Bruno Wüstenberg (10 March 1912 – 31 May 1984) was a German prelate of the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

who spent his career in the diplomatic service of the Holy See.

Biography

Bruno Wüstenberg was born on 10 March 1912 in

Duisburg Duisburg () is a city in the Ruhr metropolitan area of the western German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. Lying on the confluence of the Rhine and the Ruhr rivers in the center of the Rhine-Ruhr Region, Duisburg is the 5th largest city in Nor ...

, Germany. He studied Catholic theology at the

University of Bonn The Rhenish Friedrich Wilhelm University of Bonn (german: Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn) is a public research university located in Bonn, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It was founded in its present form as the ( en, Rhine U ...

, the

Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg The University of Freiburg (colloquially german: Uni Freiburg), officially the Albert Ludwig University of Freiburg (german: Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg), is a public research university located in Freiburg im Breisgau, Baden-Württemb ...

, and at the seminary in

Bensberg Bergisch Gladbach () is a city in the Cologne/Bonn Region of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, and capital of the Rheinisch-Bergischer Kreis (district). Geography Bergisch Gladbach is located east of the river Rhine, approx. 10 kilometers east of ...

near Cologne. He was ordained a priest on 3 March 1938 in

Cologne Cathedral Cologne Cathedral (german: Kölner Dom, officially ', English: Cathedral Church of Saint Peter) is a Catholic cathedral in Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia. It is the seat of the Archbishop of Cologne and of the administration of the Archdiocese of ...

and then did pastoral work for a short time in Ulm. He studied law at the

Pontifical Gregorian University The Pontifical Gregorian University ( it, Pontificia Università Gregoriana; also known as the Gregorian or Gregoriana,) is a higher education ecclesiastical school ( pontifical university) located in Rome, Italy. The Gregorian originated as ...

and in 1945 joined the Roman Curia's Department of Prisoner of War Services. He headed the German-speaking department of the Secretariat of State from 1947 to 1966. In that position he was instrumental in reconciling Germany's two largest political parties, the CDU and the SPD, which required reaching an understanding between the Church and the latter party once it jettisoned its Marxist philosophy in 1959. ''

Die Zeit ''Die Zeit'' (, "The Time") is a German national weekly newspaper published in Hamburg in Germany. The newspaper is generally considered to be among the German newspapers of record and is known for its long and extensive articles. History The ...

'' called him "one of the secret pioneers of the grand coalition" after he engineered a meeting of

Fritz Erler Fritz Erler (15 December 1868 – 11 December 1940) was a German painter, graphic designer and scenic designer. Although most talented as an interior designer, he is perhaps best remembered for several propaganda posters he produced during W ...

, deputy chair of the SPD, with Pope Paul in 1964. On 24 October 1966,

Pope Paul VI Pope Paul VI ( la, Paulus VI; it, Paolo 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, Vatican City State from 21 June 1963 to his ...

named him

Titular Archbishop A titular bishop in various churches is a bishop who is not in charge of a diocese. By definition, a bishop is an "overseer" of a community of the faithful, so when a priest is ordained a bishop, the tradition of the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox an ...

Tire A tire (American English) or tyre (British English) is a ring-shaped component that surrounds a Rim (wheel), wheel's rim to transfer a vehicle's load from the axle through the wheel to the ground and to provide Traction (engineering), t ...

and

Apostolic Pro-Nuncio An apostolic nuncio ( la, nuntius apostolicus; also known as a papal nuncio or simply as a nuncio) is an ecclesiastical diplomat, serving as an envoy or a permanent diplomatic representative of the Holy See to a state or to an international org ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

. He became the highest-ranking German in the diplomatic service and the first German citizen with the rank of nuncio. He received his episcopal consecration on 11 December 1966 in Cologne Cathedral from the Archbishop of Cologne, Cardinal

Joseph Frings Josef Richard Frings (6 February 1887 – 17 December 1978), was a German Cardinal of the Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of Cologne from 1942 to 1969. Considered a significant figure in Catholic resistance to Nazism, he was elevated to ...

. Dated 1966. The title of this article is taken from the words of a Vatican official discussing the process of making the Roman Curia less Italian, more international. He said: "The Curia can not be reformed and internationalized overnight. First the old guard has to die off." On 19 December 1973, Pope Paul appointed him

Apostolic Delegate An apostolic nuncio ( la, nuntius apostolicus; also known as a papal nuncio or simply as a nuncio) is an ecclesiastical diplomat, serving as an envoy or a permanent diplomatic representative of the Holy See to a state or to an international o ...

Guinea Guinea ( ),, fuf, 𞤘𞤭𞤲𞤫, italic=no, Gine, wo, Gine, nqo, ߖߌ߬ߣߍ߫, bm, Gine officially the Republic of Guinea (french: République de Guinée), is a coastal country in West Africa. It borders the Atlantic Ocean to the we ...

and

Togo Togo (), officially the Togolese Republic (french: République togolaise), is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Ghana to the west, Benin to the east and Burkina Faso to the north. It extends south to the Gulf of Guinea, where its c ...

and Apostolic Pro-Nuncio to Ivory Coast,

Dahomey The Kingdom of Dahomey () was a West African kingdom located within present-day Benin that existed from approximately 1600 until 1904. Dahomey developed on the Abomey Plateau amongst the Fon people in the early 17th century and became a region ...

, and

Benin Benin ( , ; french: Bénin , ff, Benen), officially the Republic of Benin (french: République du Bénin), and formerly Dahomey, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east, Burkina Faso to the north ...

. On 17 January 1979,

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

appointed him Apostolic Pro-Nuncio to the Netherlands. There he had a difficult relationship at times for his less than diplomatic handling of the appointment of a bishop. Even early in his career Wüstenberg lived a stylish life; he belonged to Rome’s best golf club and drove a Porsche. He anticipated continued social adventures when posted abroad, enjoying the social advantages available in Catholic Tokyo, befriending President

Felix Houphouët-Boigny Felix may refer to: * Felix (name), people and fictional characters with the name Places * Arabia Felix is the ancient Latin name of Yemen * Felix, Spain, a municipality of the province Almería, in the autonomous community of Andalusia, S ...

in the Ivory Coast, hiring a private band, using the son of Italian most fashionable architect to build a chapel and his own residence. Dated 1974. In 1984, Wüstenberg died in

Freiburg im Breisgau Freiburg im Breisgau (; abbreviated as Freiburg i. Br. or Freiburg i. B.; Low Alemannic German, Low Alemannic: ''Friburg im Brisgau''), commonly referred to as Freiburg, is an independent city in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. With a population o ...

as a result of

embolism An embolism is the lodging of an embolus, a blockage-causing piece of material, inside a blood vessel. The embolus may be a blood clot (thrombus), a fat globule ( fat embolism), a bubble of air or other gas (gas embolism), amniotic fluid (amniot ...

. He was buried in the cemetery at Cologne Cathedral.

References

External links

Catholic Hierarchy: Archbishop Bruno Wüstenberg
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wüstenberg, Bruno 1912 births 1984 deaths People from Duisburg Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy alumni Apostolic Nuncios to Japan Apostolic Nuncios to Ivory Coast Apostolic Nuncios to Guinea Apostolic Nuncios to Togo Apostolic Nuncios to Benin Apostolic Nuncios to the Netherlands