiz The ''Historical Dictionary of Switzerland'' is an encyclopedia on the history of Switzerland that aims to take into account the results of modern historical research in a manner accessible to a broader audience. The encyclopedia is publish ...

''. * (ADB). Band 1, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1875, p. 452.

External links

''Abt Beda Angehrn (1767-1796)''
in the city lexicon of Wil
Publikationen von Fürstabt Beda Angehrn
in the Helveticat catalogue of the

Swiss National Library The Swiss National Library (german: Schweizerische Nationalbibliothek, french: Bibliothèque nationale suisse, it, Biblioteca nazionale svizzera, rm, Biblioteca naziunala svizra) is the national library of Switzerland. Part of the Federal Office ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Angehrn, Beda 1725 births 1796 deaths Abbots of Saint Gall