The son of a baker, he was educated at local secondary schools and went on to study in Rome. Michael von Faulhaber was ordained as a priest in 1892. In 1899, he qualified as a university lecturer in Old Testament studies at Würzburg ("Habilitation"). This was followed by research trips to libraries in England, France, and Spain. In 1903, he became a full professor in Strasbourg, where he distinguished himself as a prolific and highly effective public speaker. He was appointed Bishop of Speyer in 1911 and Archbishop of Munich and Freising in 1917. In 1921, he was created a cardinal, with the titular church of Sant'Anastasia.
The Cardinal's diaries, which had been kept under the bed of his last secretary until 2010, contain a myriad of entries regarding his life and work. One challenge lay in deciphering the Gabelsberger shorthand he used across more than 4,000 pages of his diary; today, only a few people are able to read this system. He began his records just a few days after his installation as Bishop of Speyer in 1911. He documented whom he met and when, as well as the topics discussed. From 1917 onwards, he recorded the details of his conversations more extensively. His notes also contain information on political, social, and religious life, as well as the cardinal's own sentiments and opinions. Each year, he met with up to 1,000 people, including two popes, two Reich Chancellors, a US President, representatives of the Bavarian royal family, and Germany’s first Federal Chancellor, Konrad Adenauer. Michael von Faulhaber served as Archbishop of Munich and Freising for 35 years. In this capacity, he ordained the future Pope Benedict XVI as a priest in 1951. He was also considered a confidant of Pope Pius XII.
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Cardinal Michael Faulhaber (top) lays his hands on Joseph Ratzinger in Freising Cathedral on June 29, 1951. The future Pope Benedict XVI
was ordained a priest on that day alongside his older brother, Georg. ©dpa. | |
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Repelled by Nazi totalitarianism, neopaganism, and racism, Michael von Faulhaber contributed to the failure of Hitler’s Munich Putsch (1923), an attempt to oppose the Weimar Republic with a national revolution. During the Nazi regime he delivered his famous sermons entitled Judaism, Christianity, and Germany (Advent sermons of 1933, translated in 1934), which emphasized the Jewish background of Christianity and pointed out that the teachings of the New Testament logically followed those of the Old. The Cardinal further emphasized that the German tribes had become civilized only after Christianization and asserted that Christian values were fundamental to German culture. Throughout his sermons until the collapse (1945) of the Third Reich, Faulhaber vigorously criticized Nazism, despite governmental opposition.
With unwavering determination and steadfast courage, he resisted the National Socialist and Bolshevik threats to freedom - and, in particular, to faith. He vehemently opposed National Socialist antisemitism and the movement's national chauvinism.
Attempts on his life were made in 1934 and in 1938.
Regarding his wider work and legacy, the Cardinal was a pioneering scholar regarding the study of "catenae" in the works of the Church Fathers and in the field of biblical poetry; he was a great organizer of church life, a celebrated and outstanding orator, and a high-ranking prelate whose influence extended far beyond the boundaries of his diocese - indeed, well beyond the German-speaking world.
He sought to intensify and revitalise the religious spirit by promoting popular missions, spiritual retreats, and the liturgical movement; he enhanced pastoral care by creating new training opportunities for priests (a minor seminary in Traunstein and a seminary for late vocations in Fürstenried) and offering continuing education courses - covering general theology but focusing particularly on catechetics and homiletics; by introducing "railway station masses" (1924) and founding the "Sister Association of the Catholic Home Mission" to assist parishes (1922); by enabling women to study theology (1945) and extensively employing them in catechesis; by improving parish organization and establishing new, independent pastoral centers - whether as full parishes or parish-like institutions; and by overseeing the construction of over 100 churches within the diocese (some reflecting highly modern artistic concepts).
Cardinal Michael von Faulhaber went to his eternal reward on June 12, 1952.
Sources: - https://www.domradio.de/artikel/das-tagebuch-von-kardinal-faulhaber - https://www.britannica.com/biography/Michael-von-Faulhaber - https://www.deutsche-biographie.de/gnd118532073.html#ndbcontent - https://www.zeit.de/news/2026-06/30/kardinal-faulhaber-portraet-mit-vielen-grauschattierungen
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