Gerhard Schaffran (4 July 1912, in

Leśnica Leśnica (German: ''Leschnitz'', 1936-1945: ''Bergstadt'') is a town in Poland, located in Strzelce County, Opole Voivodship. History The oldest known mention of Leśnica comes from a 1217 document of Duke Casimir I of Opole. Its name is deriv ...

, Górny Śląsk – 4 March 1996, in

Dresden Dresden (, ; Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; wen, label=Upper Sorbian, Drježdźany) is the capital city of the German state of Saxony and its second most populous city, after Leipzig. It is the 12th most populous city of Germany, the fourth larg ...

) was

Papal consistory In the Roman Catholic Church a consistory is a formal meeting of the College of Cardinals called by the pope. There are two kinds of consistories, extraordinary and ordinary. An "extraordinary" consistory is held to allow the pope to consult with ...

and Auxiliary bishop of Görlitz, of Breslau for the see of Görlitz and Bishop of Dresden-Meissen.

Life

Lehmann, Schaffran, Ratzinger, Meisner 1987 in Dresden

Schaffran was the son of a teacher, his family moved from Breslau to Leschnitz am Annaberg. 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 ...

his father served as an officer and was killed. His widow lived with Gerhard and his siblings at Görlitz. Gerhard Schaffran initially studied at a gymnasium in Berlin, but left high school in Görlitz in order to study theology at Breslau. After his ordination by

Adolf Bertram Adolf Bertram (14 March 1859 – 6 July 1945) was archbishop of Breslau (now Wrocław, Poland) and a cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. Early life Adolf Bertram was born in Hildesheim, Royal Prussian Province of Hanover (now Lower Saxony), ...

on 1 August 1937, Schaffran served as a chaplain in Breslau. During 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 opposin ...

he was a

Military chaplain A military chaplain ministers to military personnel and, in most cases, their families and civilians working for the military. In some cases they will also work with local civilians within a military area of operations. Although the term ''cha ...

and then a voluntary chaplain in a Soviet prisoner of war camp in

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan (, ; az, Azərbaycan ), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, , also sometimes officially called the Azerbaijan Republic is a transcontinental country located at the boundary of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is a part of th ...

. By the time of his release frontiers had moved and Breslau had become the Polish city of Wrocław. In 1949/50 Schaffran decided to move to the

German Democratic Republic German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

, where in 1952 he became rector of the catechist seminary in Görlitz. From 1959 he worked as Professor of

Homiletics In religious studies, homiletics ( grc, ὁμιλητικός ''homilētikós'', from ''homilos'', "assembled crowd, throng") is the application of the general principles of rhetoric to the specific art of public preaching. One who practices or ...

at the Catholic seminary in

Neuzelle Neuzelle ( dsb, Nowa Cala) is a Municipalities of Germany, municipality in the Oder-Spree district of Brandenburg, Germany, the administrative seat of ''Amt (country subdivision), Amt'' (collective municipality) Neuzelle (Amt), Neuzelle. It is bes ...

and as a prison chaplain. On 24 November 1962, Schaffran was appointed

titular bishop 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 ...

of Semnea and Auxiliary bishop of

Görlitz Görlitz (; pl, Zgorzelec, hsb, Zhorjelc, cz, Zhořelec, :de:Ostlausitzer Mundart, East Lusatian dialect: ''Gerlz'', ''Gerltz'', ''Gerltsch'') is a town in the Germany, German state of Saxony. It is located on the Lusatian Neisse River, and ...

. He was ordained as a bishop on 22 January 1963 by

Alfred Bengsch Alfred Bengsch (10 September 1921 – 13 December 1979) was a German cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Bishop of Berlin from 1961 until his death, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1967. Biography Alfred Bengsch was born ...

Archbishop of Berlin The Archdiocese of Berlin is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church in Germany. The archepiscopal see is in Berlin, with the archdiocese's territory extending over Northeast Germany. As of 2004, the arch ...

. Auxiliary Bishop Friedrich Maria Rintelen of

Magdeburg Magdeburg (; nds, label=Low Saxon, Meideborg ) is the capital and second-largest city of the German state Saxony-Anhalt. The city is situated at the Elbe river. Otto I, the first Holy Roman Emperor and founder of the Archdiocese of Magdebur ...

and

Hugo Aufderbeck Hugo Aufderbeck (23 March 1909 – 17 January 1981) was a Roman Catholic theologian. He served as Bishop and Apostolic Administrator in the Episcopal Office of Erfurt-Meiningen. Life Early years Aufderbeck was born in Hellefeld, a small vill ...

Erfurt Erfurt () is the capital and largest city in the Central German state of Thuringia. It is located in the wide valley of the Gera river (progression: ), in the southern part of the Thuringian Basin, north of the Thuringian Forest. It sits i ...

assisted in the consecration. Schaffran adopted ''Soli Deo'' (for God alone) as his motto. In September 1970, Gerhard Schaffran was appointed Bishop of the diocese of

Meißen Meissen (in German orthography: ''Meißen'', ) is a town of approximately 30,000 about northwest of Dresden on both banks of the Elbe river in the Free State of Saxony, in eastern Germany. Meissen is the home of Meissen porcelain, the Albrechts ...

, which became Dresden-Meissen in 1979 and whose seat was moved from

Bautzen Bautzen () or Budyšin () is a hill-top town in eastern Saxony, Germany, and the administrative centre of the district of Bautzen. It is located on the Spree river. In 2018 the town's population was 39,087. Until 1868, its German name was ''Budis ...

in 1980. He remained in the role until 1987. From 1980 to 1982 he was chairman of the Berlin Conference of Bishops. A high point of his career was organising the only Catholic Conference in East Germany, which took place in Dresden from 10 to 12 July 1987. On 1 August 1987,

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 ...

accepted his resignation on grounds of age. Schaffran died in 1996 in Dresden and was interred in the Bishops' crypt of

Dresden Cathedral Dresden Cathedral, or the Cathedral of the Holy Trinity, Dresden, previously the Catholic Church of the Royal Court of Saxony, called in German Katholische Hofkirche and since 1980 also known as Kathedrale Sanctissimae Trinitatis, is the Catholi ...

Selected works

* ''Die Stifte Melk, Dürnstein, Göttweig, Klosterneuburg'', Langewiesche 1958, with Gerhard Kerff.

Bibliography

* * Bernd Schäfer: "Schaffran, Gerhard." In ''Wer war wer in der DDR?'' 5th Edition. Volume 2, Ch. Links, Berlin 2010, . * Marianne Seewald: ''Solo Dios basta. Gerhard Schaffran. Wegbegleiter in schweren Zeiten 1912–1962'', St. Benno 2001 (Neuauflage 1996), . * Marianne Seewald: ''Soli Deo. Gerhard Schaffran. Bischofsjahre 1962–1996''. Leipzig: St. Benno 2012, . *

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Schaffran, Gerhard 1912 births 1996 deaths 20th-century German Roman Catholic bishops 20th-century German Catholic theologians German military chaplains Clergy from the Province of Silesia People from Strzelce County 20th-century German Roman Catholic priests