Nicolaus von Weis

Weis, NICOLAUS VON, Bishop of Speyer, b. at Rimlingen, Lorraine, March 8, 1796; d. at Speyer, December 13, 1869. He studied at the seminary of Mainz when Lieberman was its regent, and was ordained August 22, 1818. Hereupon he taught the humanities at the seminary (1818-20), was pastor at Dudenhofen (1820-22), canon at the cathedral of Speyer (1822-37), and dean of the cathedral (1837-42). During this time he displayed remarkable literary activity. In conjunction with Andreas Rass, afterwards Bishop of Strasburg, he revised, enlarged, and translated several apologetic, dogmatic, homiletic, and hagiologic works, the best known of which are an enlarged German edition of Butler’s “Lives of the Saints” (24 vols., Mainz, 1821-27), translations from the French of Carron, Brillet, Picot, and others, and an extensive compilation of sermons by various authors. He founded the monthly review “Der Katholik” at Mainz, conjointly with Rass, in January, 1821; he was its sole editor from 1827 to 1841. It is still one of the leading German Catholic monthly periodicals. On February 27, 1842, he was nominated as successor to Bishop Geissel of Speyer. He was preconized, May 23, consecrated at Munich by Archbishop Gebsattel on July 10, and solemnly enthroned in the cathedral of Speyer on July 20. He labored with great success for the advancement of Christian education among the faithful, promoted popular missions and pious ecclesiastical societies, introduced annual retreats for the priests of his diocese, and fostered religious orders, especially female teaching orders. His efforts to establish a theological seminary were frustrated by the Bavarian Government. During his pontificate the cathedral of Speyer was artistically frescoed by Schraudolph (1846-53), and the renovation of its western front was completed (1858).

MICHAEL OTT