en, Maximilian William Augustus Albert Charles Gregory Odo , image = Prince Max of Saxony.jpg , caption = , house = Wettin , father =

George of Saxony en, Frederick Augustus George Louis William Maximilian Charles Maria Nepomuk Baptist Xavier Cyriacus Romanus , image =George of Saxony by Nicola Perscheid c1900.jpg , caption = Photograph by Nicola Perscheid c. 1900 , reign ...

, mother = Infanta Maria Anna of Portugal , birth_date = , birth_place =

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 ...

Kingdom of Saxony The Kingdom of Saxony (german: Königreich Sachsen), lasting from 1806 to 1918, was an independent member of a number of historical confederacies in Napoleonic through post-Napoleonic Germany. The kingdom was formed from the Electorate of Saxo ...

North German Confederation The North German Confederation (german: Norddeutscher Bund) was initially a German military alliance established in August 1866 under the leadership of the Kingdom of Prussia, which was transformed in the subsequent year into a confederated st ...

, death_date = , death_place =

Fribourg , neighboring_municipalities= Düdingen, Givisiez, Granges-Paccot, Marly, Pierrafortscha, Sankt Ursen, Tafers, Villars-sur-Glâne , twintowns = Rueil-Malmaison (France) , website = www.ville-fribourg.ch , Location of , Location of () () ...

, Canton of Fribourg, Switzerland , religion =

Catholicism 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 ...

} Prince Maximilian William Augustus Albert Charles Gregory Odo of Saxony, Duke of Saxony (german: Maximilian Wilhelm August Albert Karl Gregor Odo; 17 November 1870 – 12 January 1951) was a member of the Albertine branch of the

House of Wettin The House of Wettin () is a dynasty of German kings, prince-electors, dukes, and counts that once ruled territories in the present-day German states of Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia. The dynasty is one of the oldest in Europe, and its ori ...

and a Catholic priest.

Early life

Maximilian Wilhelm August Albert Karl Gregor Odo of Saxony was born in

, capital of the

, the seventh of the eight children of Prince George of Saxony and his wife Infanta Maria Anna of Portugal. He was born with the titles Prince and Duke of Saxony, with the style

Royal Highness Royal Highness is a style used to address or refer to some members of royal families, usually princes or princesses. Monarchs and their consorts are usually styled ''Majesty''. When used as a direct form of address, spoken or written, it t ...

. Amongst his siblings was the last Saxon king Frederick Augustus III and Princess Maria Josepha mother of the last Austrian Emperor

Charles I Charles I may refer to: Kings and emperors * Charlemagne (742–814), numbered Charles I in the lists of Holy Roman Emperors and French kings * Charles I of Anjou (1226–1285), also king of Albania, Jerusalem, Naples and Sicily * Charles I of ...

Priesthood

On 26 July 1896, despite initial opposition from his family, Prince Maximilian decided to study for the priesthood and was subsequently ordained a priest. He renounced his claim to the throne of Saxony on entering the priesthood and also expressed a determination to refuse the

apanage An appanage, or apanage (; french: apanage ), is the grant of an estate, title, office or other thing of value to a younger child of a sovereign, who would otherwise have no inheritance under the system of primogeniture. It was common in much o ...

that he was entitled to from the Kingdom of Saxony.

Professor

In January 1899 Prince Maximilian graduated Doctor of Theology from the

University of Würzburg The Julius Maximilian University of Würzburg (also referred to as the University of Würzburg, in German ''Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg'') is a public research university in Würzburg, Germany. The University of Würzburg is one of ...

. After working as a

pastor A pastor (abbreviated as "Pr" or "Ptr" , or "Ps" ) is the leader of a Christian congregation who also gives advice and counsel to people from the community or congregation. In Lutheranism, Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy and ...

at a church in

Nuremberg Nuremberg ( ; german: link=no, Nürnberg ; in the local East Franconian dialect: ''Nämberch'' ) is the second-largest city of the German state of Bavaria after its capital Munich, and its 518,370 (2019) inhabitants make it the 14th-largest ...

, on 21 August 1900 Prince Maximilian accepted the post of Professor of

Canon Law Canon law (from grc, κανών, , a 'straight measuring rod, ruler') is a set of ordinances and regulations made by ecclesiastical authority (church leadership) for the government of a Christian organization or church and its members. It is th ...

at the

University of Fribourg The University of Fribourg (french: Université de Fribourg; german: Universität Freiburg) is a public university located in Fribourg, Switzerland. The roots of the university can be traced back to 1580, when the notable Jesuit Peter Canisi ...

. In late 1910 Prince Maximilian caused controversy by publishing an article in an ecclesiastical periodical on the union of the Eastern and Roman churches. Prince Maximilian argued that the six

dogma Dogma is a belief or set of beliefs that is accepted by the members of a group without being questioned or doubted. It may be in the form of an official system of principles or doctrines of a religion, such as Roman Catholicism, Judaism, Isla ...

s should be waived in order to facilitate the return of the Eastern to the Catholic Church. Consequently, upon the article he went to see Pope Pius X to explain, and as a result of the meeting agreed to retract the article and signed a declaration acknowledging errors in it. It was announced that he had renewed his full and unconditional adhesion to the doctrines of the Catholic Church.

War

During 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 ...

Prince Maximilian served as an Army chaplain and in this capacity he attended to wounded soldiers, gave

unction Anointing is the ritual act of pouring aromatic oil over a person's head or entire body. By extension, the term is also applied to related acts of sprinkling, dousing, or smearing a person or object with any perfumed oil, milk, butter, or ot ...

to the dying and said mass while under shell fire. He was liked by the French prisoners of war as he also dedicated himself to their welfare. He also used the international bureau in

Geneva , neighboring_municipalities= Carouge, Chêne-Bougeries, Cologny, Lancy, Grand-Saconnex, Pregny-Chambésy, Vernier, Veyrier , website = https://www.geneve.ch/ Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevr ...

to send word to the families of the French prisoners. Following the German Empire's defeat in the war his brother King Frederick Augustus III was forced to abdicate as the monarchy was abolished.

Death

Prince Maximilian died in

, Switzerland, as the last surviving grandchild of Queen Maria II and King Fernando II of Portugal, and last great-grandchild of Pedro IV of Portugal & I of Brazil.

Honours

* : Knight of the

Order of the Rue Crown The Order of the Rue Crown (german: Hausorden der Rautenkrone) or Order of the Crown of Saxony was a dynastic order of knighthood of the Kingdom of Saxony. The order takes its name from the green floral crown of rue ('' crancelin'') found in th ...

Justus Perthes, ''Almanach de Gotha'' (1923
p. 109
/ref> * : Knight of the

Order of the Black Eagle The Order of the Black Eagle (german: Hoher Orden vom Schwarzen Adler) was the highest order of chivalry in the Kingdom of Prussia. The order was founded on 17 January 1701 by Elector Friedrich III of Brandenburg (who became Friedrich I, King ...

* : Knight of the

House Order of Fidelity The House Order of Fidelity (german: Hausorden der Treue) is a dynastic order of the Margraviate of Baden. It was established by Charles III William, Margrave of Baden-Durlach as a reward for merit and to mark the laying of the foundation ston ...

, ''1908'' * : Knight of the Order of St. Hubert, ''1898'' * : Grand Cross of the

Order of the White Falcon Order of the White Falcon (german: Hausorden vom Weißen Falken) is a grand-ducal order of Grand Duchy of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach, founded by Duke Ernest Augustus on 2 August 1732, and renewed in 1815 by Charles Augustus. Description In the early 2 ...

, ''1890'' * : Grand Cross of the Order of St. Stephen, ''1891''"A Szent István Rend tagjai"

Ancestry

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Maximilian Of Saxony, Prince 1870 births 1951 deaths Saxon princes House of Wettin 20th-century German Roman Catholic priests Nobility from Dresden University of Würzburg alumni Albertine branch Grand Crosses of the Order of Saint Stephen of Hungary Sons of kings