Carl Lampert (9 January 1894 – 13 November 1944) was an Austrian
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 lette ...
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 deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particu ...
who served as the pro-vicar for the
Diocese of Feldkirch
The Diocese of Feldkirch ( la, Dioecesis Campitemplensis) is a diocese located in the city of Feldkirch, Vorarlberg, in the Ecclesiastical province of Salzburg in Austria.
History
* until the 19th century: part of the Swabian Dioceses of the C ...
in addition to being an outspoken critic of
Nazism
Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Na ...
during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
. This led to constant surveillance against him and his eventual arrests on several occasions. This all culminated with his final arrest in 1943 and his death from the
guillotine
A guillotine is an apparatus designed for efficiently carrying out executions by beheading. The device consists of a tall, upright frame with a weighted and angled blade suspended at the top. The condemned person is secured with stocks at th ...
in 1944 alongside a fellow Christian prisoner.
He was declared to have been killed "in odium fidei" (in hatred of the faith) and was beatified on 13 November 2011 in Austria; Cardinal
Angelo Amato
Angelo Amato, S.D.B. (born 8 June 1938) is an Italian cardinal of the Catholic Church who served as the Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints between 2008 and 2018. He served as Secretary of the Congregation for the Doctrine of t ...
presided over it on the behalf of
Pope Benedict XVI
Pope Benedict XVI ( la, Benedictus XVI; it, Benedetto XVI; german: link=no, Benedikt XVI.; born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger, , on 16 April 1927) is a retired prelate of the Catholic church who served as the head of the Church and the sovereign ...
who had approved the cause.
Life
Lampert was born as the last of seven children of Franz Xaver Lampert and Maria Rosina Lampert in
Feldkirch Feldkirch may refer to:
Places
* Feldkirch, Vorarlberg, a medieval city and capital of an administrative district in Austria
** Feldkirch (district), an administrative division of Vorarlberg, Austria
* Feldkirch (Hartheim), a village in the munici ...
in 1894. He attended school in his hometown and would attend a state high school after the completion of his first studies; the death of his father seemed to jeopardize this but an uncle of his provided financial aid to him in an effort to see Lampert through his education.
Lampert commenced his studies for the priesthood in 1914 in Brixen
Brixen (, ; it, Bressanone ; lld, Porsenù or ) is a town in South Tyrol, northern Italy, located about north of Bolzano.
Geography
First mentioned in 901, Brixen is the third largest city and oldest town in the province, and the artistic and ...
and received his ordination
Ordination is the process by which individuals are Consecration, consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorization, authorized (usually by the religious denomination, denominational ...
from Bishop
A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution.
In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...
Franz Eggar on 12 May 1918 during World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
; he celebrated his first Mass
Mass is an intrinsic property of a body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the quantity of matter in a physical body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physics. It was found that different atoms and different elementar ...
on 26 May 1918. Following his ordination he worked as a chaplain in Dornbirn
Dornbirn () is a city in the westernmost Austrian state of Vorarlberg. It is the administrative centre for the district of Dornbirn, which also includes the town of Hohenems, and the market town Lustenau.
Dornbirn is the largest city in Vorarlberg ...
and was involved in pastoral work with adolescents. In 1930 he moved - with the financial support of Bishop Sigismund Waitz - to Rome
, established_title = Founded
, established_date = 753 BC
, founder = King Romulus (legendary)
, image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg
, map_caption ...
for studies in canon law
Canon law (from grc, κανών, , a 'straight measuring rod, ruler') is a set of ordinances and regulations made by ecclesiastical authority (church leadership) for the government of a Christian organization or church and its members. It is th ...
and moved to new quarters at the Collegio Teutonico di Santa Maria dell'Anima until 1935 as a secretary to the Roman Rota
The Roman Rota, formally the Apostolic Tribunal of the Roman Rota ( la, Tribunal Apostolicum Rotae Romanae), and anciently the Apostolic Court of Audience, is the highest appellate tribunal of the Catholic Church, with respect to both Latin-r ...
.[ ]Pope Pius XI
Pope Pius XI ( it, Pio XI), born Ambrogio Damiano Achille Ratti (; 31 May 1857 – 10 February 1939), was head of the Catholic Church from 6 February 1922 to his death in February 1939. He was the first sovereign of Vatican City fro ...
later made him a monsignor
Monsignor (; it, monsignore ) is an honorific form of address or title for certain male clergy members, usually members of the Roman Catholic Church. Monsignor is the apocopic form of the Italian ''monsignore'', meaning "my lord". "Monsignor" ca ...
in 1935.
On 1 October 1935, he was stationed in the Diocese of Innsbruck where Waitz wanted him to perform several administration duties. Around this time he was considered to be the diocese's new bishop but Pius XI did not choose him; instead he was made Pro-Vicar of that diocese on 15 January 1939. In 1940 he attempted in vain to secure the release of Otto Neururer and when he was killed Lampert published an obituary in a church newsletter for him. However he was arrested for this due to violating what was Nazi
Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...
confidentiality laws and was deported to Dachau
,
, commandant = List of commandants
, known for =
, location = Upper Bavaria, Southern Germany
, built by = Germany
, operated by = ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS)
, original use = Political prison
, construction ...
on 25 August 1940. He was then sent to Sachsenhausen
Sachsenhausen () or Sachsenhausen-Oranienburg was a German Nazi concentration camp in Oranienburg, Germany, used from 1936 until April 1945, shortly before the defeat of Nazi Germany in May later that year. It mainly held political prisoners ...
in Berlin
Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...
on 1 September 1940 where he was forced to do labor in a penal colony. A popular saying of his - while there - was "in the name of Christ for the Church". He was sent back to Dachau on 15 December 1940 and remained there for eight months before being released on 1 August 1941 and sent to Stettin
Szczecin (, , german: Stettin ; sv, Stettin ; Latin language, Latin: ''Sedinum'' or ''Stetinum'') is the capital city, capital and largest city of the West Pomeranian Voivodeship in northwestern Poland. Located near the Baltic Sea and the Po ...
. Despite being freed he was put under intense surveillance and was regarded with much suspicion; his phone calls were tapped and all correspondence was read.[ He continued to work as a pastor but also worked as a hospital chaplain.][
Lampert was arrested for the last time on 4 February 1943 and endured intense interrogations and was also tortured. He was found to be guilty of both treason and sedition on 30 December 1943 and was sent to ]Torgau
Torgau () is a town on the banks of the Elbe in northwestern Saxony, Germany. It is the capital of the district Nordsachsen.
Outside Germany, the town is best known as where on 25 April 1945, the United States and Soviet Armies forces first ...
on 14 January 1944 where he spent seven months in solitary confinement. A third trial gave him the death sentence on 8 September 1944. Lampert - alongside a fellow priest - was executed by guillotine
A guillotine is an apparatus designed for efficiently carrying out executions by beheading. The device consists of a tall, upright frame with a weighted and angled blade suspended at the top. The condemned person is secured with stocks at th ...
on 13 November 1944 at 4:00pm.
His remains were cremated and buried in Halle an der Saale
Halle (Saale), or simply Halle (; from the 15th to the 17th century: ''Hall in Sachsen''; until the beginning of the 20th century: ''Halle an der Saale'' ; from 1965 to 1995: ''Halle/Saale'') is the largest city of the German state of Saxony-Anh ...
and were returned to his hometown in 1948.[
]
Beatification
The beatification process commenced on 5 September 1997 under 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 ...
and granted Lampert the title 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 th ...
. The diocesan process spanned from 1 October 1998 to 18 November 2003 and had to ascertain the facts about whether or not Lampert died in hatred of his Christian faith. The process was validated on 14 March 2008 and allowed for the drafting of the Positio
In the Catholic Church, a ''positio'' (''Positio super Virtutibus'') is a document or collection of documents used in the process by which a person is declared Venerable, the second of the four steps on the path to canonization as a saint.
Des ...
- documenting his life and reasons for how he died in hatred of the faith - which was submitted to the Congregation for the Causes of Saints
In the Catholic Church, the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, previously named the Congregation for the Causes of Saints (), is the dicastery of the Roman Curia that oversees the complex process that leads to the canonization of saints, pa ...
in 2009.
On 27 June 2011 his beatification was approved as Pope Benedict XVI
Pope Benedict XVI ( la, Benedictus XVI; it, Benedetto XVI; german: link=no, Benedikt XVI.; born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger, , on 16 April 1927) is a retired prelate of the Catholic church who served as the head of the Church and the sovereign ...
acknowledged the fact that Lampert had indeed been killed in the camps for his faith. Cardinal Angelo Amato
Angelo Amato, S.D.B. (born 8 June 1938) is an Italian cardinal of the Catholic Church who served as the Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints between 2008 and 2018. He served as Secretary of the Congregation for the Doctrine of t ...
presided over the beatification in Austria on the behalf of the pope on 13 November 2011.
The current postulator
A postulator is the person who guides a cause for beatification or canonization through the judicial processes required by the Roman Catholic Church. The qualifications, role and function of the postulator are spelled out in the ''Norms to be Obse ...
assigned to the cause is Andrea Ambrosi.
References
External links
Hagiography Circle
Saints SQPN
Carl Lampert Forum
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lampert, Carl
1894 births
1944 deaths
20th-century venerated Christians
20th-century Austrian people
Beatifications by Pope Benedict XVI
Assassinated Austrian people
Executed German Resistance members
Austrian beatified people
Roman Catholic activists
Catholic saints and blesseds of the Nazi era
People executed by Nazi Germany by guillotine
Austrian torture victims