Wilhelm Emmanuel, baron von Ketteler
Wilhelm Emmanuel, baron von Ketteler (born Dec. 25, 1811, Münster, Westphalia [Germany]—died July 13, 1877, Burghausen, Bavaria) was a social reformer who was considered by some to have been Germany’s outstanding 19th-century Roman Catholic bishop.
Ordained a priest in 1844 and appointed bishop of Mainz in 1850, Ketteler attracted national attention by his sermons and writings. He was interested in political and social problems and was a member of the Frankfurt National Assembly (1848) and later of the German Reichstag (1871–72). His concern was for the working class, whose well-being, he proposed, was the church’s responsibility. His opposition to papal infallibility caused him to become one of the leaders of the “inopportunists” (those against the “infallibilists”) at the first Vatican Council (1869–70).
- Born:
- Dec. 25, 1811, Münster, Westphalia [Germany] (born on this day)
- Died:
- July 13, 1877, Burghausen, Bavaria (aged 65)
His views on social reform were most comprehensively expressed in his book Die Arbeiterfrage und das Christenthum (1864; “The Labourer Question and Christianity”), which strongly stimulated the interest of German Roman Catholics in social problems. Ketteler’s paramount concern for the need of a Christian foundation supplied the quintessence of his other writings and his sermons. His most important works were edited by Johannes Mumbauer, Wilhelm Emmanuel von Kettelers Schriften (3 vol., 1911; 2nd ed., 1924).
