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Franz König (3 August 1905 – 13 March 2004) was an
Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
n Cardinal of the Catholic Church. He served as
archbishop of Vienna The Archbishop of Vienna is the prelate of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Vienna who is concurrently the metropolitan bishop of its ecclesiastical province which includes the dioceses of Eisenstadt, Linz and St. Pölten. From 1469 to 1513, bi ...
from 1956 to 1985, and was elevated to the
cardinalate The College of Cardinals, or more formally the Sacred College of Cardinals, is the body of all cardinals of the Catholic Church. its current membership is , of whom are eligible to vote in a conclave to elect a new pope. Cardinals are ap ...
in 1958. The last surviving cardinal elevated by
Pope John XXIII Pope John XXIII ( la, Ioannes XXIII; it, Giovanni XXIII; born Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli, ; 25 November 18813 June 1963) was head of the Roman Catholic Church, Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City, Vatican City State from 28 Oc ...
, he was the second-oldest and longest-serving cardinal worldwide at the time of his death.


Early life and ministry

König was born in Warth near
Rabenstein Rabenstein (officially: ''Rabenstein/Fläming'') is a municipality in the Potsdam-Mittelmark district, in Brandenburg Brandenburg (; nds, Brannenborg; dsb, Bramborska ) is a state in the northeast of Germany bordering the states of Mecklen ...
,
Lower Austria Lower Austria (german: Niederösterreich; Austro-Bavarian: ''Niedaöstareich'', ''Niedaestareich'') is one of the nine states of Austria, located in the northeastern corner of the country. Since 1986, the capital of Lower Austria has been Sankt P ...
, as the oldest of the nine children of Franz and Maria König. He attended 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 ...
-run '' Stiftsgymnasium Melk'' and 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 ...
in Rome, where he received his doctorate in philosophy on 9 July 1930 and then his doctorate in theology on 21 January 1936. He also studied at the Pontifical German-Hungarian College, the
Pontifical Biblical Institute The Pontifical Biblical Institute (also known as Biblicum) is a research and postgraduate teaching institution specialised in biblical and ancient Near Eastern studies. It is an institution of the Holy See entrusted to the Society of Jesus. His ...
, where he specialized in old
Persian language Persian (), also known by its endonym Farsi (, ', ), is a Western Iranian language belonging to the Iranian branch of the Indo-Iranian subdivision of the Indo-European languages. Persian is a pluricentric language predominantly spoken an ...
s and
religion Religion is usually defined as a social- cultural system of designated behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics, or organizations, that generally relates humanity to supernatur ...
, and the Université Catholique de Lille. During his studies in Rome he was in contact with
Heinrich Maier Heinrich Maier (; 16 February 1908 – 22 March 1945) was an Austrian Roman Catholic priest, pedagogue, philosopher and a member of the Austrian resistance, who was executed as the last victim of Hitler's régime in Vienna. The resistance gr ...
, who later became the head of the very important resistance group against Nazi Germany.
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 ...
as a
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 partic ...
on 29 October 1933 by Cardinal
Francesco Marchetti-Selvaggiani Francesco Marchetti Selvaggiani (1 October 1871 – 13 January 1951) was an Italian cardinal of the Catholic Church who served as Secretary of the Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith, Vicar General of Rome, Secretary of the Holy Of ...
, he originally served as a chaplain and teacher 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 World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
, his main concern at that time being
youth ministry Youth ministry, also commonly referred to as youth group, is an age-specific religious ministry of faith groups or other religious organizations, usually from ages 12 to 30, whose mission is to involve and engage with young people who attend ...
. Following this, König pursued an academic career, being appointed ''
Privatdozent ''Privatdozent'' (for men) or ''Privatdozentin'' (for women), abbreviated PD, P.D. or Priv.-Doz., is an academic title conferred at some European universities, especially in German-speaking countries, to someone who holds certain formal qualific ...
'', later teaching religion at the College of Krems and the
University of Vienna The University of Vienna (german: Universität Wien) is a public research university located in Vienna, Austria. It was founded by Duke Rudolph IV in 1365 and is the oldest university in the German-speaking world. With its long and rich hi ...
(1945–1948) and
moral theology Ethics involves systematizing, defending, and recommending concepts of right and wrong behavior.''Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy''"Ethics"/ref> A central aspect of ethics is "the good life", the life worth living or life that is simply sati ...
at the
University of Salzburg The University of Salzburg (german: Universität Salzburg), also known as the Paris Lodron University of Salzburg (''Paris-Lodron-Universität Salzburg'', PLUS), is an Austrian public university in Salzburg, Salzburg municipality, Salzburg (state ...
(1948–1952). On 3 July 1952, he was appointed
Coadjutor Bishop A coadjutor bishop (or bishop coadjutor) is a bishop in the Catholic, Anglican, and (historically) Eastern Orthodox churches whose main role is to assist the diocesan bishop in the administration of the diocese. The coadjutor (literally, "co- ...
of
Sankt Pölten Sankt Pölten (; Central Bavarian: ''St. Pödn''), mostly abbreviated to the official name St. Pölten, is the capital and largest city of the State of Lower Austria in northeast Austria, with 55,538 inhabitants as of 1 January 2020. St. Pölten ...
and Titular Bishop of Livias by
Pope Pius XII Pope Pius XII ( it, Pio XII), born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli (; 2 March 18769 October 1958), was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 2 March 1939 until his death in October 1958. Before his e ...
. König received his
episcopal consecration 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 ...
on the following 31 August from Bishop Michael Memelauer, with Bishops Leo Pietsch and Franz Zauner serving as
co-consecrators A consecrator is a bishop who ordains someone to the episcopacy. A co-consecrator is someone who assists the consecrator bishop in the act of ordaining a new bishop. The terms are used in the canon law of the Catholic Church, Lutheran Churches ...
.


Archbishop of Vienna

Remaining as Coadjutor Bishop for just under four years, he was named the fourteenth
Archbishop of Vienna The Archbishop of Vienna is the prelate of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Vienna who is concurrently the metropolitan bishop of its ecclesiastical province which includes the dioceses of Eisenstadt, Linz and St. Pölten. From 1469 to 1513, bi ...
, succeeding Theodor Innitzer. König was created
Cardinal-Priest A cardinal ( la, Sanctae Romanae Ecclesiae cardinalis, literally 'cardinal of the Holy Roman Church') is a senior member of the clergy of the Catholic Church. Cardinals are created by the ruling pope and typically hold the title for life. Col ...
of
Sant'Eusebio Sant'Eusebio is a titular church in Rome, devoted to Saint Eusebius of Rome, a 4th-century martyr, and built in the Esquilino rione. One of the oldest churches in Rome, it is a titular church and the station church for the Friday after the fo ...
by
Pope John XXIII Pope John XXIII ( la, Ioannes XXIII; it, Giovanni XXIII; born Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli, ; 25 November 18813 June 1963) was head of the Roman Catholic Church, Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City, Vatican City State from 28 Oc ...
in the
consistory Consistory is the anglicized form of the consistorium, a council of the closest advisors of the Roman emperors. It can also refer to: *A papal consistory, a formal meeting of the Sacred College of Cardinals of the Roman Catholic Church * Consistor ...
of 15 December 1958. This was an unexpected action on the part of John XXIII, who had been advised to withhold the red hat from König due to the unclear legal situation of the Church in Austria: the Austrian coalition government, on the insistences of
Social Democratic Party The name Social Democratic Party or Social Democrats has been used by many political parties in various countries around the world. Such parties are most commonly aligned to social democracy as their political ideology. Active parties For ...
ministers, refused to accept the
concordat A concordat is a convention between the Holy See and a sovereign state that defines the relationship between the Catholic Church and the state in matters that concern both,René Metz, ''What is Canon Law?'' (New York: Hawthorn Books, 1960 st Edi ...
negotiated between the Holy See and
Chancellor Chancellor ( la, cancellarius) is a title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the or lattice work screens of a basilica or law cou ...
Engelbert Dollfuss Engelbert Dollfuß (alternatively: ''Dolfuss'', ; 4 October 1892 – 25 July 1934) was an Austrian clerical fascist politician who served as Chancellor of Austria between 1932 and 1934. Having served as Minister for Forests and Agriculture, he ...
's
Austrofascist The Federal State of Austria ( de-AT, Bundesstaat Österreich; colloquially known as the , "Corporate State") was a continuation of the First Austrian Republic between 1934 and 1938 when it was a one-party state led by the clerical fascist Fa ...
government. After meeting personally with König, John XXIII decided that, "I have a different opinion. I will put you on my list and you will find a solution". By 1958 the newly appointed Cardinal König had managed to convince the authorities in Austria to recognise the earlier regulations in a new treaty, which was signed in 1961. In 1964 he founded the organization
Pro Oriente The foundation Pro Oriente was founded in 1964 by the Viennese cardinal Franz König to improve relationships between the Roman Catholic and the Eastern Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox churches. The foundation was established during Second Vatican ...
, to promote the relationship between the Catholic and Orthodox churches. König was appointed Bishop for the Catholic
military ordinariate A military ordinariate is an ecclesiastical jurisdiction of the Catholic Church, of the Latin or an Eastern church, responsible for the pastoral care of Catholics serving in the armed forces of a nation. Until 1986, they were called "military ...
of Austria on 21 February 1959, a position he resigned on 27 June 1980. He has also served as President of the Austrian
Episcopal Conference An episcopal conference, sometimes called a conference of bishops, is an official assembly of the bishops of the Catholic Church in a given territory. Episcopal conferences have long existed as informal entities. The first assembly of bishops to ...
. Within the Church, König worked to ensure a diverse communion that was united despite the apparent differences, with König himself holding both conservative and liberal viewpoints. He was an elector in three conclaves: 1963 and the two conclaves of 1978.


Views


Ecumenism and Interfaith

He was mainly concerned with questions of
ecumenism Ecumenism (), also spelled oecumenism, is the concept and principle that Christians who belong to different Christian denominations should work together to develop closer relationships among their churches and promote Christian unity. The adjec ...
, however also serving as president of the Vatican Secretariat for Non-Believers (which in 1993 was united with the Pontifical Council for Culture) from 6 April 1965 until his resignation on 27 June 1980. He was an advocate of reform at the
Second Vatican Council The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the , or , was the 21st ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic Church. The council met in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome for four periods (or sessions), each lasting between 8 and ...
(1962–1965), serving on its preparatory commissions and greatly contributing to its declaration on non-Christian religions, ''
Nostra aetate (from Latin: "In our time") is the incipit of the Declaration on the Relation of the Church with Non-Christian Religions of the Second Vatican Council. Passed by a vote of 2,221 to 88 of the assembled bishops, this declaration was promulgated o ...
''.


Communism and the Church

König swiftly made it his ambition to ensure that Communism and the Catholic Church were capable of co-existing peacefully. Quickly establishing himself as an important authority on the matter, he was often asked by the Vatican to make diplomatic trips to Communist countries, often establishing useful relationships with Communist authorities. So determined was König, that in the conclave of October 1978 he was instrumental in securing the election of Karol Wojtyła, who took the name John Paul II, seeing it as vitally important that a cardinal from Eastern Europe be put forward for election. Using his authority, he was also able to convince the communist Romanian government to end the 11-year home imprisonment of
Áron Márton Áron Márton (28 August 1896 – 29 September 1980) was an ethnic Hungarian Roman Catholic prelate who served as the Bishop of Alba Iulia from his appointment in late 1938 until his resignation in 1980. Márton held the title of Archbishop a ...
, Transylvanian Bishop, in 1967.


Abortion

He opposed Austrian legislation on abortion, whilst at the same time describing the publication of
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 ...
's encyclical condemning
contraception Birth control, also known as contraception, anticonception, and fertility control, is the use of methods or devices to prevent unwanted pregnancy. Birth control has been used since ancient times, but effective and safe methods of birth contr ...
, ''
Humanae vitae ''Humanae vitae'' (Latin: ''Of Human Life'') is an encyclical written by Pope Paul VI and dated 25 July 1968. The text was issued at a Vatican press conference on 29 July. Subtitled ''On the Regulation of Birth'', it re-affirmed the teaching of ...
'', as being a "tragic event".


Church in Hungary

The first Catholic prelate to visit Cardinal
József Mindszenty József Mindszenty (; 29 March 18926 May 1975) was a Hungarian cardinal of the Catholic Church who served as Archbishop of Esztergom and leader of the Catholic Church in Hungary from 1945 to 1973. According to the ''Encyclopædia Britannica'', ...
at the American Embassy in
Budapest Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population o ...
, König afterwards visited the cardinal several times until Mindszenty's departure for Rome in 1971. He also convinced Mindszenty not to march out of the embassy after the American government began talks with the Hungarian government.


Relations with the Pope

Despite securing the election of John Paul II, his relations with the
Holy See The Holy See ( lat, Sancta Sedes, ; it, Santa Sede ), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of R ...
turned somewhat sour toward the end of his tenure as Archbishop of Vienna. König criticized the Pope for refusing to engage with what he considered "the spirit of progress that the Second Vatican Council had developed" and disagreed with what he perceived to be an overly centralised Church and too much control in the hands of the Roman Curia. The Curia also appeared to display hostility toward König, refusing to back his suggested candidate for Archbishop of Vienna—Bishop Helmut Krätzl, an auxiliary bishop of Vienna. Instead he was ordered by the
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 ...
to add Hans Hermann Groër onto the ''terna'', or list of candidates.


Relations with his successor

He resigned his post in Vienna on 16 September 1985 and was succeeded by Groër, whose appointment König had questioned, although König did serve as Groër's principal consecrator. Groër, who became a cardinal, was later removed from office by John Paul II for
sexual misconduct Sexual misconduct is misconduct of a sexual nature which exists on a spectrum that may include a broad range of sexual behaviors considered unwelcome. This includes conduct considered inappropriate on an individual or societal basis of morality, se ...
. After Groër's troubles came to light, König once again pressed for Krätzl to be appointed Archbishop, however his advice was again ignored.


Pacifism

Until his death, Cardinal König was active in the
Archdiocese of Vienna The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Vienna ( la, Archidioecesis Viennensis) is an archdiocese of the Catholic Church in Austria. It was erected as the Diocese of Vienna on 18 January 1469 out of the Diocese of Passau, and elevated to an archdio ...
. Following his retirement from service as the Archbishop of Vienna, König stepped up his commitment to establishing
peace Peace is a concept of societal friendship and harmony in the absence of hostility and violence. In a social sense, peace is commonly used to mean a lack of conflict (such as war) and freedom from fear of violence between individuals or groups. ...
, acting as International President of '' Pax Christi'', an international Catholic peace promoting organisation, from 1990 to 1995.


Later life and death

In 1990 he was one of the founders of the
European Academy of Sciences and Arts The European Academy of Sciences and Arts (EASA, la, Academia Scientiarum et Artium Europaea) is a transnational and interdisciplinary network, connecting about 2,000 recommended scientists and artists worldwide, including 37 Nobel Prize laur ...
in Salzburg/Austria.EuropAcad
→ about the academy → history → founding member Franz Cardinal König In 1998, Cardinal
Aloysius Stepinac Aloysius Viktor Cardinal Stepinac ( hr, Alojzije Viktor Stepinac, 8 May 1898 – 10 February 1960) was a senior-ranking Yugoslav Croat prelate of the Catholic Church. A cardinal, Stepinac served as Archbishop of Zagreb from 1937 until his dea ...
, whom König had befriended during his studies in Rome, was
beatified Beatification (from Latin ''beatus'', "blessed" and ''facere'', "to make”) is a recognition accorded by the Catholic Church of a deceased person's entrance into Heaven and capacity to intercede on behalf of individuals who pray in their n ...
. (Years earlier, König had been involved in a near fatal car accident while traveling to Cardinal Stepinac's funeral.) In 2003, while on holiday, König had a bad fall and fractured his hip. However, after being operated on, he made a speedy recovery and a few months later celebrated
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 ele ...
again, only supported by his bishop's staff. König died in his sleep at around 3:00 am on 13 March 2004 in a Viennese
convent A convent is a community of monks, nuns, religious brothers or, sisters or priests. Alternatively, ''convent'' means the building used by the community. The word is particularly used in the Catholic Church, Lutheran churches, and the Angl ...
, at age 98. He was buried on the following 27 March in the Memorial Chapel Mausoleum Crypt Columbarium of Cathedral of St. Stephen.


Honours (selection)

*
Honorary doctor An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or '' ad hon ...
of the
University of Vienna The University of Vienna (german: Universität Wien) is a public research university located in Vienna, Austria. It was founded by Duke Rudolph IV in 1365 and is the oldest university in the German-speaking world. With its long and rich hi ...
, 1963 * Member of the
American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (abbreviation: AAA&S) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, a ...
, 1966 *
Honorary citizen Honorary citizenship is a status bestowed by a city or other government on a foreign or native individual whom it considers to be especially admirable or otherwise worthy of the distinction. The honour usually is symbolic and does not confer an ...
of the City of
Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...
, 1968 * Honorary doctor of the
University of Salzburg The University of Salzburg (german: Universität Salzburg), also known as the Paris Lodron University of Salzburg (''Paris-Lodron-Universität Salzburg'', PLUS), is an Austrian public university in Salzburg, Salzburg municipality, Salzburg (state ...
, 1972 * : Grand Decoration of Honour in Gold with Sash, 1995 * : Grand Cross of the Order of Merit, 1998 * : Grand Cross of the Order of Merit, 1999 * : Grand Cross of the Order of the White Double Cross, 2000 * Naming of the ''Kardinal-König-Platz'' (square) in Vienna-
Hietzing Hietzing () is the 13th municipal District of Vienna (german: 13. Bezirk, Hietzing). It is located west of the central districts, west of Meidling. Hietzing is a heavily populated urban area with many residential buildings, but also contains lar ...
, 2005 * Naming of the ''Kardinal-Franz-König-Brücke'' (street bridge) in
Scheibbs Scheibbs () is a town in Austria in the Scheibbs district of Lower Austria. In 1886, it became the first town in Austria to have street lighting powered by electricity. Population Mayors *1950-1965: Anton Herok *1965-1983: Alois Derfler *1983- ...
,
Lower Austria Lower Austria (german: Niederösterreich; Austro-Bavarian: ''Niedaöstareich'', ''Niedaestareich'') is one of the nine states of Austria, located in the northeastern corner of the country. Since 1986, the capital of Lower Austria has been Sankt P ...
, 2005


References


Further reading

*Franz König, Christa Pongratz-Lippitt (ed.): ''Open to God, Open to the World'', Burns & Oates/Continuum, London 2005 *Franz König, '' Zarathustras Jenseitsvorstellungen und das Alte Testament'', Wien, 1964. ''(in German)'' * Hubert Feichtlbauer: ''Franz König. Der Jahrhundert-Kardinal'' (2003) ''(in German)''


External links


2003 lecture by a prominent Austrian political scientist; in GermanCardinal König: man of faith, man of dialogueNational Catholic Reporter Obituary
{{DEFAULTSORT:Konig, Franz 1905 births 2004 deaths Archbishops of Vienna 20th-century Austrian cardinals Participants in the Second Vatican Council 21st-century Austrian cardinals Cardinals created by Pope John XXIII Austrian military chaplains World War II chaplains Pontifical Gregorian University alumni Pontifical Biblical Institute alumni Members of the European Academy of Sciences and Arts People from Sankt Pölten-Land District Academics of the University of Salzburg Livias