Joseph Wendel (May 27, 1901 – December 31, 1960) was a German Cardinal of the

Roman Catholic Church 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 ...

who served as

Archbishop of Munich and Freising The following people were bishops, prince-bishops or archbishops of Freising or Munich and Freising in Bavaria: Bishops of Freising * St. Corbinian (724–730); founded the Benedictine abbey in Freising, although the diocese was not orga ...

from 1952 until his death, 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 appoi ...

in 1953 by Pope Pius XII.

Biography

Joseph Wendel was born in

Blieskastel Blieskastel () is a city in the Saarpfalz (Saar-Palatinate) district, in Saarland, Germany which is divided into villages. It is situated on the river Blies, approximately southwest of Homburg (Saar), west of Zweibrücken, and east of Saarbrü ...

, and studied at the

seminary A seminary, school of theology, theological seminary, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called ''seminarians'') in scripture, theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as clergy ...

Speyer Speyer (, older spelling ''Speier'', French: ''Spire,'' historical English: ''Spires''; pfl, Schbaija) is a city in Rhineland-Palatinate in Germany with approximately 50,000 inhabitants. Located on the left bank of the river Rhine, Speyer li ...

, and the Pontifical German-Hungarian College 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 ...

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

. From the Gregorian he obtained

doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''docere'', "to teach"), doctor's degree (from Latin ''doctor'', "teacher"), or doctoral degree is an academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism ''li ...

s in philosophy and

theology Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

. Wendel was

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 ...

to the priesthood on October 30, 1927, and then did pastoral work in Speyer, also serving as director of Caritas, until 1941. On April 4, 1941, he was appointed Coadjutor Bishop of

and

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 ...

of ''Lebessus''. He 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 June 29 from Bishop Ludwig Sebastian, with Bishops Matthias Ehrenfried and Joseph Kolb serving as co-consecrators. Wendel succeeded Sebastian as Bishop of Speyer on May 20, 1943, being installed on June 4 of that same year. 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 vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, he strongly defended the rights of the Church and humanity. Wendel became known as the "Bishop of Peace" following the war because of his efforts to restore

West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...

's good willMilestones
''Time'', January 13, 1961 Pope Pius XII named him

on August 9, 1952 (three Bishops of Speyer have become Archbishop of Munich and Freising, the others being

Michael von Faulhaber Michael Cardinal ''Ritter'' von Faulhaber (5 March 1869 – 12 June 1952) was a German Catholic prelate who served as Archbishop of Munich for 35 years, from 1917 to his death in 1952. Created Cardinal in 1921, von Faulhaber criticized the Weima ...

and

Friedrich Wetter Friedrich Wetter (born 20 February 1928) is a German cardinal of the Catholic Church. He was Archbishop of Munich and Freising, Germany, from 1982 to 2007. He was Bishop of Speyer from 1968 to 1982. He has been a cardinal since 1985. Early l ...

), and created him

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 '' S. Maria Nuova'' 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 January 12, 1953. On February 4, 1956, Wendel became the

Apostolic Vicar Apostolic may refer to: The Apostles An Apostle meaning one sent on a mission: *The Twelve Apostles of Jesus, or something related to them, such as the Church of the Holy Apostles *Apostolic succession, the doctrine connecting the Christian Chur ...

of the Catholic

Military Ordinariate of Germany The Military Ordinariate of Germany (german: Katholische Militärseelsorge; ''Deutsches Militärordinariat'') is a military ordinariate of the Roman Catholic Church. Immediately subject to the Holy See, it provides pastoral care to Roman Cathol ...

. He was one of the cardinal electors in the 1958 papal conclave, which selected

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 Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 28 October 1958 until his death in June 19 ...

. The German prelate also made gestures of ecumenism to Protestants,Chasms & Bridges
''Time'', August 24, 1959 and organized the International Eucharistic Congress in

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Ha ...

in 1960. Shortly after delivering his New Year's Eve sermon, Wendel died from a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which ma ...

in Munich, at age 59. He is buried in the metropolitan

cathedral A cathedral is a church that contains the '' cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denominatio ...

of that same city.

References

External links

Archdiocese of Munich and Freising
- in German

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Wendel, Joseph 1901 births 1960 deaths People from Saarpfalz-Kreis Cardinals created by Pope Pius XII 20th-century German cardinals Roman Catholic archbishops of Munich and Freising Grand Crosses 1st class of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Burials at Munich Frauenkirche German Roman Catholic archbishops