Matthias Eberhard (born 15 November 1815, at

Trier Trier ( , ; lb, Tréier ), formerly known in English as Trèves ( ;) and Triers (see also names in other languages), is a city on the banks of the Moselle in Germany. It lies in a valley between low vine-covered hills of red sandstone in the ...

, Germany, died there 30 May 1876) was a German

Roman Catholic Bishop of Trier The Diocese of Trier, in English historically also known as ''Treves'' (IPA "tɾivz") from French ''Trèves'', is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic church in Germany.Wilhelm Arnoldi Wilhelm may refer to: People and fictional characters * William Charles John Pitcher, costume designer known professionally as "Wilhelm" * Wilhelm (name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name or surname Other uses * Moun ...

made him his private secretary, and, at the end of the same year, professor of dogmatics in the seminary of Trier. From 1849 to 1862 he was director of the seminary and also preacher at the cathedral; in 1850 he became a member of the chapter; from 1852 to 1856 he was representative of his fellow-citizens in the Prussian Lower Chamber, where he joined the Catholic section. On 7 April 1862, he was preconized as auxiliary bishop of Trier; after Arnoldi's death he was proposed for the episcopal see, but the Prussian government acknowledged him only after the death of Arnoldi's successor,

Leopold Pelldram Leopold may refer to: People * Leopold (given name) * Leopold (surname) Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional characters * Leopold (''The Simpsons''), Superintendent Chalmers' assistant on ''The Simpsons'' * Leopold Bloom, the protagonist o ...

, 16 July 1867. Having chosen

Charles Borromeo Charles Borromeo ( it, Carlo Borromeo; la, Carolus Borromeus; 2 October 1538 – 3 November 1584) was the Archbishop of Milan from 1564 to 1584 and a cardinal of the Catholic Church. He was a leading figure of the Counter-Reformation combat ...

for his ideal, he spared no exertion to make his clergy learned and devout, and to cultivate a religious spirit in the people. He took care that religious associations were established, and tried to found everywhere good libraries. At the

First Vatican Council The First Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the First Vatican Council or Vatican I was convoked by Pope Pius IX on 29 June 1868, after a period of planning and preparation that began on 6 December 1864. This, the twentieth ecu ...

he appeared several times as a speaker. He belonged to the minority of the bishops, who considered the definition of the

papal infallibility Papal infallibility is a dogma of the Catholic Church which states that, in virtue of the promise of Jesus to Peter, the Pope when he speaks ''ex cathedra'' is preserved from the possibility of error on doctrine "initially given to the aposto ...

as inopportune for the time being. As soon as the matter had been decided, he published the constitution at once. When, in the beginning of the 1870s, the Prussian government wished to fetter bishops and priests by its ecclesiastico-political legislation, Bishop Eberhard defended the rights of the Church and became one of the first victims of the so-called ''

Kulturkampf (, 'culture struggle') was the conflict that took place from 1872 to 1878 between the Catholic Church led by Pope Pius IX and the government of Prussia led by Otto von Bismarck. The main issues were clerical control of education and ecclesiastic ...

''. He was fined a large sum. Since he could not pay it, he was retained in the prison of Trier from 6 March to 31 December 1874. He was the author of a dissertation "De tituli Sedis Apostolicae ad insigniendam sedem Romanam usu antiquo ac vi singulari" (Trier, 1877-1883; Freiburg, 1894-1903).

External links

''Catholic Encyclopedia'' source
{{DEFAULTSORT:Eberhard, Matthias 1815 births 1876 deaths Roman Catholic bishops of Trier People from the Grand Duchy of the Lower Rhine 19th-century German Roman Catholic bishops