Friedrich Lorenz (10 June 1897 in Klein Freden – 13 November 1944 in Halle) was a

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 and a member of the

Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate The Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate (OMI) is a missionary religious congregation in the Catholic Church. It was founded on January 25, 1816, by Eugène de Mazenod, a French priest born in Aix-en-Provence in the south of France on August 1, ...

Life

Friedrich Lorenz was born as a postman's son in 1897 in Klein Freden in today's

Hildesheim Hildesheim (; nds, Hilmessen, Hilmssen; la, Hildesia) is a city in Lower Saxony, Germany with 101,693 inhabitants. It is in the district of Hildesheim, about southeast of Hanover on the banks of the Innerste River, a small tributary of the L ...

district in

Lower Saxony Lower Saxony (german: Niedersachsen ; nds, Neddersassen; stq, Läichsaksen) is a German state (') in northwestern Germany. It is the second-largest state by land area, with , and fourth-largest in population (8 million in 2021) among the 16 ...

. In 1902, the family moved to

. Here Lorenz had his first contact with the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate. He went to the St. Karl Oblate boarding school in

Limburg Limburg or Limbourg may refer to: Regions * Limburg (Belgium), a province since 1839 in the Flanders region of Belgium * Limburg (Netherlands), a province since 1839 in the south of the Netherlands * Diocese of Limburg, Roman Catholic Diocese in ...

in the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

from 1911 to 1916. In connection with this, he joined the Novitiate of the Oblates at Maria Engelport

Monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone ( hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer whi ...

, although one month later, the monastery had to let him go because he had been called into the

army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

. In the

First World War 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 fought as a

corporal Corporal is a military rank in use in some form by many militaries and by some police forces or other uniformed organizations. The word is derived from the medieval Italian phrase ("head of a body"). The rank is usually the lowest ranking non- ...

and a non-commissioned officer on the Western Front. For his bravery, he was awarded the

Iron Cross The Iron Cross (german: link=no, Eisernes Kreuz, , abbreviated EK) was a military decoration in the Kingdom of Prussia, and later in the German Empire (1871–1918) and Nazi Germany (1933–1945). King Frederick William III of Prussia es ...

, second class. After the war, he joined the monastery again, took his eternal vows on 25 July 1923, and a year later, was ordained a priest by the

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 c ...

of Fulda, Joseph Damian Schmitt. Lorenz had his first posting in the People's Mission. Because he found it hard to deliver sermons, he was transferred to

Schwerin Schwerin (; Mecklenburgian Low German: ''Swerin''; Latin: ''Suerina'', ''Suerinum'') is the capital and second-largest city of the northeastern German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern as well as of the region of Mecklenburg, after Rostock. It ...

. On 1 September 1939, he had to return to the military as a chaplain as the

Second World War 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 opposi ...

was looming. Once again, he received the Iron Cross for his bravery. In 1940, he returned to

. Here he developed contacts with the "Wednesday Circle" (''"Mittwochskreis"''), a discussion group for men from the Stettin pastoral area. On 4 February 1943, the Wednesday Circle was stormed by the

Gestapo The (), abbreviated Gestapo (; ), was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and in German-occupied Europe. The force was created by Hermann Göring in 1933 by combining the various political police agencies of Prussia into one orga ...

resulting in 40 people being arrested, among them Friedrich Lorenz. Lorenz was sentenced by the ''Reichskriegsgericht'' in

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 28 July 1944 to death for "listening to enemy broadcasts", "undermining the fighting forces", and "helping the enemy". The sentence was upheld in later proceedings from 2 to 4 September. On 13 November 1944 at 16:00, Father Friedrich Lorenz OMI was beheaded in Halle. His body was

cremated Cremation is a method of final disposition of a dead body through burning. Cremation may serve as a funeral or post-funeral rite and as an alternative to burial. In some countries, including India and Nepal, cremation on an open-air pyre i ...

. The burial of the urn took place on 3 November 1947 in the monastery graveyard in Hünfeld.

External links

*
Biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lorenz, Friedrich 1897 births 1944 deaths People from the Province of Hanover Recipients of the Iron Cross (1914), 2nd class People from Lower Saxony executed by Nazi Germany German military chaplains World War II chaplains Roman Catholics in the German Resistance People from Hildesheim (district) People executed by Germany by decapitation German military personnel of World War II Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate 20th-century German Roman Catholic priests German Army personnel of World War I