| Adolph Kolping |
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| german religious leaders | |
| beatified people | |
| 1813 births | |
| 1865 deaths | |
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Kolping grew up as the son of a shepherd. At the age of 18 he went to Cologne as a shoemaker’s assistant. He was shocked by the living conditions of most people living there and this caused him to decide to become a priest. At 23 he attended a Gymnasium (German grammar school) and afterwards studied theology in Munich , Bonn and Cologne. On April 13 , 1845 he was consecrated as priest in Cologne’s “Minoriten” church. First he worked in Elberfeld, now part of Wuppertal , as chaplain and teacher of religion. In 1847 he became second president of the Catholic Association of Journeymen (founded the preceding year by Johann Gregor Breuer), which gave young journeymen religious and social support. In 1849 he returned to Cologne as the Vicar of the cathedral and established Cologne’s Association of Journeymen. He united the existing journeymen-associations as the "Rheinischer Gesellenbund" ("Federation of Journeymen of the Rhine Region") in 1850. This fusion was the origin of today’s international "Kolpingwerk." Until his death he labored to spread and federation of journeymen associations. In the year of his death (1865) there were already more than 400 journeymen associations worldwide. In 1854 Kolping founded the weekly newspaper "Rheinische Volksblätter" ("Rhine Region People’s Paper"), which quickly became one of the most successful press organs of his time. In 1862 he became principal of Cologne’s "Minoriten" church. On December 4 , 1865 Kolping died. He was buried in Cologne’s "Minoriten" church. On October 27 , 1991 he was beatified by Pope John Paul II . In Germany nowadays, the Kolpingwerk founded by him has more than 275,000 members in 2,730 local Kolping-families. That makes it the biggest social federation in Germany. The Kolpingwerk seated in Cologne has approximately 500,000 members worldwide and is organized in 6,000 Kolping-families. |
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