Mick Maurer.com > Catholic Church in Grand Duchy of Baden

The Catholic Church in the Grand Duchy of Baden

Editors Note: Since five of the six German families came from the Grand Duchy of Baden, I will discuss
the Catholic Church history there during that period prior to their immigration to St. Louis.

Baden

The Grand Duchy of Baden is situated in the
southwestern part of the German Empire,
bounded by Switzerland, Alsace, the Palatinate,
Hesse, Bavaria, and Wurtemberg, covering an
area of 5,821 square miles. According to the
census of 1 December 1905, the population
numbered 2,010,728, including 1,198,511
Catholics, 762,826 Evangelicals, 8,006 Old
Catholics, 2,060 Lutherans, 2,823 Reformed,
2,157 of various Evangelical denominations,
7,449 of other Christian beliefs, 25,893 Jews,
and 600 others of various religious
persuasions.

I. HISTORY

(a) The Middle Ages

The present Grand duchy has been formed from the territories of various ecclesiastical and secular rulers. At the
beginning of the Christian Era the Baden of today was a part of the so-called tithe lands (agri decumates) which
were protected by a wall against the barbarian Germans. From this point the Alemanni made repeated
incursions into the Roman territory, and after the death of the Emperor Aurelius Probus (282) they took
possession of the southern part of the tithe lands. The victories of 496 and 536 made the Franks masters of this
region, and Pepin the Short set aside the old form of government by tribal dukedoms in 748, introducing the form
of organization of the Frankish Empire. The rise of the Frankish power brought Christianity into the province. The
southern part of the country received the Faith about 610 from St. Columbanus and his pupil St. Gall, who were
followed a hundred years later by St. Pirminius. St. Trudpert labored in the Breisgau, and St. Kilian in the
north-eastern part of the territory. The valley of the Rhine was evangelized from Mainz. Much of the credit for
having converted the land belongs to the many monasteries that were founded in the course of these centuries:
Reichenau, Honau near Kehl, St. Trudpert, Ettenheimmunster, Gengenbach, Schwarzach, St. Michael near
Heidelberg, Petershausen near Constance, and St. Blasien; also monasteries for women, as Sackingen,
Waldkirch, Sulzburg, and others.

Under the weak rule of the last Carlovingians and after the extinction of the dynasty, the old form of government by
tribal dukedoms again prevailed, and only powerful kings like Otto I, Henry II, and Henry III were able to maintain
their authority. The natural allies of the kings against the dukes of the different tribes were the ecclesiastical
authorities, the bishops and abbots, who thereby obtained great influence and large possessions.
Ecclesiastically the territory of the present Baden was divided into six dioceses: Constance, Speyer, Strasburg,
Worms, Mainz, and Wurzburg; moreover the Bishops of Bamberg were wealthy landed proprietors Henry II having
bestowed on them Crown-lands in the Ortenau, as well as placing the abbeys of Ettenheimmunster,
Gengenbach, and Schuttern under their jurisdiction. The monasteries of Reichenau and St. Blasien, in particular,
became possessed of large temporalities. Among secular rulers great prominence was attained by
CountBerthold (d. 1078), who claimed descent from the old Allemannian dukes and in 1061 became Duke of
Carinthia and Margrave of Verona. In the struggle between the papacy and Emperor Henry IV, Berthold remained
faithful to the Church. The youngest of his three sons, Salomon, was Bishop of Constance (1084-1110), and the
other two, Berthold II (d. 1111) and Hermann I (d. 1074), were the ancestors of the dukes and margraves of the
Zahringen line. The ducal line of descendants received in fief from the Empire a part of Burgundy and central and
western Switzerland, with Zürich as capital. Of these rulers Berthold II founded Freiburg in the Breisgau, Berthold
IV, Fribourg in Switzerland; and Berthold V, Berne. At the death of Berthold V in 1218 this branch of the family
became extinct, and its freehold estates passed on to the margraves of the other branch, whose descendants
are still the reigning family of Baden. The first of the line of margraves of this branch was Hermann I, who died a
monk in the Abbey of Cluny. Many of his descendants distinguished themselves in the affairs of the Empire, as,
for instance, Hermann V (1190-1242), who fought against the Mongols, Rudolf I (1243-88), who was first the
enemy and then the friend of Rudolph of Hapsburg; Bernhard I (1372-1431), a generouspatron of the
monasteries of Gottesaue and Schwarzach; and James I (1431-53), who endowed the collegiate foundation in
the city of Baden-Baden. Others, however, lessened the family influence by the repeated partitions of their
estates, thus contributing to the territorial subdivisions of what is now Baden.

Among the neighboring rulers those with the largest landed possessions were the Counts of the Rhine
Palatinate (Heidelberg etc.), the Hapsburg dynasty, which in the fourteenth century obtained the whole of the
Breisgau, together with the cities of Freiburg, Breisach, Waldkirch, and other places; the Counts of Fürstenberg,
whose domains lay chiefly in the region of the Baar (such as the town of Donaueschingen); and the Counts of
Wertheim. There were, besides, numerous rulers of smaller secular principalities, knights of the Empire, and
free cities. To all these must be added the ecclesiastical rulers, the six bishops, some 160 monasteries, and a
few estates held in commendation by Knights of St. John and the German Knights Templars. The intellectual,
spiritual, and economic life which flourished at this time on the Upper Rhine was as varied as the territorial
divisions of the land. Evidences of the zeal with which the arts and learning were cultivated not only in the
monasteries, but also in the cities, are to be found in the many buildings dating from that period, as, for instance,
those at Constance, Freiburg, Ueberlingen, etc., in monastic libraries, in the large attendance at the Universities
of Heidelberg, and Freiburg, in the intermediate schools, among which the one at Pforzheim won a high
reputation, in the diffusion of the art of printing etc. on account of the undeniable abuses which had crept into
ecclesiastical life, many fell under the influence of certain intellectual movements which prepared the way for the
Reformation, such as secret religious associations, and the Pseudo-mystics, the Hussites, the Flagellants, and
especially Humanism, which was in great favor at the court of the Electors Palatine.

(b) From the Reformation to the formation of the present State

The first impulse to revolutionary religious ideas in Baden came from Luther himself, who in 1518 spent some
time in Heidelberg, where he appeared as a public speaker and soon gained adherents. The Reformation first
took firm root in the Countship of Wertheim, in Constance (1530), in the Countship of Hanau-Lichtenberg (1530),
and in the electoral palatinate (1546). Free territories under ecclesiastical rulers and the House of Hapsburg
remained true to the Catholic Faith. The progress of the Reformation in the Margravate of Baden was far from
being uniform. Margrave Christopher I of Baden (1475-1527) had in 1503 united all the family territory, but the
division in 1533 between his two sons Bernhard III and Ernest separated the margravate into two parts which
were not reunited until 1771. Bernhard received the Margravate of Baden-Baden, and his brother the Margravate
of BadenDurlach. A part of the population of Baden-Baden had already adopted the new teachings, but at the
death of Bernhard III (1536), DukeAlbert V of Bavaria, the guardian of Bernhard's son, Philip II, brought the country
back to the Catholic Faith. Philip himself (1569-88), who had been educated by the Jesuits at Ingolstadt, was a
vigorous opponent of the new teaching.

The Baden-Durlach branch of the family laid claim to Baden-Baden during the reign of Philip's successor,
Edward Fortunatus, (1588-1600), occupied a part of the country until 1622, and introduced the Reformation.
Margrave William (1622-77), however, after many reverses, succeeded with the aid of the Catholic party in the
Empire in gaining the undisputed mastery of the margravate. Aided in an especial manner by the Jesuits and
Capuchins, for whom he established houses, he brought the Protestant part of the country back to the Catholic
Faith. His successor, Louis William (1677-1707), rendered many services to the Church and the Empire in
fighting against the Turks (1683) and the French. Louis William, his wife, Augusta Sibylla, as regent for their son
Louis George (1707-61), and the last named in his turn notably furthered the interests of the Church of Baden.
With the death of Augustus George (1761-71), who by papal dispensation had left the ecclesiastical state, and
who founded many religious institutions, the line of Baden-Baden became extinct, and the succession fell to the
Baden-Durlach branch. Margrave Ernest (1527-53) of Baden-Durlach had favored the Reformation, and his son
Charles II (1553-77) soon established the Reformation in his domains. After this time the Protestant religion
remained dominant in the land of Baden-Durlach and its supremacy was not affected even by the reconciliation
to the Church of James III, third son of Charles II, as James's death followed soon upon his conversion (1690).
The most noted of the Baden-Durlach rulers were: Frederick V (1622-59), who founded many schools; Frederick
VI (1659-77), who distinguished himself by his devotion to the emperor and the Empire; Charles William
(1709-38), who in 1715 established the present capital of Karlsruhe, greatly improved the finances and the
administration of justice, and zealously promoted the interests of the schools. His grandson Charles Frederick
(1738-1811), during is long reign introduced salutary reforms in all parts of his territory, thus raising his country
from the level of a petty principality to the rank of one of the greater central states of the German Empire. The
extinction of the Baden-Baden branch greatly increased his possessions, which were still further enlarged by the
political changes resulting from the French Revolution. In 1796 Charles Frederick was forced to surrender to
France his possessions on the left bank of the Rhine, but was amply compensated by the Imperial Delegates'
Enactment (1803). He received the Diocese of Constance, that part of the Rhine Palatinate lying on the right bank
of the river, including the cities of Heidelberg, Mannheim, etc., parts of the Dioceses of Strasburg and Speyer,
eleven religious houses and abbeys, and seven cities of the empire. By the Peace of Pressburg (1805), and the
accession of Baden to the Confederation of the Rhine (1806), Baden was still further enlarged by the former
possessions of Austria in the Breisgau, the city of Constance, and other territories, whereby substantially the
present boundaries were established. On 13 August, 1806, Baden was proclaimed a Grand duchy. The enforced
participation of the duchy in the campaigns of Napoleon resulted in heavy loss of life and property.

(c) Recent History

In 1818 Grand Duke Charles (1811-18), the successor of Charles Frederick, gave the country a fairly liberal
constitution. The first Landtag, however, came into conflict with the government of Grand Duke Louis (1818-30),
who had been trained in the ideas of absolutism, and was able at times to rule almost despotically. Despite the
introduction of many timely reforms during the reign of Grand Duke Leopold (1830-52), there were often bitter
contentions between the Government and the representatives of the people. In the course of these difficulties,
the opponents of the Government became constantly more inflamed until a leading party of opposition was
formed, which, influenced by the prevailing political tendencies, gave evidence of a strong inclination towards
radical principles. Radicalism obtained a strong footing not only in the Landtag, but also throughout the country.
The revolutionary movement of 1848, which began in France, found, therefore, in Baden a most favorable soil.
Although the Government granted many of the demands of the people for more liberal administration, outbreaks
occurred. In the beginning these were suppressed, but a mutiny of the troops in Rastatt and Karlsruhe brought
victory to the Revolutionists. In May, 1849, the insurgents took possession of Karlsruhe, proclaimed a republic,
and established a provisional government. It was only through the aid of Prussia and the German Confederation
that the revolution in Baden was repressed, and the Grand duke could reestablish his authority. Severe
punishment was meted out to the guilty, especially to the mutinous soldiers.

The four suffragan bishops of the province of the Upper Rhine also came into conflict with their respective
governments in securing freedom for the Catholic Church. To obtain unity of action Archbishop Vicari, in
compliance with the regulations of the plenary council of the German Catholic episcopate held at Wurzburg
(1848) summoned his suffragans to Freiburg in the spring of 1851. In a memorial addressed to their
respective sovereigns, they demanded the privilege of training their priests and appointing them without
outside interference, the free exercise of ecclesiastical discipline among priests and laymen, and the
privilege of conducting Catholic schools, of establishing religious societies and associations, and of
administering church property without hindrance. Having waited in vain for a reply from the Government, the
bishops addressed a reminder to the authorities (February, 1852), renewing the demand for the abolition of
the state supremacy. Not until 5 March, 1853, did they receive a decision; this contained trivial concessions,
but was adverse on the principal points. The old system of state tutelage was to remain unconditionally in
force. Thereupon the five bishops reconvened (April, 1853) in Freiburg and embodied their demands in a
second memorial dated 18 June, setting forth the inadequacy of the concessions granted 5 March, and
reserving to themselves the right of taking further measures. While four of the bishops received from their
respective authorities more or less far-reaching concessions, a bitter struggle was precipitated in Baden.

Meanwhile, an occurrence in Baden had increased the estrangement to an open rupture between the civil
authorities and the archbishop. After the death of Grand Duke Leopold (24 April 1852), the Government i.e.
the Oberkirchenrat, which in 1845 had taken the place of the Kirchensektion, ordered the archbishop to
have services held for the deceased. sovereign. In conformity with the laws of the Church the archbishop
prohibited the celebration of requiem Masses for Protestant princes and ordered other, appropriate
services instead. The authorities, however persisted in their demand, declared the services ordered by the
archbishop inadequate, and attempted to induce pastors to celebrate requiem Masses in defiance of the
archiepiscopal mandate. Only about sixty out of the 800 priests complied, whereupon the archbishop
decreed that the clergy who had disregarded his command should, in expiation, attend certain exercises of
five days conducted by the Jesuit Father Roh, at the theological seminary of St. Peter. Although the civil
authorities promised their protection to those priests who should resist this sentence, the clergy to a man
obeyed the order of the archbishop, ensuring him a victory so complete as to give him the power of
resistance in further conflicts.

In response to the second memorial from the bishops of the province of the Upper Rhine, the
representatives of the State of Baden refused to make a single concession to the Catholic Church. The
archbishop then informed the Government that he would take steps to secure the rights that were his, but
were unjustly withheld by the civil authorities. He held competitive examinations for parish appointments
and for admittance into the theological seminary, without the presence of a government commissioner; he
filled parishes to which the Government could not establish a canonical right of patronage, demanded from
the Oberkirchenrat an administration of church property strictly in accordance with canon law, threatening
excommunication in case of disobedience. Thereupon the Government placed the official actions of the
archbishop under police surveillance, banished the Jesuits from Freiburg, and threatened the clergy who
submitted to the Church with the loss of their incomes, and with civil punishment. Two priests of Karlsruhe
and Freiburg, who had proclaimed the sentence of excommunication pronounced upon the Oberkirchenrat
by the archbishop were actually placed under arrest. On still more unwarrantable interference by the
Government, the archbishop issued a circular letter to be read from the pulpits, ordering an independent
administration of ecclesiastical institutions without regard for civil mandates, and prohibiting the clergy from
having any connection with state officials. The Government, seeing in this enactment an instigation against
civil authority, forbade its promulgation in the churches and attempted to seize all copies of the letter, in
some cases succeeding by force. A judicial inquiry was instituted against the archbishop (18 May, 1854),
charging him with disturbing and endangering the public peace. On 22 May he was placed under arrest,
and confined to his room under a guard of gendarmes until 31 May. At the command of the archbishop the
diocesan court continued to transact all business, and sent a dispatch to Rome asking the pope to make
provisions for the administration of the diocese. All churches were to be draped in mourning, church bells
were silent, alters were stripped of their adornments, and everywhere the faithful assembled for public
prayer. The pope, in a note dated 8 June, addressed to the civil authorities of Baden took the archbishop
under his protection. The government then proposed to enter into negotiations with the Holy See, and a
peaceful arrangement was made, which created a tolerable modus vivendi. The proceedings against the
archbishop and clergy were stopped and gradually the way was opened, for amicable relations between
the civil authorities and the archbishop.

The lengthy negotiations with Rome were brought to a close by the signing of the Concordat of 8 June,
1859, which went far towards meeting the just claims of the Church and accorded practically all the
demands of the archbishop, in particular the right of appointment to parishes, religious instruction,
participation in the management of church property, the right of decision in questions concerning marriage,
etc. Thereupon the Liberals and Democrats rose in opposition to the Concordat; everywhere meetings of
protest were held, resulting in 1861 in the dismissal of the Conservative and the formation of a Liberal
ministry. The latter, on 29 October, without consulting the Holy See, arbitrarily declared the Concordat null
and void and substituted a law quite inimical to the Church, which received the approbation of the Landtag.
On 20 November, 1861, the Government and the archbishop came to an agreement concerning the filling of
benefices and the administration of church property.

After a short respite, now conflicts arose between the two authorities with reference to the school system
(1864). The Government, now entirely under the control of the Liberals, proposed a bill for a school law
which almost entirely nullified the influence of the Church on education, conceding to the Church only the
supervision of religious instruction. Although Catholic clergy exerted every effort to bring about the failure of
this scheme, and the archbishop in a pastoral letter opposed it, the bill in a somewhat aggravated form
became a law, and the opposition of the Catholic population expressed in numerous mass meetings and
addresses to the duke was completely disregarded. The Liberals, who were in the majority in the Landtag,
and had control of the Government, hesitated at nothing to make still more practically effective their
principles of hostility to the Church. In 1867 the Government instituted state examinations for theological
stu- dents, to be held before a civil commissioner on the completion of the university course. The Curia
protested, and forbade the theological students to submit to this examination. As a result the clergy in the
parishes subject to the appointment of the Grand duke received, instead of their stipends and
appointments as pastors, only those of parish administrators. After the death of the archbishop (15 April,
1868), the Government, by refusing to consider seven out of eight candidates, made the choice of an
archbishop practically impossible, and the see remained vacant for eighteen years. In 1869 civil marriage
was made obligatory. In 1870 all Catholic institutions not purely ecclesiastical, but devoted to education or
to charity, were secularized, withdrawn from the control of the Church, and large endowments left for
Catholic purposes were thus alienated from their appointed use. In 1872 the members of religious orders
and congregations were forbidden to give elementary instruction, to assist in the work of the ministry, or to
conduct missions. In 1873 the Old Catholics were placed on an equal footing with the Catholic Church;
several Catholic churches were turned over to them, and their Bishop Reinkens was recognized by the
Government as a Catholic national bishop (Landesbischof). In 1874 admission to any ecclesiastical office
was made to depend on proof of a general scientific training, meaning thereby a three years' course at a
German university, excluding all Jesuit institutions. The archiepiscopal seminaries and boarding schools
for boys were closed. In 1875 undenominational schools were introduced and made obligatory, the
Catholic corporation schools were made unsectarian, and several monastic educational institutions were
suppressed. Not until after the retirement of the Liberal minister, Jolly, the soul of the anti-Catholic
legislation, i.e. since 1876, were measures taken for the re-establishment of peace with the Catholic
Church. In 1880 state examinations for theological students were dispensed with; in 1882 the
archiepiscopal see was filled by the appointment of Johann Baptist Orbin, who ruled until 1886; his
successors were Johann Christian Roos, until 1896; George Ignaz Komp, who died as archbishop elect on
the journey to his see (1896), and Thomas Norber from 1896. In 1888 the boarding schools for boys and
the seminaries were reopened, and members of religious orders were once more allowed to preach.

Meanwhile the political development of Baden had been undisturbed. In 1866, it is true, the Grand duke had
been forced against his will to fight on the side of Austria and the German Confederation against Prussia;
but as early as 28 July he arranged a truce and proclaimed his withdrawal from the German Confederation.
On 17 August he concluded peace, and an offensive and defensive alliance with Prussia. The military
forces of Baden were organized on Prussian lines, and when, in 1870, Baden openly took sides with
Prussia, they fought with distinction in many battles. On 25 November Baden entered the North German
Confederation, which was strengthened by the accession of the other South German States to the new
German Empire (1871). The internal administration was now conducted along Liberal lines. The Liberal
majority of the Chamber was not disturbed until 1893. In 1904 a more impartial election law was
introduced. The Government, however, still holds to its Liberal tendencies, and refuses the just demands of
Catholics for the admission of religious orders of men. Unfriendliness towards the Catholic Church seems
again to be gaining ground, as is shown by ordinances requiring an investigation among the whole body of
the Catholic clergy on account of alleged abuses of electoral influence and other charges.

III. STATE AND CHURCH IN BADEN

The relations between the Catholic Church and the Government are not entirely satisfactory, as is evident from
the historical account, the State often exercising an excessive control. According to the legislation now in force,
the Roman Catholic Church in Baden possesses the right of a public corporation with the formation of
religious societies. The Church conducts its affairs freely and independently. The clergy are not restricted in
their communication with ecclesiastical superiors. The highest spiritual authority of Catholic Baden is the
Archbishop of Freiburg, who is also Metropolitan of the province of the Upper Rhine; he is a member of the
First Chamber of Baden, ranks immediately after the ministers of state, and enjoys the title of Excellency.
Ecclesiastical offices are filled by the church authorities, but are granted only to those who are citizens of
Baden and can give proof of having had a general scientific training. No exemption from a regular three years'
course at a German university is granted to anyone who has completed the same course at a Jesuit
institution. Every priest on entering the work of the ministry in Baden must take the constitutional oath. The
public exercise of church functions is permitted to priests coming from outside of Baden only under certain
conditions. Without government authorization no religious order may be brought into Baden, nor may a new
foundation be made by an order already established. Moreover, this authorization is subject to revocation. The
holding of missions and the work of the ministry by members of religious orders are in general forbidden,
unless in case of extreme necessity. By legislation of the German Empire, the obligation of a civil marriage
ceremony was introduced, the duty of military service on the part of Catholic theological students abolished,
and the Society of Jesus and what the laws call "cognate" orders and congregations excluded from the
German Empire.

Church Property

The property of the archiepiscopal board, the cathedral chapter, the metropolitan church, and the seminary, as
well as the funds under the immediate control of the archbishop or the chapter, are managed by the
archbishop and the chapter without interference; that under rural chapters by the chapters themselves under
the supervision of the ordinary; local property, i.e. the definite property of a separate parish, is administered by
a parish council under the presidency of the clergy, the members being chosen for a period of six years from
the Catholics of the parish. The property of the ecclesiastical institutions of a district is managed by a
commission, half the members being chosen by the Government, and half by the archbishop from the
Catholics of the district. The interealary fund (that is to say, the fiscal department for the collection,
management, and lawful expenditure of the incomes of vacant benefices in the Grand Duchy of Baden) is
administered by a council known as the Catholic Oberstiftungsrat, consisting of a president and six members,
under the joint supervision of the archbishop and Government. The members are Catholics, half being
appointed by Government, and half by the archbishop. All must meet the approval of both. The president must
also be selected and named with the consent of both. The Oberstiftungsrat also supervises the administration
of the local and diocesan institutions and of all benefices, occupied or vacant.

Local associations of the members belonging to the churches recognized in Baden have, as parishes, the
rights of public corporations. For the defrayal of expenses incident to public worship, as, for example, the
maintenance and repair of parish churches and rectories, the purchase and care of the necessary church
furniture, and the salaries of the under employees of the church, the parish can assess certain taxes on its
members. There is, in addition, a general church assessment for the common needs of the Catholic Church
of Baden, e.g. the expenses of the highest ecclesiastical authorities, the establishment of new church offices,
etc. The execution of parochial rights and duties is vested in the parish meeting; in those parishes numbering
eighty or more members, the parish is represented by an elective council. The resolution of the parish
meeting or parochial council determining the church assessment is subject to the approval of the State. To
become legally effective, any change in the formation of a parish by reorganization, dissolution, partition or
reunion, needs the sanction of the civil authorities. The administration of ecclesiastical foundations
(Stiftungen) is also entirely subject to state supervision. All gifts and bequests in favor of existing foundations,
likewise the establishment of new and independent ones, require the approbation of the State. Churches,
chapels, hospitals, and other public foundations devoted to the care of the poor and orphans, and to similar
charitable purposes, are exempt from the house tax. Homes for the care of the sick and the support of the
poor, as well as public educational institutions, are exempt from the income tax on the capital invested. The
taxable values of rectories are exempt from any parish assessment.

Church and School

The public educational system is under the direction of the State, the highest authority being the Oberschulrat
(Supreme Educational Council), which is directly subject to the Minister of the Interior. The highest
ecclesiastical superiors may designate a representative to attend the delibera- tions of the Oberschulrat
whenever there is question of religious instruction and its place in the plan of studies. In the public schools
instruction is given simultaneously to all children of school age, regardless of creed, with the exception of
religious instruc tion. The local supervision over the public schools, as well as the supervision of all local
school funds, including those of each religious confession, is entrusted to the town council; at the same time
each of the creeds represented in the community is represented by its pastor. In the appointment of teachers
to public schools all possible respect is had for the religious belief of the children; in schools attended by
children of only one creed the teachers are to be of that creed. Religious instruction is provided and
supervised by the respective churches and congregations. They may be assisted in this by teachers. The
general plan of religious instruction is laid out by the higher spiritual authorities and supervised by their
deputies. The establishment of private educational institutions is permitted, but only under certain conditions;
these establishments are under state supervision; from time to time the school authorities visit them and hold
examinations. Ecclesiastical corporations and institutions may found educational establishments only on the
passage of a special law. Members of religious orders or of religious congregations that resemble orders are
forbidden to teach in any educational institution in the Grand Duchy of Baden. The Government may grant
exemption to individuals, but such exemption is revocable at will. Churches are authorized to maintain
institutions for the theological and practical training of young men for the priesthood and to conduct boarding
houses (Konvikte) for students who frequent the gymnasia or the university with the intention of preparing
themselves for the ecclesiastical state.

IV. STATISTICS

Baden, with the Hohenzollern territories belonging to Prussia, forms the Archdiocese of Freiburg. The strong intermixture of creeds throughout Baden is a result of
the earlier territorial dismemberment described above. According to the census of 1905, in 34 of the 53 judicial districts, the Catholics are in the majority. They are
especially strong in the north-east (the Tauber valley), the farther Odenwald, and the southern half of Baden. Even here, however, predominantly Protestant districts
are to be found, e.g. Kehl, Lahr, Emmendingen, the Margravate of Sulzburg as far as Basle, and the valley of the Wiese as far up as Lorrach; in addition to the
districts just mentioned, the country on both sides of the Neckar and the Lower Rhine are overwhelmingly Protestant. Ecclesiastically, Baden is divided into 3 city
chapters and 36 rural chapters, with about 814 parishes and curacies, 114 chaplaincies, and 259 assistants. The cathedral parish of Freiburg and the parish of St.
Peter are exempted from the above-mentioned chapter system. Besides this, there are 3 military and 3 institutional chaplaincies. At the beginning of 1907 Baden
had 1,260 Catholic priests, i.e. pastors, assistants, and chaplains. Of the 1187 ecclesiastical benefices of Baden, 295 are in the gift of the Grand duke as patron;
264 are left to the free collation of the archbishop; 145 are filled through presentations by noblemen, landowners, and others; 168 are disposed of by the so called
terna, i.e, the archbishop proposes to the Grand duke three candidates for a benefice, and the latter selects one for canonical institution. In the case of 9 benefices,
the right of presentation is alternate; in 47 cases it is disputed or unknown. The salary of pastors and beneficed clergy is derived from the temporalities of the living;
the income of poorly equipped parishes is supplemented by an annual state appropriation which sometimes amounts to $50,000.

Orders and Congregations

Male orders and congregations are prohibited from making any foundations in the Grand Duchy of Baden. In proportion to the population, the number of orders and
congregations of women is small, and new foundations are vigorously opposed by the Government. The following teaching orders are represented: the Sisters of
the Holy Sepulcher in Baden-Baden, the Dominican Sisters in Constance, Cistercian Sisters in Lichtenthal near Baden-Baden, in Offenburg the Choir Sisters of St.
Augustine from the congregation of Notre Dame (with a branch in Rheinburg), the Ursulines in Villingen (with a branch in Breisach); there are in all 5 orders for the
education of girls. The following congregations for the care of the sick are represented in Baden: the Sisters of St. Vincent de Paul, with mother-house at Freiburg,
the Sisters of St. Francis, with mother-house at Gengenbach, the Sisters of the Holy Cross, from Ingenbohl in Switzerland, with mother-house at Hegne, near
Constance. In addition there are in Baden the Vincentian Sisters from the mother-house at Strasburg, Sisters of the Most Holy Savior (the so-called Niederbronn
Sisters), from the mother-house at Oberbronn, Alsace, Franciscan Sisters from the mother-house at Mallersdorf, Bavaria, Josephite Sisters from St. Marx (Alsace),
also Sisters of the Holy Cross from the motherhouse at Strasburg.

Education

As explained above, the school system is entirely under the direction of the State; consequently there are but few purely Catholic educational institutions. For the
training of the Catholic clergy there are the archiepiscopal seminary (Priester-seminar) at St. Peter, the home (Konvikt) for theological students at Freiburg, and 4
gymnasial boarding schools at Constance, Freiburg, Rastatt, and Tauberbischofsheim. At the state university (Freiburg) there is a faculty of Catholic theology
numbering 11 professors; the number of theological students during the summer semester of 1907 was 226. The 62 Government intermediate schools of Baden
(17 classical gymnasia, 3 "real," 4 preparatory, 7 higher gymnasia; 23 Realschulen, 8 high schools) recorded an attendance in 1905 of 5,157 Catholic students. In
17 of the Government intermediate schools religious instruction is given by 26 specially appointed priests (Religionslehrer); in the others religious instruction is
cared for by the local clergy. Of the 11 private intermediate schools for boys, the Institute and School of Monsignor Lender in Sasbach (Progymnasium and
Realschule) is Catholic in character; in 1905 it had 483 Catholic students, and 8 priests as religious instructors. The 7 government high schools for girls had in
1905 an attendance of 964 Catholic students. Of the 33 private intermediate schools for girls, attended by 1,437 Catholic girls, 5 are distinctly Catholic in character,
and have an attendance of 1,132. The Catholic periodicals now published in Baden number 25.
Charitable Institutions

In Baden there are 254 institutions for the care of the sick, with 13,800 beds; about 100 of these hospitals, infirmaries, etc. are directed, or are actually served, by
Catholic orders and congregations. The Diocese of Freiburg contains 3 orphanages (Riegel, Gurtweil, and Walldurn); in the village of Herthen there is a large
institution for the care of imbeciles, with about 400 inmates, under the direction of the Sisters of the Holy Cross; in Heitersheim there is a large institution for the
reclamation of girls, directed by a Catholic sisterhood. The Baden non-sectarian Red Cross Society, to which many Catholics belong, has 34 reliefcenters for men,
with about 5,500 members, and 333 unions for women, with 57,600 members; the association maintains 75 stations with about 470 employees. There are in
Baden 13 Catholic homes for servant girls.

Catholic Societies

Concerning these societies there are no adequate statistics. We may mention, however, the People's Union (Volksverein) for Catholic Germany, with 27,100
members, Catholic working-men's unions (150), Catholic journeymen's unions (53), apprentices' unions and clubs for young men (35), and St. Joseph's unions (2).
Freiburg is the center of the associated Charities (Charitasverband) of Catholic Germany. The chief religious societies and confraternities are: the Archconfraternity
of the Most Holy Sacrament of the Altar, the Most Pure Heart of Mary, and of Christian Mothers, the League of Prayer for Germany, the Association of the Holy Family,
the Association of the Holy Childhood of Jesus, the Boniface Society, the Ludwig Mission Society, St. Michael's Society, the Societies of St. Vincent de Paul for men
and women, and others.

The most important Catholic church edifices are the cathedrals of Freiburg and Constance, the churches of Ueberlingen and Breisach, and those of Baden-Baden,
Salem, St. Blasien, Reichenau, Gen- genbach, Bronnbach, Schwarzach, Ladenburg, Neustadt, Karlsruhe.

Publication information
Written by Joseph Lins. Transcribed by Dick Meissner.

The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume II. Published 1907. New York: Robert Appleton Company. Nihil Obstat, 1907. Remy Lafort, S.T.D., Censor. Imprimatur.
+John M. Farley, Archbishop of New York

Bibliography

A complete bibliography is to be found in KIENITZ AND WAGNER, Badische Bibliothek (Karlsruhe, 1897 and 1900). The more important works, especially
those treating of ecclesiastical history, are: SCHOPFLIN, Historia Zaringo-Badensis (7 vols., Karlsruhe 1763-66), DUMGE, Regesta Badensia (Karlsruhe
1836); MONE, Quellensammlung der badischen Landesgesch. (4 vols., Karlsruhe, 1836); PREUSCHEN, Badische Geschichte (Karlsruhe, 1842); MONE, Die
katholischen Zustande in Baden (Ratisbon 1841 and 1843); BADER Die katholische Kirche in Baden (Freiburg, 1860); LONGNER, Beitrage zur Geschichte
oberrheinischen Kirchenprovinz (Tubingen, 1863); Offizielle Aktenstucke uber die Kirchen und Schulfrage in Baden (7 numbers, Freiburg, 1864-75);
VIERORDT, Badische Geschichte bis zum Ende des Mittelalters (Tubingen, 1865); BRUCK, Die oberrheinische Kirchenprovinz (Mainz, 1868); SPOHN,
Badisches Staatskirchenrecht (Karlsruhe, 1868); FRIEDBERG, Der Staat und die katholische Kirche im Grossherzogtum Baden (2d ed., Leipzig, 1874);
KORBER, Die Ausbreitung des Christentums im sudlichen Baden (Heidelberg, 1878); Das Grossherzogtum Baden (Karlsruhe, 1885); BAUMSTARK, Die
kirchenpolitischen Gesetze und Verordnungen fur die romischkatholische Kirche im Grossherzogtum Baden (Karlsruhe 1888); WEECH, Badische Geschichte
(Karlsruhe, 1890); HEINER, Gesetze die katholische Kirche (in Baden) betreffend (Freiburg, 1890); MAAS, Geschichte der katholischen Kirche im
Grossherzogtum Baden (Freiburg, 1891); HEINER, Die kirchlichen Erlasse, Verordnungen und Bekanntmachungen der Erzdiozese Freiburg (2d ed., Freiburg,
1898); MULLER, Badische Landtagsgesch. (Berlin, 1899-1902), I-IV; FESTER AND WITTE, Regesten der Markqrafen von Baden und Hachberg (2 vols.:
Innsbruck, 1900); KRIEGER, Topographisches Worterbuch des Grossherzogtums Baden (2d ed., 2 vols., Heidelrberg, 1903-05); GONNER AND SESTER, Das
Kirchenpatronatsrecht im Grossherzogtum Baden (Stuttgart, 1904); Zeitschrift fur Geschichte des Oberrheins (Karlsruhe, 1850-85), I-XXXIX; Id., new series
(Freiburg, 1886-92, Karlsruhe, 1893-1904, Heidelberg, 1902, sqg.), I-XXII.

The most important historical periodicals are: Zeitschrift fur Geschichte des Oberrheins (Karlsruhe since 1850); Freiburger Diozesanarchiv (Freiburg, since
IS65); ALEMANNIA (Bonn, 1873 sqq.; since 1900 in Freiburg).

Kulturkampf

The name given to the political struggle for the rights and self-government of the
Catholic Church, carried out chiefly in Prussia and afterwards in Baden, Hesse,
and Bavaria. The contest was waged with great vigour from 1871 to 1877; from
1878 to 1891 it gradually calmed down. On one side stood the government, the
Liberals, and the majority of the Conservatives; on the other, the bishops, the
priests, and the bulk of the Catholic people. Prussia was the chief centre of the
conflict. The Prussian government and Prince Bismarck were the leaders in this
memorable struggle.

COURSE OF THE CONFLICT

It may be divided roughly into three periods: 1871-72; 1872-78; 1878-91.

A. 1871-72

The aforementioned views of Bismarck concerning the Centre and the Catholic Movement were by no means so clearly worked out in the summer of 1871 that he
was then ready to begin a systematic onslaught onGerman Catholicism. For a year and a half his policy was manifested only in individual cases, though in all
such cases a unity of attitude was clearly exhibited. As early as 8 July, 1871, he abolished the Catholic Section of the Prussian Ministry of Worship and gave over
henceforth to officials in great majority Protestant the conduct of all government matters pertaining to Catholic churches and schools. His excuse was that the
members of the aforesaid Catholic Section of the Department of Worship were guilty of too close relations with the Poles. Towards the end of 1871 he proceeded,
on similar grounds, against the Catholic clergy of the eastern provinces of Prussia; he introduced at that time in the Reichstag a law concerning the supervision of
instruction and education. This act contemplated the extension of the civil school-supervision to religious instruction and simultaneously the abolition of all
ecclesiastical supervision of the entire primary-school system hitherto exercised conjointly with the civil authorities. Henceforth, whenever the schools of a district
were entrusted to ecclesiastical superintendents, their authority was to be derived solely from the State; in large measure, moreover, the Catholic clergy were
excluded from any supervision of the schools.

During the discussion of this School Supervision Law, Bismarck made an extremely violent attack (2 Feb., 1872) on Windthorst's leadership of the Centre, held out
to the latter the olive branch of peace on condition of abandoning Windthorst, but threatened, in case of refusal, to pillory the party before all Germany as an enemy
of the Empire. Shortly afterwards he caused the house of a Polish canon in Posen to be searched by the police, in the hope of finding there correspondence that
would enable him to convict Windthorst of an alliance with the Poles. In this he was unsuccessful. On 4 July, 1872, the Reichstag passed the law against the
Jesuits (Jesuitengesetz), on the plea that they were the emissaries of Rome in Germany (pretending at the same time to free the bishops from the Jesuit yoke);
moreover, in defiance of all legality (both from a Conservative and a Liberal standpoint) the Jesuits were handed over to the arbitrary supervision of the police
authorities and could at any moment be expelled from the Empire. In addition, the Bundesrath (Imperial Supreme Council) interpreted the law to mean complete
exclusion from all ministry either in church or school. Thereupon the Jesuits left Germany. The next year the law was extended to the Redemptorists, Lazarists,
Fathers of the Holy Ghost, and the Ladies of the Sacred Heart, as being closely related to the Jesuits, whereupon these orders also left Germany. In the same
month the Government again manifested its ecclesiastico-political views by the measures which it sanctioned against the Prussian bishops, in the interest of the
Old Catholics. Still earlier (1 Dec., 1871) the so-called Kanzelparagraf, or pulpit-law, was, for a similar purpose, incorporated in the Criminal Code. The Bishop of
Ermland had forbidden the Old Catholic teacher of religion (Religionslehrer) in Braunsburg Gymnasium any longer to exercise his office. The Government then
interfered and compelled the parents to send their children to the lessons of this instructor. Later, after a unanimous protest from the bishops of Prussia, the
Government abandoned its position in this case, but demanded from the Bishop of Ermlund a declaration to the effect that "in the future he would obey in their
entirety the laws of the State." He refused to make the declaration, whereupon his salary was withheld. A similar treatment befell the Catholic Head Chaplain
(Feldpropst) of the Prussian Army, to whom pertained the administration of public worship for the Catholic soldiers. At Cologne the church of the Catholic military
chaplain had been turned over by the Government to the Old Catholics, whereupon the Head-Chaplain of the troops forbade his subordinate to hold there the
usual Catholic services. The Cologne chaplain was then brought before the Minister of War and suspended as guilty of "resisting the administrative ordinances of
his superiors."

The close relation of Bismarck's anti-Catholic attitude in Germany with his foreign policy was soon shown in his famous papal election dispatch (14 May, 1872), in
which he invited the European governments to agree on the conditions under which they would recognize the next papal election. The dispatch was ineffective,
equally so Bismarck's attempt to compel the pope to accept, as the German Empire's first ambassador to the Vatican, Cardinal Hohenlohe, brother of the above-
mentioned Prince Chlodwig Hohenlohe whose close relations to both National Liberals and Old Catholics were well-known. On this occastion Bismarck uttered
the celebrated words: "Nach Canossa gehen wir nicht" (We shall not go to Canossa), i.e., he foretold the real issue of the conflict before it had yet fairly begun.
Nevertheless he was now fully determined to carry it on to the end. He found a ready instrument in the person of Herr Falk, appointed Minister of Worship in
January, 1872, a clever and personally well-meaning man, but a jurist of a very formalist type and an extreme partisan. The chancellor had already, 7 Feb., 1872,
urged the Minister of the Interior to undertake the solution of the Polish question "on a basis of principle, actively, and aggressively"; he now engaged Falk to walk
in the same course. He was "to makeknown with all due clearness and in every sense the relations of the State to the various religious societies". On the side of
the Church her defenders began now to seek the open. The Prussian hierarchy, assembled at Fulda for its annual meeting, issued (20 Sept., 1872) a memorial to
all the German States in which the recent anti-ecclesiastical measures were treated in their entirety, exhibited for the judgment of public opinion, and proof
supplied that rights of the Church hitherto acknowledged both by international and national law had been seriously violated. Pius IX, moreover, lifted his voice
twice in protest. On the first occasion (24 June, 1872) he said to the German Catholics in Rome that Bismarck had placed himself at the head of the persecutors
of the Church. "Who knows, however, but that soon the little stone will fall from the mountain and strike the feet of the colossus and shatter it?" Another time
(Christmas Consistory, 1872) he spoke reprovingly of "men who not only do not belong to our holy religion, but do not even know it, yet arrogate to themselves
authority to decide concerning the doctrines and the rights of the Catholic Church." The popular agitation grew from day to day. The Association of German
Catholics (Mainzer Verein), founded under the presidency of Baron Felix von Loe, soon counted 200,000 members, and took a much bolder attitude than the
Centre, whose leader, Windthorst, observed at all times much moderation.

In the meantime Falk aimed to make the Catholic bishops independent of Rome, the clergy independent of the bishops, and both dependent on the State. The
following means were in his mind destined to accomplish these aims. The education of the clergy was to depend entirely, or nearly so, on the State, and to be
carried out in the spirit of the average German Liberalistic education. Next, all ecclesiastical offices were to be filled only after approval by the highest civil authority
in each province. In the future all ecclesiastical courts outside Germany should no longer exercise any disciplinary power over the Prussian clergy. From all
German ecclesiastical courts there was to lie, in the future, an appeal not only on the part of the accused, but also of the Chief President (on grounds of public
interest), to a court composed of civil officials and to be known as the "Royal Court of Justice for Ecclesiastical Affairs". Falk sought also to restrict considerably the
exercise of the Church's punitive and disciplinary authority, in other words to facilitate apostasy so that priests and laymen who chose to side with State might
suffer no inconvenience. It was evident from these measures that Falk had no idea of the close and indivisible solidarity of German Catholicism whereby bishop
and clergy on one side, and the bishop and Rome on the other, were intimately bound to one another. He erred most grievously, however, when he made it a
criminal offence for any priest to exercise his ministry without due authorization from the civil power, and "silenced" every bishop who refused to comply with the
new legislation. In case the German clergy remained loyal to the Church these measures meant the withdrawal of the sacraments from the Catholic people, i.e.,
the most grievous spiritual suffering. The plans of Falk were formulated in four bills. The first was laid before the Landtag in November, 1872, the other three in
January, 1873, though the royal consent was obtained with difficulty and only after insistence on the severity of the aforesaid papal allocution at Christmas of 1872.
It was during the discussion of these Falk Bills that the word Kulturkampf was first used. The Landtag (Prussian Assembly) Commission to which the Falk Bills
were referred expressed grave doubts as to their constitutionality, seeing that the Prussian Constitution guaranteed to the Catholic Church an independent
administration of its own affairs. The Commission did not, therefore, advise the rejection of the Falk Bills, but rather proposed an amendment to the Constitution to
the effect that in all her administration the Church was subject to the laws of the State and the juridically authorized supervision of the same.

B. 1872-78

This amendment and the four bills were adopted in May, 1873, hence the term May Laws (Maigesetze). To hasten their execution the Prussian Ministry at once
enabled the Old Catholics to establish themselves as a Church, and contributed large sums for that purpose. It also encouraged the public adhesion of so-called
State Catholics, i.e., Roman Catholics who protested formally their willingness to obey the new laws. Nevertheless, both Old Catholics and State Catholics
remained few in number. On the other hand the unexpected happened in the shape of a remarkable development of ecclesiastical loyalty on the part of the
Catholics. The bishops of Prussia had protested beforehand (30 January, 1873) against the forthcoming legislation. On 2 May they issued a common pastoral
letter in which they madeknown to the faithful the reasons why all must offer to these laws a passive but unanimous resistance. On 26 May they declared to the
Prussian Ministry that they would not co-operate for the execution of the Falk Laws. Almost without exception the clergy obeyed the mandate of the bishops.
Thereupon the punishments prescribed by the laws for their violation were at once applicable; in hundreds of cases fines were soon imposed on the clergy for the
execution of their ecclesiastical ministry. As none of the condemned ecclesiastics would voluntarily pay the imposed fines, these were forcibly collected, to the
great irritation and embitterment of the Catholic parishioners. Soon the prisons began to open, and Falk declared (24 Oct., 1873) that still greater severity would be
used. The Minister of War declared Catholic theological students subject to military service; the Marian congregations were forbidden to exist; the Catholic popular
associations and the political activity of the Centre (public meetings, Catholic press) was subjected to close and inimical supervision, in every way hindered, and
the Catholic population persecuted for their fidelity to the party. In December, 1873, changes were made in the oath of loyalty taken by the bishops to the king, every
reference to their oath to the pope was stricken out, and an unconditional observance of the laws of the State prescribed. These measures, however, did not
produce the desired results. In the November elections (1873) the Centre returned to the Landtag 90 members instead of its former 50, and to the Reichstag 91
instead of its former 63. The number of its votes was doubled, and reached about 1,500,000. The number of Catholic papers increased in 1873 to about 120.

Falk sought to overcome all this Catholic opposition by fresh ravages on the pastoral ministry. New laws of the Landtag (May, 1874) supplemented his authority
and put at his disposal new means of compulsion. It was provided that when a bishop was deposed a representative agreeable to the Government should be
appointed; if none such were to be had, appointments to vacant parishes should lie in the hands of the "patrons" in each parish, or should take place by free
election of the parishioners. The Reichstag aided by passing a Priests-Expulsion Law (Priester-ausweisungsgesetz) by which all priests deprived of their offices
for violation of the May Laws were turned over to the discretion of the police authorities. During the debates on this law the Archbishops of Posen and Cologne and
the Bishop of Trier were condemned to imprisonment; later, the Archbishop of Posen (Count Ledochowski) was deposed. Shortly after the promulation of the new
May Laws the Ministry saw to it that all the Prussian sees were vacated. A very great number of parishes were also deprived of their pastors. The ecclesiastical
educational institutions were closed. These renewed efforts were no more successful than the former measures. No cathedral chapter chose an administrator,
and no parish elected a parish priest. The exiled bishops governed their sees from abroad through secretly delegated priests. The faithful everywhere made it
possible to hold Divine Service. The pope declared, 5 Feb., 1875, the May Laws invalid (irritas). On all sides exasperation was well-nigh boundless.

Under these circumstances Bismarck himself took charge of the situation. His main hope still lay in proving that the Centre party was the ememy of the empire,
and this stigma he endeavoured by all possible means to fasten upon it; could he do so, the party would be isolated in the Reichstag, and soon helpless. At
Kissingen, 13 July, 1874, the Catholic cooper's apprentice, Kullmann, attempted to assassinate him. Though the chancellor had no evidence to justify his
assertion, he declared in a public session of the Reichstag that the murderer "held to the coat-tails of the Centre", and refused to consider any denial of the charge
by that party. Bismarck now called to his aid two allies which in the past he had always found serviceable in face of great popular opposition, i.e. hunger and
penury. The methods of Bismarck differed considerably from those of Falk. The latter saw in the religious life of the Catholic people their chief fortress, and so
attacked it with all earnestness, hoping to meet with victory in the tumultuary reaction likely to follow any interference with the spiritual needs of an entire people. In
this there was for Bismarck too much idealism; he chose rather to appeal to the material needs of his opponents. On 22 April, 1875, he obtained from the Landtag
the so-called Sperrgesetz, by which all state payments to the Catholic bishops were withheld until they or their representatives complied with the new laws.
Another law of the Landtag (31 May, 1875) closed all monasteries in Prussia, and expelled from Prussian territory all members of religious orders, with the
exception of those who cared for the sick—and they were variously restricted. Finally (20 June, 1875), he dealt the Catholic Church what seemed to him a crushing
blow; on that date was passed in the Landtag a law which confiscated all the property of the Church, and turned over to its administration to lay trustees to be
elected by the members of each parish. To accomplish this he had previously to commit another act of supreme violence, i.e. the abolition of those paragraphs of
the Prussian Constitution which concerned the Church. The aforesaid Kanzelparagraf, or "pulpit-law", was now amended by the Reichstag (26 Feb., 1876) so as
to enable the Government to prosecute before the criminal courts any priest who should criticise in the pulpit the laws or the administration of the Prussian State.
In the following years sixteen million marks ($3, 250,000) were withheld by the Government from the Church, by virtue of the Sperrgesetz; two hundred and ninety-
six monastic institutions were closed. By the end of 1880, 1125 parish priests and 645 assistants had fallen victims to the new laws (out of 4627 and 3812,
respectively). Within the circle of their operation 646,000 souls were entirely deprived of spiritual assistance. We must add to this the Falk Ordinance of 18 Feb.,
1876, issued with Bismarck's consent, by which in the future religious instruction in the primary schools was to be given only by teachers appointed or accepted by
the State, i.e., all Catholic ecclesiastical control was suppressed.

The debates on all these measures were the most violent ever heard in the German Parliament; it was apparent that on both sides the leadership would soon fall
to the extremists. On the Catholic side, therefore, evidences of moderation were soon forthcoming, and tended to prevent further extreme measures on the part of
the Government. The bishops felt that the gravest perils had been successfully met and averted. The earliest relief was the result of legislation originally intended
to do great damage to the Catholic cause. The Prussian Civil Marriage Law of March, 1874 (extended to the German Empire, 6 Feb., 1875), withdrew from the
clergy their former right of keeping the civil registers, and made civil marriage obligatory. It was hoped that in this way the laity at least would be freed from
ecclesiastical control, since neither bishops nor clergy were willing to separate from Rome. Under the circumstances, however, the law turned to the advantage of
the sorely persecuted Church. Had marriages remained possible only in the presence of civilly recognized priests, the Catholic population, in the end, given the
absolute necessity of marriages, would have had to accept one of two issues: either they would tolerate the state clergy, or they would bring pressure to bear on
the Catholic clergy in the sense of obedience to the new laws. On the other hand the bishops met successfully Bismarck's secularization of the Church property.
They declared that in this respect it was material interests which were chiefly at stake, and in such cases the Church was always inclined to the most conciliatory
measures; confiding, therefore, in the ecclesiastical loyalty of the faithful they directed them to obey thse laws. In the mean-time by the laws of 7 June, 1876, and
13 Feb., 1878, Bismarck undertook to sequestrate all Church property; he had already failed, however, in his original purpose. Windthorst, on the other hand,
strove earnestly to check all extremist tendencies among the Catholics and to incline them to peace with the Government as soon as the ecclesiastical situation
would permit. In this temper a reconciliation was evidently no longer remote, much less impossible. It was now clear to Bismarck that the popular agitation had
reached a height that no material force could overcome, and that the civil authority itself was endangered. The chief motive that had originally led him to enter on
this grave conflict with German Catholicism had long since disappeared; since 1875 he no longer feared an anti-German coalition of Catholic powers or a war
with Russia. In the meantime those closer relations with Austria had begun which in 1879 terminated in the actual Triple Alliance. His new foreign policy brought
with it a frequent rapprochement with the Catholics. In the German Paliament he could no longer act quite independently of them, and this was another factor in
the future reconciliation. The National Liberals in the Reichstag had ceased to be his unconditional supporters in the grave questions of internal reform (politico-
economical, social, and financial) that now claimed all his attention. The continued opposition of so large a party as the Centre was henceforth an element of
grave danger for all his plans. Conservative Protestants, meanwhile, rebelled against the Liberalism of Falk, which under the circumstances was far more
offensive to them than to Catholics. Moreover, Emperor Wilhelm inclined daily more in their direction. Indeed, the position of Falk had become practically untenable.

C. 1878-91

The death of Pius IX and the election of Leo XIII (Feb., 1878) made possible the restoration of peace in the much troubled Fatherland. At once, and again during
that year, Leo XIII wrote in a conciliating way to Kaiser Wilhelm urging the abolition of the May Laws. His request was refused; at the same time Berlin expressed a
desire for reconciliation. In July, 1878, Bismarck had a personal interview with the papal nuncio, Masella, at Kissingen (in Bavaria). However, a full decade was to
intervene before the May Laws quite disappeared. The proposed basis of negotiations was not calculated at this juncture to bring about the much desired peace.
Bismarck insisted that the May Laws should not be abolished by any formal act; he was willing, however, to modify their application, obtain gradually from the
Landtag temporary discretionary authority in regard to the laws remove certain odious points, etc., all this on condition of a yielding attitude on the side of the
Catholics. The latter, indeed, were in this respect praise-worthy. Bismarck further desired that in all measures of relief the Government should appear to take the
initiative—of course after proper diplomatic negotiations with Rome. In return he demanded from the Curia an assurance that the Centre party would support the
policies of the Government; otherwise the latter could have no interest in a reconciliation.

As a proof of goodwill he dismissed Herr Falk in 1879 and replaced the author of the odious May Laws by Herr Puttkamer, whose ecclesiastico-political attitude
was more conciliatory than that of his predecessor. Under him the Church began to regain its former influence over the schools. He obtained from the Landtag on
three occasions (1880-83) discretionary authority to modify the May Laws; thereby he provided for a restoration of orderly diocesan administration, and the filling of
the vacant sees. The vacant parishes, it is true, remained yet without pastors; it was allowed, however, to administer them from neighbouring parishes. After 1883
the Sperrgesetz, or suspension of ecclesiastical salaries, was not enforced. In 1882 Prussia established an embassy at the Vatican. Bismarck in the meantime
held firmly to one point: the obligation of the bishop to make known to the Government all ecclesiastical appointments, and the Government's right to veto. This
much Rome was not disinclined to allow, but demanded a previous formal abolition of at least certain portions of the May Laws. Leo XIII was very anxious to re-
establish peace and harmony with Germany, and for that reason chose for his secretary of state, in 1881, Lodovico Jacobini, who had been nuncio at Vienna since
1879, and had conducted the preliminary negotiations. During the negotiations that followed, the principal defect of the papal diplomacy consisted in the excessive
stress it laid on the purely politico-ecclesiastical elements of the problem (those which affected the general European situation of the Church), not sufficiently
taking into account the fundamental source of the conflict, i.e., the violation of the constitutional law of Prussia. From this point of view it did not seek to co-operate
with the tactics of the Centre in that party's dealings with Bismarck; it rather complied in several ways with the wishes of the latter, and sought to influence the
Centre (in substantially political matters) in favour of the Government. On the other hand, while Windthorst did not perhaps give quite sufficient consideration to the
general European situation, he was all the more earnest in his resolution to give permanency to the exertions of his party, to again anchor the rights of the Church
in the Prussian Constitution, and to make the latter document guarantee once again the independence of the Church. During these years of more or less fruitful
negotiations between Rome and Berlin, the political power of the Centre in the Reichstag grew notably; the Government was no longer able to count on a majority
against it. By this time the Conservatives had again obtained the upper hand in the Landtag, and soon made evident their intention to abolish completely the Falk
system of interference with the disciplinary and pastoral life of the Catholic Church (Conservative Resolution, 25 April, 1882). When Bismarck saw that it was
impossible to make the Centre a Government party (spring of 1884), the negotiations on his side were temporarily dropped. To the Conservatives, now urgent, he
replied that he was ready to proceed to a revision of the May Laws as soon as he knew that Rome would accept the Anzeigepflicht, or obligation of making known
to the Government all ecclesiastical appointments, with the corresponding civil right of veto. He believed, apparently, that the Kulturkampf agitation would gradually
die out, and the Catholic people grow weary of their struggle for "a constitutional and legal independence of the Church", now that the most burdensome of the
May Laws had been withdrawn and a somewhat orderly ecclesiastical life was again possible.

In the meantime the Centre party and its press kept alive a strong Catholic feeling. On the other hand, the foreign situation soon brought up the question of the
final abolition of the May Laws. Bismarck was again anxious in regard to Russia, and this time feared an alliance of that nation with France; the recent awakening
of Panslavism added to his solicitude on this point. He was concerned lest the Vatican should favour the Franco-Russian alliance. On the other hand he now
sought to rally all forces at the disposal of the Government for the suppression of the Polish movement that had by this time taken on large proportions; owing to
his Kulturkampf policy, all classes of the Polish people had been deeply stirred during the previous decade, and their attitude now caused the chancellor great
anxiety. He hoped, also, that a decisive ending of the ecclesiastical conflict would seriously affect the hitherto intact solidarity of the Centre and weaken notably the
popular attachment to the party, whereby its influence, even yet the source of his gravest political difficulties, would finally diminish. Leo XIII saw clearly that
Bismarck was now earnestly desirous of peace; Rome, therefore, it seemed, need no longer be over-timid in the matter of concessions based on suitable
guarantees. The pope also hoped that Bismarck would in turn be helpful to him in respect of the German imperial policy towards Italy. It was of considerable
importance that at this juncture the most statesmanlike member of the Prussian hierarchy, Bishop Kopp of Hildesheim (now Cardinal, and Prince-Bishop of
Breslau), was made a member of the Prussian House of Lords (Herrenhaus). Bismarck still held with tenacity to the former government claims. In the matter of
the Anzeigepflicht, the nominations of parish priests at least should not take place without the Government's approval. Nor would he listen to the restoration of the
former recognition of the Church by the Prussian Constitution. Finally, he held in its entirety to the state control of the schools. In reality he was able to maintain
these three points; on the other hand he yielded to the Church, practically, the control of ecclesiastical education, permitted the re-assertion of the papal
disciplinary authority over the clergy, allowed the restoration of public worship and the administration of the sacraments, the application of ecclesiastical
disciplinary measures (censures, etc.), and held out to the religious orders the hope of returning. This is substantially the content of the two comprehensive laws
(21 May, 1886, and 29 April, 1887), that modified the May Laws in an acceptable way and thereby ended formally the long conflict since known as the Kulturkampf.
During the negotiations for the first law the pope had allowed the bishops (25 April, 1886) to lay before the Government for approval the appointments of parish
priests. While the second law was under discussion the pope declared that it showed the way to peace, while Bismarck termed it the restoration of a modus
vivendi between State and Church. The Centre was deeply suspicious of both laws because the pope did not insist on constitutional guarantees. In the interval
between these laws and in view of them, the chancellor made a last attempt to obtain through Rome the support of the Centre for his military policy and the foreign
aims it implied. He wished the Centre to vote in the Reichstag for the so-called Septennate. A correspondence ensued between Cardinal Jacobini and the
President of the Centre Party; Windthorst was not to be moved from his position. It may be said that the hopes of Leo XIII in Bismarck's help respecting Italy were
deceived. In the following years the last remnants of the May Laws disappeared. The law prescribing the expulsion of all priests (Priesterausweisungsgesetz)
was withdrawn in 1890, and in 1891 the Sperrgelder (i.e. the ecclesiastical salaries, etc., withheld since April, 1875) were distributed to the various German
dioceses. For a while it seemed as if another grave conflict would follow, this time apropos of the schools. However, since the early nineties there has prevailed
the present quiescent attitude in all matters ecclesiastical and educational. It may be added that the anti-Jesuit legislation was so modified in 1905 as to offer no
longer its former exceptional character; the Redemptorists had been previously allowed to return. One important consequence of the Kulturkampf was the earnest
endeavour of the Catholics to obtain a greater influence in national and municipal affairs; how weak they formerly were in both respects was clear to them only
after the great conflict had begun. These efforts took the name of the Paritätsbewegung, i.e., a struggle for equality of civil recognition. In turn the discussions
awakened and fed by this movement soon led to a vigorous self-questioning among the Catholic masses as to the fact of, and the reasons for, their
backwardness in academic, literary, and artistic life, also in the large field of economic activities (industry, commerce, etc.). On the other hand, the reconciliation
between Church and State made it possible for the Catholics of Germany to participate more earnestly than hitherto in the public life of the Fatherland, in
illustration of which we may point to the notable contributions of the Centre Party (1896-1904) to the solution of the great imperial problems of that period. At
present (1908) a reaction seems imminent. In closing it may be said that the Kulturkampf rightly appears as only the first phase of the vast movement of
antagonism in which Catholicism stands over against Protestantism and Liberalism, on the broad field of Prussia, henceforth one of the great powers of Europe,
and within the German nation now coalescent in the political unit of the Empire.

Written by Martin Spahn. Transcribed by Gerald Rossi. Dedicated to Msgr. Richard J. Schuler

The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume VIII. Published 1910. New York: Robert Appleton Company. Nihil Obstat, October 1, 1910. Remy Lafort, S.T.D., Censor.
Imprimatur. +John Cardinal Farley, Archbishop of New York

Bibliography

BACHEM, Kulturkampf und Maigesetzgebung in Staatslexikon G rresgesellschaft, 2d ed. (Freiburg, 1902), III; SIEGFRIED, Aktenst cke betreffend des preussischen
Culturkampf (1882); F.X. SCHULTE, Geschichte des Kulturkampfs in Preussen (1882), and Geschichte der ersten sieben Jahre des preussischen Kulturkampfs, I:
Der Schulkampf, 2d. ed. (1879); MAJUNKE, Geschichte des Kulturkampfs in Preussen-Deutschland (1886); BRÜCK, Geschichte der katholischen Kirche in
Deutschland im 19. Jahrhundert, IV, ed. KISSLING (1907); HAHN, Geschichte des Kulturkampfs in Preussen (1881); VON GERLACH, Aufzeichnungen aus seinem
Leben und Wirken, II (1903); HUESGEN, Ludwig Windthorst (1907); SPAHN, Ernest Lieber (1906), and Das deutsche Zentrum (1907); HEUSER, Bismarck's Conflict
with the Catholic Church, in Am. Cath. Quart. Review (1884), 322 sqq.; O'SHEA, Bismarck's Decline and Fall, ibid. (1898), 836 sqq.; SCHRÖDER, The Impregnable
Fortress; Prince Bismarck and the Centre, ibid. (1890), 390 sqq.; IDEM, Windthorst, ibid. (1891), 515 sqq.

In 1806, through the instrumental participation of
Napoleon Bonaparte, Baden was created a grand
duchy---an enlarged and more prestigious
sovereign territory known as a "Grossherzogtum"
in German. (The designation of
"Grossherzogtum Baden," sometimes shown on
an ancestor's German-language documents,
simply means "Grand Duchy of Baden" and refers
to the overall state of Baden during this era,
including all the cities, towns and villages within
its borders.) The existing ruler of the former
margravate was henceforth created a grand duke
(Grossherzog in German), a sovereign just below
the rank of a king.

Grossherzogtum Baden - Erzdiözese Freiburg

SISTERS OF THE PRECIOUS BLOOD

A congregation of nuns founded at Gurtweil, Baden. In 1857 Rev. Herman
Kessler, the pastor, who had long desired to establish a home for destitute
children and a normal school for the training of religious teachers, asked for
six members of the community of the Sisters of the Precious Blood from
Ottmarsheim, Alsace. They responded and began their work with twelve poor
children under the direction of Father Kessler. Under the auspices of
Archbishop von Vicari of Freiburg, a novitiate and normal school were
established; the latter was affiliated with the educational department of
Karlsruhe. Other schools and academies were opened. In 1869 Bishop
Junker of Alton, Ill., asked for sisters for his diocese. In 1870 a number of
sisters sailed for Belle Prairie (now Piopolis) in the Diocese of Alton.
Meantime Bishop Baltes succeeded Bishop Junker; he entrusted to them
several parochial school and promised further assistance on condition that
the community should establish itself permanently in his diocese subject to
his authority. Mother Augustine, superior of the mother-house at Gurtweil,
apprehended a premature separation from Gurtweil, and was also opposed
to limiting the sisters' activity to one diocese only. She went to St. Louis where
through the efforts of Father Muehlsiepen, Vicar- General of St. Louis, the
Sisters of the Precious Blood were received into the Archdiocese of St. Louis
(1872) and obtained charge of a number of schools in Missouri and
Nebraska. In 1873 the Kulturkampf had reached its climax and the entire
community was expelled; some went to Rome, others settled in Bosnia,
Hungary, while the greater number joined their sisters in America. A
mother-house was established in O'Fallon, St. Charles County, Mo.,
completed in 1875. News arrived that Mother Clementine, mistress of
novices, with a few professed sisters and the entire novitiate had resolved to
follow the dictates of Bishop Baltes and establish a mother-house in his
diocese. Consequently a new novitiate was begun in O'Fallon. The novitiate of
Mother Clementine's branch was established at Ruma in 1876. They conduct
schools in the Archdiocese of St. Louis, the Dioceses of Alton, Belleville,
Oklahoma, St. Joseph, and Wichita. They number (1911): professed sisters,
230; novices, 20; candidates, 30; schools, 51; orphans, 150; pupils, 49,430.
The O'Fallon community was incorporated (1878) under the laws of the State
of Missouri with the right of succession, under the legal title of St. Mary's
Institute of O'Fallon, Mo. The sisters conduct schools in the Archdiocese of St.
Louis, and in the Dioceses of Alton, Kansas City, Lincoln, and Omaha. They
number (1911): professed sisters, 179; novices, 17; candidates, 11;
academy, 1; schools, 20; pupils, 2943.

Written by Ulrich F. Müller, Sister Aimee de Marie & Sister
Mary Victoria. Transcribed by Herman F. Holbrook. Glory be
to the Most Precious Blood of Jesus Christ

The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume XII. Published 1911. New
York: Robert Appleton Company. Nihil Obstat, June 1, 1911.
Remy Lafort, S.T.D., Censor. Imprimatur. +John Cardinal
Farley, Archbishop of New York

In 1821 the Archdiocese of Freiburg was founded out
of the Diocese of Constance as well as parts of the
Mainz, Straßburg, Worms and Würzburg dioceses.
Freiburg pastor Bernhard Boll became the first bishop
in 1827.

Today, church closures are not seen in the
archdiocese of Freiburg. The same goes for the
consolidation of parishes. The Archdiocese of Freiburg
exercises the concept of “unions of pastoral guidance”.

On November 1, 2005 the archbishop Dr. Robert
Zollitsch enacted “Pastoral Guidelines” for the first
time in the history of the Archdiocese. These
guidelines are given the title “Shaping the awakening”.

Erzdiözese Freiburg

The Archdiocese is organized into seven regions, and
these regions are in turn organized into numerous
deanships.

* Region of Odenwald / Tauber
o Deanship of Tauberbischofsheim
o Deanship of Lauda
o Deanship of Buchen
o Deanship of Mosbach
* Region of Rhine / Neckar
o Deanship of Weinheim
o Deanship of Mannheim
o Deanship of Heidelberg
o Deanship of Wiesloch
o Deanship of Kraichgau
* Region of Middle Oberrhein / Pforzheim
o Deanship of Philippsburg
o Deanship of Bruchsal
o Deanship of Bretten
o Deanship of Karlsruhe
o Deanship of Pforzheim
o Deanship of Ettlingen
o Deanship of Murgtal
o Deanship of Baden-Baden
* Region of Ortenau
o Deanship of Offenburg
o Deanship of Acher-Renchtal
o Deanship of Lahr
o Deanship of Kinzigtal
* Region of Breisgau / Schwarzwald / Baar
o Deanship of Breisach] / Endingen
o Deanship of Waldkirch
o Deanship of Freiburg
o Deanship of Neuenburg
o Deanship of Neustadt
o Deanship of Villingen
o Deanship of Donaueschingen
* Region of Hochrhein
o Deanship of Wiesental
o Deanship of Waldshut
o Deanship of Säckingen
o Deanship of Wutachtal
* Region of Lake Constance / Hohenzollern
o Deanship of Western Hegau
o Deanship of Eastern Hegau
o Deanship of Konstanz
o Deanship of Linzgau
o Deanship of Meßkirch
o Deanship of Sigmaringen
o Deanship of Zollern

The northernmost archdiocese jurisdiction is the
parish of St. Laurentius in Freudenberg.

St. Columbanus and St. Gail

St. Kilian

Benedict XVI in Germany

Ursula Esswein
St. Michaels - Buehlertal, Baden

Katharina Allgaier
St. Margaretha - Waldkirch, Baden

Gurtweil, Baden

II. ECCLESIASTICAL CONFLICTS

During the reign of Grand Duke Louis II (1852-56), whose brother Frederick held the regency until 1856, when he himself succeeded to the title, the Government
and the representatives of the Catholic Church, who had been at odds for a long time, came into open conflict. The revolutions of the Napoleonic period had
shaken the organization of the Church in Germany to its very foundations. In the modern Grand duchy of Baden, as it existed at the beginning of the nineteenth
century, two-thirds of the population professed the Catholic religion. They constituted 728 parishes divided among six different diocese (Constance, Strasburg,
Speyer, Worms, Mainz, and Wurzburg. A reconstruction of ecclesiastical affairs was manifestly necessary and was made, so far as the State was concerned, by
the organization decrees of 1803 and the constitutional decrees of 1807, regulating the position of the State with regard to the Church. Although the first of these
decrees guaranteed to Catholics a continuance of their diocesan system, the free exercise of their religion, and the possession and use of church property,
shortly after their promulgation a large number of monasteries and charitable institutions were entirely abolished, others confiscated, and still others converted
into secular educational institutions. In place of being organized into dioceses as formerly, Catholics were placed under two vicariates (Bruchsal and
Constance). A special board was appointed for the administration of the temporal affairs of the Church, first known as the Catholic Kirchensektion (Church
Section), and later as the Catholic Oberkirchenrat (Supreme Ecclesiastical Council). Despite the personal good will of Grand Duke Charles Frederick, the spirit of
these decrees was unfavorable to the Catholic Church; the rights of the State were unduly extended, to the prejudice of the Church. Worse than the ordinances
themselves was the way in which they were put into execution by the Liberal officials of Old Baden, who viewed the Catholic Church with open hostility. The unjust
treatment of Catholics in the new Grand duchy and the indignities put upon them were so pronounced that even Napoleon, as Protector of the Confederation of
the Rhine, in two notes to the Government of Baden (February and March, 1810) protested against it. Unfortunately a large part of the Catholic clergy, who had
either been reared in the tenets of Josephinism, or had fallen into the religious indifferentism of the times, failed to rally to the necessary defense of the rights of
the Church. Even the highest ecclesiastical dignitaries of the land, as, for example, Vicar General Wessenberg, favored the tenets of Febronianism and warmly
encouraged the project of a German National Church independent of Rome. This state of affairs prolonged for years the negotiations which had been begun with
the Holy See for the reorganization of the Church in Baden. Finally the Bull "Provida solersque" (16 August 1821) established the province of the Upper Rhine
(Oberrheinische Kirchenprovinz), defined the boundaries of the five dioceses therein comprised (Freiburg, Fulda, Limburg, Mainz, and Rottenburg), and assigned
Freiburg as the seat of the metropolitan. In Baden, by the order of the Grand duke, the candidate for the archiepiscopal see was elected by free vote of the
assembled deans (1822), but their choice of Wanker, a professor of theology in Freiburg, was condemned by the pope as canonically invalid. It was only after
lengthy negotiations that an agreement was reached; and on 11 April, 1827, Leo XII promulgated the Bull of erection "Ad Dominici greys custodian"; on 16
October, 1827, the deed of foundation was signed; and on 21 October the first archbishop, Bernhard Boll, was consecrated and installed.

Nevertheless a satisfactory adjustment of affairs had not been found. The deed of foundation contained many provisions contrary to the spirit of the papal Bull. In
marked contrast to the agreement made with Rome was the church law passed by the Government 30 January, 1830. True, it ensures to Catholics the free
profession of faith and public exercise of religion, but, on the other hand, to the State is given an undue amount of power over the Church; all orders and
enactments of any importance proceeding from spiritual authorities must, according to this law, be submitted to the approval of the civil powers; it requires that
even decrees and dispensations of a general nature issued by the Church, although concerning matters purely spiritual, must be first inspected by the public
authorities. It subjects papal Bulls, Briefs, and dispensations to the placet of the sovereign, does away with the canonical court of appeal grants to clergy and
laity, by a usurpation of spiritual authority, recourse to the civil courts instead of the higher ecclesiastical courts, etc. The pope as well as the archbishop entered a
protest against the provisions of, this law, so permeated with the spirit of a national church, but without success. Although the first archbishops, Bernhard Boll
(1827-36) and his successor, Ignaz Demeter (1836-42), acceded to the wishes of the Government as far as their position as Catholic prelates permitted, all their
remonstrances against the interference of the State and their appeals for a more liberal treatment of the Church were useless. On the contrary, the Government
openly favored movements of a rationalistic and irreligious nature, even on the part of professors of theology in the university of Freiburg; it allowed the just
demands of the archbishop for adequate disciplinary powers to pass unnoticed, gave protection to unworthy clerics and those who had been insubordinate to
their ecclesiastical superiors, almost entirely excluded the co-operation of the Church in the management of Catholic schools and in the administration of
Catholic church property, permitted insults to be leveled against the Church by the Radicals in the Landtag, favored Rongeanism, etc. In spite of this unjust
treatment, however, when, in 1848, the flames of the revolution broke out, the Archbishop, Hermann vou Vicari (1842-68), and the majority of the Catholic clergy
remained loyal to the rightful sovereign and refused to take the oath required by the revolutionary regime. In consideration of this attitude, the Government, after
the victory over the revolutionary forces, seemed disposed to change its policy; it permitted the Jesuits to hold missions among the people and allowed the
archbishop greater freedom in the ad- ministration of church discipline. The change, however, was not of long duration; soon the old system of state
guardianship was again in force.