Julius August Döpfner (26 August 1913 – 24 July 1976) was a German

cardinal Cardinal or The Cardinal most commonly refers to * Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **''Cardinalis'', genus of three species in the family Cardinalidae ***Northern cardinal, ''Cardinalis cardinalis'', the common cardinal of ...

of the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

who was elevated to the cardinalate in 1958 and 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 organ ...

from 1961 until his death.

Biography

Early life and ordination

Julius Döpfner was born in Hausen (today a part of

Bad Kissingen Bad Kissingen () is a German spa town in the Bavarian region of Lower Franconia and County town, seat of the Bad Kissingen (district), district Bad Kissingen. Situated to the south of the Rhön Mountains on the Franconian Saale, Franconia ...

) to Julius Matthäus and Maria Döpfner. He was

baptised Baptism (from ) is a Christians, Christian sacrament of initiation almost invariably with the use of water. It may be performed by aspersion, sprinkling or affusion, pouring water on the head, or by immersion baptism, immersing in water eit ...

two days later, on 28 August 1913. Döpfner had a sister, Maria, and two brothers, Paul and Otto. Entering the Augustinian-run '' gymnasium'' at

Münnerstadt Münnerstadt is a town in the district of Bad Kissingen in Bavaria, Germany. It has a population of around 7,600. Geography It borders on the towns of Burglauer, Bad Bocklet, Nüdlingen, Maßbach, Großbardorf, and Strahlungen. The municip ...

in 1924, he later attended the

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

Würzburg Würzburg (; Main-Franconian: ) is, after Nuremberg and Fürth, the Franconia#Towns and cities, third-largest city in Franconia located in the north of Bavaria. Würzburg is the administrative seat of the Regierungsbezirk Lower Franconia. It sp ...

and the Pontifical German-Hungarian College in

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

. Döpfner was

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are Consecration in Christianity, consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the religious denomination, denominationa ...

to the priesthood by Archbishop

Luigi Traglia Luigi Traglia (3 April 1895 – 22 November 1977) was an Italian Catholic prelate who served as Vicar General of Rome from 1965 to 1968, and Dean of the College of Cardinals from 1974 until his death. Traglia was elevated to the cardinalat ...

on 29 October 1939, and then finished his studies at the

Pontifical Gregorian University Pontifical Gregorian University (; also known as the Gregorian or Gregoriana), is a private university, private pontifical university in Rome, Italy. The Gregorian originated as a part of the Roman College, founded in 1551 by Ignatius of Loyo ...

, from where he obtained a doctorate in theology in 1941, writing his dissertation on Cardinal

John Henry Newman John Henry Newman (21 February 1801 – 11 August 1890) was an English Catholic theologian, academic, philosopher, historian, writer, and poet. He was previously an Anglican priest and after his conversion became a cardinal. He was an ...

. He worked as a

chaplain A chaplain is, traditionally, a cleric (such as a minister, priest, pastor, rabbi, purohit, or imam), or a lay representative of a religious tradition, attached to a secular institution (such as a hospital, prison, military unit, intellige ...

Großwallstadt Großwallstadt (or ''Grosswallstadt'') is a municipality in the Miltenberg district in the ''Regierungsbezirk'' of Lower Franconia (''Unterfranken'') in Bavaria, Germany. Geography Location Großwallstadt lies in the Bavarian Lower Main (''B ...

until 1944.

Bishop

On 11 August 1948, Döpfner was appointed

Bishop of Würzburg A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of dioceses. The role ...

Pope Pius XII Pope Pius XII (; born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli; 2 March 18769 October 1958) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 2 March 1939 until his death on 9 October 1958. He is the most recent p ...

. He received his

episcopal consecration A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of dioceses. The role ...

on the following 14 October from Archbishop Joseph Kolb, with Bishops Joseph Schröffer and Arthur Landgraf 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 Churche ...

. The consecration took place in the Neumünster Collegiate church, Würzburg, as

Würzburg Cathedral Würzburg Cathedral () is a Roman Catholic cathedral in Würzburg in Bavaria, Germany, dedicated to Saint Kilian. It is the seat of the Bishop of Würzburg and has served as the burial place for the Prince-Bishops of Würzburg for hundreds of ye ...

was unusable due to the

bombing of Würzburg in World War II A bomb is an explosive weapon that uses the exothermic reaction of an explosive material to provide an extremely sudden and violent release of energy. Detonations inflict damage principally through ground- and atmosphere-transmitted mechanica ...

. He was named Bishop of Berlin on 15 January 1957 and became the youngest member of the

College of Cardinals The College of Cardinals (), also called the Sacred College of Cardinals, is the body of all cardinals of the Catholic Church. there are cardinals, of whom are eligible to vote in a conclave to elect a new pope. Appointed by the pope, ...

when he was created

Cardinal-Priest A cardinal is a senior member of the clergy of the Catholic Church. As titular members of the clergy of the Diocese of Rome, they serve as advisors to the pope, who is the bishop of Rome and the visible head of the worldwide Catholic Church. ...

of ''

Santa Maria della Scala Santa Maria della Scala (English: Mary of the Staircase) is a titular church, titular churches of Rome, church in Rome, Italy, located in the Trastevere rione. It is served by friars of the Discalced Carmelite Order. Cardinal Ernest Simoni took p ...

'' (

pro hac vice Pro is an abbreviation meaning "professional". Pro, PRO or variants thereof might also refer to: People * Miguel Pro (1891–1927), Mexican priest * Pro Hart (1928–2006), Australian painter * Mlungisi Mdluli (born 1980), South African retire ...

) by

Pope John XXIII Pope John 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 on 3 June 1963. He is the most recent pope to take ...

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. Promoted to

on 3 July 1961, Döpfner participated in the

Second Vatican Council The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the or , was the 21st and most recent ecumenical council of the Catholic Church. The council met each autumn from 1962 to 1965 in St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City for session ...

(1962–1965), and sat on its Board of Presidency. Along with Cardinal

Raúl Silva Henríquez Raúl Silva Henríquez Salesians of Don Bosco, SDB (27 September 1907 – 9 April 1999) was a Chilean prelate of the Catholic Church, a Cardinal (Catholic Church), cardinal from 1962. He served as Archbishop of Roman Catholic Archdiocese of San ...

, he assisted Cardinal Léon-Etienne Duval in delivering one of the closing messages of the Council on 8 December 1965. The German prelate was one of the cardinal electors in the 1963 papal conclave which selected

Pope Paul VI Pope Paul 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 State from 21 June 1963 until his death on 6 August 1978. Succeeding John XXII ...

. From 1965 to 1976, Döpfner was Chairman of the

Conference of the German Bishops The German Bishops' Conference () is the episcopal conference of the bishops of the Roman Catholic dioceses in Germany. Members include diocesan bishops, coadjutors, auxiliary bishops, and diocesan administrators. History The first meeting of th ...

and thus the spokesman of the

Catholic Church in Germany The Catholic Church in Germany () or Roman Catholic Church in Germany () is part of the worldwide Catholic Church in communion with the Pope, assisted by the Roman Curia, and with the German bishops. The current "Speaker" (i.e., Chairman) of th ...

. He was often described as ''

papabile ( , , ; plural: ; ) is an unofficial Italian term coined by Vaticanologists and used internationally in many languages to describe a Catholic man—in practice, always a cardinal—who is thought of as a likely or possible candidate to be ...

'', but he died at age 62 in the archiepiscopal residence of Munich.

Views

Church reform

The Cardinal, who was considered liberal in his positions, criticised the Church's "antiquated forms" and its "resisting ideas, forms and possibilities to which perhaps the future belongs, and we often consider as impossible that which will finally manifest itself as a legitimate form of Christianity".Time Magazine
The Unfinished Reformation
7 February 1964

Birth control

He was deeply involved with the question of

birth control Birth control, also known as contraception, anticonception, and fertility control, is the use of methods or devices to prevent pregnancy. Birth control has been used since ancient times, but effective and safe methods of birth control only be ...

, serving as co-deputy on the Vatican's commission to study the topics of marriage, family, and regulation of birth.Time Magazine,
Birth Control: Pronouncement Withdrawn
21 June 1968

Ecumenism

He also supported

ecumenism Ecumenism ( ; alternatively spelled oecumenism)also called interdenominationalism, or ecumenicalismis the concept and principle that Christians who belong to different Christian denominations should work together to develop closer relationships ...

References

External links

Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church profile
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dopfner, Julius 1913 births 1976 deaths People from Bad Kissingen 20th-century German cardinals Roman Catholic archbishops of Munich and Freising Participants in the Second Vatican Council Burials at Munich Frauenkirche Cardinals created by Pope John XXIII Grand Crosses 1st class of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany 20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in Germany German Roman Catholic archbishops