Joseph von Rudolphi, or Joseph von Rudolfi, (16 May 1666 – 7 March 1740) was the

abbot Abbot is an ecclesiastical title given to the male head of a monastery in various Western religious traditions, including Christianity. The office may also be given as an honorary title to a clergyman who is not the head of a monastery. The ...

and kitchen master of the

Abbey of Saint Gall The Abbey of Saint Gall (german: Abtei St. Gallen) is a dissolved abbey (747–1805) in a Catholic religious complex in the city of St. Gallen in Switzerland. The Carolingian-era monastery existed from 719, founded by Saint Othmar on the spot ...

. He served from 1717 until his death.

Early life

He was born Wolfgang Ernst to lieutenant colonel and imperial commander Johann Christoph von Rudolphi from

Ljubljana Ljubljana (also known by other historical names) is the capital and largest city of Slovenia. It is the country's cultural, educational, economic, political and administrative center. During antiquity, a Roman city called Emona stood in the are ...

and Maria Salome von Berneck. 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 ...

, Joseph von Rudolphi joined the Saint Gall monastery school in 1683 and took his religious vows in 1685. On 30 March 1686, he received his

minor orders Minor orders are ranks of church ministry. In the Catholic Church, the predominating Latin Church formerly distinguished between the major orders —priest (including bishop), deacon and subdeacon—and four minor orders—acolyte, exorcist, lec ...

. On 12 May 1688, he became subdeacon and on 18 September of the same year

deacon A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian churches, such as the Catholic Chur ...

. Von Rudolphi was made

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 22 September 1690 and subcustos on 5 December 1691.

Career

In different sources he is mentioned as a teacher of grammar, assistant kitchen master, ''Gastpater'' and subgranarius. On 18 January 1694, he was appointed kitchen master in Saint Gall, later on also in St. Johann and

Rorschach Rorschach may refer to: * Hermann Rorschach, a Swiss psychiatrist ** Rorschach test, his psychological evaluation method involving inkblots * Rorschach (character), a character from the comics ''Watchmen'' * Rorschach (comic book), a 2020 comic * ...

. In 1707, von Rudolphi became ''Brüdermagister'' and he began to act as

custos {{Wiktionary, custos ''Custos'' is the Latin word for guard. Titles * Custos rotulorum ("keeper of the rolls"), a civic post in parts of the United Kingdom and in Jamaica * Custos (Franciscans), a religious superior or official in the Fran ...

and

confessor Confessor is a title used within Christianity in several ways. Confessor of the Faith Its oldest use is to indicate a saint who has suffered persecution and torture for the faith but not to the point of death.subprior. With the Abbot of

Einsiedeln Abbey Einsiedeln Abbey (german: Kloster Einsiedeln) is a Benedictine Catholic monastery in the village of Einsiedeln in the canton of Schwyz, Switzerland. The abbey is dedicated to Our Lady of the Hermits, in recognition of Meinrad of Einsiedeln, a he ...

, Thomas Schenkli, as chairman, von Rudolphi was unanimously elected Abbot of Saint Gall in exile at Castle Neuravensburg in

Allgäu The Allgäu (Standard German: , also Allgovia) is a region in Swabia in southern Germany. It covers the south of Bavarian Swabia, southeastern Baden-Württemberg, and parts of Austria. The region stretches from the pre-alpine lands up to the A ...

on 16 December 1717. Pope Clement XI

confirmed In Christian denominations that practice infant baptism, confirmation is seen as the sealing of the covenant created in baptism. Those being confirmed are known as confirmands. For adults, it is an affirmation of belief. It involves laying on ...

the new abbot on 27 April 1718. The benediction, performed by Bishop

Johann Franz Schenk von Stauffenberg Johann Franz Schenk von Stauffenberg (1658–1740) was Prince-Bishop of Constance from 1704 to 1740 and Prince-Bishop of Augsburg from 1737 to 1740. Early life Johann Franz Schenk von Stauffenberg was born in Lautlingen on 18 February 1658 as ...

of Konstanz and the assisting Abbots of Einsiedeln and Mehrerau, was delayed until 24 June 1721.

Toggenburg war

After his election, the new abbot immediately tried to make peace. Thus, at the beginning of May 1718, six years after the end of the

Toggenburg War The Toggenburg War, also known as the Second War of Villmergen or the Swiss Civil War of 1712, was a Swiss civil war during the Old Swiss Confederacy from 12 April to 11 August 1712. The Catholic "inner cantons" and the Imperial Abbey of Saint ...

, negotiations in

Baden Baden (; ) is a historical territory in South Germany, in earlier times on both sides of the Upper Rhine but since the Napoleonic Wars only East of the Rhine. History The margraves of Baden originated from the House of Zähringen. Baden i ...

began. The peace contract contained 84 points and was signed on 15 June 1718. The contract that was

ratified Ratification is a principal's approval of an act of its agent that lacked the authority to bind the principal legally. Ratification defines the international act in which a state indicates its consent to be bound to a treaty if the parties inten ...

by the abbot was brought to Zurich and Bern on 6 August 1718 in order to be ratified there as well. However, Clement XI discarded the contract, which led to riots. Abbot von Rudolphi returned from exile to Rorschach on 7 September 1718. He began receiving homage in Toggenburg. On 11 October, he moved into Saint Gall and on 15 October, lections and the silentium as well as, a day later, the

orthros ''Orthros'' ( Greek: , meaning "early dawn" or "daybreak") or ''Oútrenya'' ( Slavonic Оўтреня), in the Byzantine Rite of the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Eastern Catholic Churches, is the last of the four night offices (church service ...

could be reintroduced. Only on 23 March 1719 did the abbot receive a large part of the library that had been brought to Zurich at the beginning of the war. Other items belonging to the prey of the people of Bern, for instance eight bells and seven fire engines, arrived in Saint Gall on 5 May 1721.

Achievements

Von Rudolphi founded new parishes and divided Gossau and

Oberriet Oberriet is a municipality in the ''Wahlkreis'' (constituency) of Rheintal in the canton of St. Gallen in Switzerland. History Oberriet is first mentioned in 891 as ''Cobolo''. About 1290 it was mentioned as ''Chobilwalt'' and in 1417 it was ...

. He introduced a new registry of documents to the archive of the monastery and let escape boxes be made. From 1719 to 1722, from 1724 to 1726, in 1730 and from 1735 to 1736, the abbot conducted visitations in order to gain an overview of local school conditions. On 8 and 9 May 1737, von Rudolphi organised a synod in Saint Gall. He ordered Caspar Moosbrugger in 1721 to draw a draft of the new minster. Von Rudolphi defined the exact border demarcations with the dominions adjoining Saint Gall. On 29 April 1731, the abbot renewed the

alliance An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...

with

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

that began in 1663. After several disputes in Toggenburg, abbatial magistrates Johann Baptist Keller and Niklaus Rüdlinger, who had formerly been leading the

opposition Opposition may refer to: Arts and media * ''Opposition'' (Altars EP), 2011 EP by Christian metalcore band Altars * The Opposition (band), a London post-punk band * '' The Opposition with Jordan Klepper'', a late-night television series on Com ...

against the abbey, were murdered on 8 December 1735. On 9 January 1739, the conference in

Frauenfeld Frauenfeld ( Alemannic: ''Frauefäld'') is the capital of the canton of Thurgau in Switzerland. The official language of Frauenfeld is (the Swiss variety of Standard) German, but the main spoken language is the local variant of the Alemannic ...

concerning the six places of arbitration (dt. "Schiedsorte") that was supported by France ended without result. Merchants and manufacturers were called together by the abbot to a conference in Rorschach on 11 March 1739 with the aim of discussing trade questions and the implementation of a trade and industry order, which was passed and evoked on 8 April of the same year. By means of thoughtful administration and economy, the abbot reduced the abbey's debts. On 21 September 1739, von Rudolphi expelled Konstanz's official Franz Andreas Rettich, who had been assigned by the bishop to visit the Saint Gall parishes, from the abbatial territory. This led to a renewed conflict with the Bishopric Konstanz concerning jurisdiction and visitation rights.

Notes and references

External links

* Erhart, Peter. 2010: "Joseph von Rudolphi"
Historisches Lexikon der Schweiz
* "Abt Joseph von Rudolphi" in th
Stadtlexikon Wil
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rudolph, Joseph von 1666 births 1740 deaths Abbots of Saint Gall