Gregorius Thomas Ziegler

Ziegler, GREGORIUS THOMAS, Bishop of Linz, b. at Kirchheim near Augsburg, March 7, 1770; d. at Linz, April 15, 1852. He joined the Benedictines at Wiblingen in 1788, was ordained priest, May 25, 1793, teaching in various Benedictine institutions until October 23, 1802, when he became prior of his monastery. After the suppression of Wiblingen in 1806 he removed with some of his, confreres to Tiniec in Poland and taught theology at the neighboring University of Cracow. When the Benedictines were forced to leave Tiniec in 1809 he was engaged as professor of church history at the Lyceum of Linz, 1809-15, and of theology at Vienna, 1815-22. On February 2, 1822, he became Bishop of the new Diocese of Tiniec, but transferred his see to Tarnow, where he began the erection of a seminary and renovated the cathedral. On April 13, 1827, he was promoted to the Diocese of Linz. He labored successfully for the emancipation of the Church from governmental encroachments, fostered the religious life of the clergy and laity by introducing clerical retreats and popular missions, and advanced the religious education of the laity by introducing religious orders. He is the author of “Die Feier der hell. Firmung in der Kath. Kirche” (Vienna, 1817); “Dos Kath. Glaubensprincip” (Vienna, 1823); “Ziige and Schilderungen aus dem Leben des sel. Seb. Franz Job” (Linz, 1835) and various minor works, pastoral letters, occasional lectures, and sermons. He also reedited Klypfel’s “Institutiones theologise dogmatic” (Vienna, 1819-21) and contributed various theological treatises to Frint’s “Theologische Zeitschrift” (Vienna, 1813-16).

MICHAEL OTT