Christoph Bernhard Verspoell (15 May 1743 – 5 January 1818) was a German

Catholic 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 ...

priest, writer and

hymnwriter A hymnwriter (or hymn writer, hymnist, hymnodist, hymnographer, etc.) is someone who writes the text, music, or both of hymns. In the Judeo-Christian tradition, the composition of hymns dates back to before the time of David, who composed many of ...

. He published a

hymnal A hymnal or hymnary is a collection of hymns, usually in the form of a book, called a hymnbook (or hymn book). Hymnals are used in congregational singing. A hymnal may contain only hymn texts (normal for most hymnals for most centuries of Chr ...

with added melodies and organ settings in 1810. Some of his songs are still popular and part of the Catholic hymnal ''

Gotteslob ''Gotteslob'' ("Praise of God") is the title of the hymnbook authorized by the Catholic dioceses in Germany, Austria, South Tyrol, Luxembourg and Liège, Belgium. First published in Advent 2013, it is the current official hymnal for German-speaki ...

''.

Career

Verspoell was born in

Münster Münster (; nds, Mönster) is an 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 state di ...

, Germany on 15 May 1743. He was the son of the baker Joan Bernard Verspoell and his wife Anna Catharina Becker. He was baptised in the

Überwasserkirche Überwasserkirche () is the common name of a Gothic hall church in Münster, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is a ''Liebfrauenkirche'' (Church of Our Dear Lady), dedicated to St. Mary. Officially St. Marien Überwasser, it is also called Lieb ...

on 18 May 1743. He grew up with two elder sisters, while two other siblings had died young. His mother died in 1761, and his father remarried the following year. Verspoell spent his whole life in Münster. He studied theology at the ''Priesterseminar'' and became a

vicar A vicar (; Latin: '' vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English pre ...

at St. Lamberti and the Magdalenenhospital in 1776. From 20 January 1779, he was also vicar at St. Crucis of , holding these posts until his death. He focused on education and pastoral care (''Seelsorge''), writing many pastoral instructions, often with the priest of St. Lamberti, such as ''Fastandacht zum Gekreuzigten'' (Lenten meditation to the Crucified). All these books were published before 1803, when church life was changed by the Reichsdeputationshauptschluss. Verspoell seems then to have turned to writing hymns, both texts and melodies with organ accompaniment. In 1810, he published his hymnal ''Gesänge beim römisch-katholischen Gottesdienste, nebst angehängtem Gebetbuche'', also called the Verspoellsches Gesangbuch, containing the texts of hymns and prayers, also ''Melodien zu den Gesängen beim römisch-katholischen Gottesdienst'' with the melodies, and ''Orgelbegleitung zu den Gesängen beim römisch-katholischen Gottesdienste'' with organ settings. Several of his hymns are part of the Catholic hymnal ''

'' (2013), some in regional sections. : His hymnal also contains "" and " O selige Nacht", but he probably just edited the hymns and is not the author. A German version of " O come, O come, Emmanuel", "O komm, o komm, Emmanuel", is attributed to him, but it is not part of his hymnal. The hymn "Fest soll mein Taufbund immer stehn" is used for baptisms. He died in Münster. An obituary in an 1818 newspaper attested him the reputation of a pious Christian, a priest of dignity, and most of all a tireless friend of children ("... den Ruf eines frommen Christen, eines würdigen Geistlichen, vor allem aber den eines unermüdeten Kinderfreundes").

References

External links

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Christoph Bernhard Verspoel
(in German) Lexikon westfälischer Autorinnen und Autoren / 1750 bis 1950 {{DEFAULTSORT:Verspoell, Christoph Bernhard German Christian hymnwriters 18th-century German Roman Catholic priests 1743 births 1818 deaths Clergy from Münster 19th-century German Roman Catholic priests