Lothar Anselm von Gebsattel

Archbishop of München and Freising from 1821 to 1846.

His nomination as the first archbishop of the newly erected archdiocese already happened in 1818, but due to some differences between the state of Bavaria and the Church it took three more years to finally get him installed. He had a great deal of building up to do, because the Church in Germany was still suffering from the effects of the secularization.

Why the Mozzetta and the Cappa? You tell me...

Fleamarket-Find

Every once in a while I browse through fleamarkets or garage sales or second hand stores looking for old postcards with "far sight"-material. I was very surprised when I found a whole album full of private photos from church ceremonies in Germany. There was a series of pics showing Julius Döpfner from the years before he became a cardinal, probably from his Berlin years.







"Note to self: Get bigger car or smaller hat!"

Something interesting from Berlin

Bishop Wilhelm Weskamm was bishop of Berlin from 1951 to 1956. These two photos were taken on the day of his consecration. Though being a bishop, at least his cappa magna is made of watered silk.



I love the grannies who are all cheerleading for the toddler in the diaper-trousers.

MANLACE - The Early Years

I don't know when the lace on rochets started to grow all out of control, but I do know that I miss the fifty million folds of the graciously tailored models of the 18th century. Case in point: Dominique Cardinal de la Rochefoucauld, archbishop of Albi and Rouen.

Apart from the thrilling and accurate depiction of the silk, the lace in this painting is amongst the greatest I've seen. Plus, Monseigneur really does qualify for the "happy prelates" tag.

"Why be a princess...

... if you can be a canoness at St. Sainte-Waudru Collegiate Church in Mons Belgium?"



That's what some aristocratic ladies must have thought in the middle ages, when they saw the choir-dress of the 'Chanoinesses'.


A Lady Waudru settled down on a hill which later would become Mons. The small community gave birth to a chapter of canonesses. The beautiful church was erected over the course of almost 200 years, from 1449 to 1621. But the original plan was never altered during the process, which is why you have such a homogeneous building. The church was the personal church to the community of the canonesses until the end of the Ancien Regime.



Of course the canonesses of Waudru don't exist anymore. Their habit, however, lives on: The dresses you see here are new and were worn during a historical pageant in honor of St. Waudru.

Aloysius Cardinal Muench

He was born in 1889 in Milwaukee as son of two German immigrants. In 1935 he was consecrated bishop of Fargo. He became the first post-war nuncio in Germany, a post which he held from 1951 to 1959. He was created a cardinal in 1959 and died in 1962.





Since he was the first nuncio to Germany after the war, it was his task to furnish the nunciature. A famous story tells how he went to a couple of arts and antiques dealers to find some stuff for the walls. But all they had was, well... art. Muench didn't really seem excited. Only when he saw a huge painting with a deer in a German wood, his heart skipped a beat and he told his secretary to go and buy it. Somehow this story leaked and ever after all of Germany was kind of fond of the nuncio.

Some photos...

... of Eugenio Pacelli from the years when he was Nuncio in Germany.






Raise your hand if you want this man beatified pronto.

Joseph Kolb

Archbishop of Bamberg, Germany from 1943 to 1955


Standing right, greeting someone in watered silk who I cannot identify.


Wearing watered silk himself (He wasn't a cardinal or nuncio, but the silk was sort of an "archbishop of Bamberg" thing).





In the back with some other prelate I should know but don't.


Gotta love the ring.

George Cardinal Mundelein

He lived from 1872 to 1939 and served as third archbishop of the diocese of Chicago from 1915 until his death. He hosted the huge 28th International Eucharistic Congress in 1926.