Franz König

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Franz Cardinal König

Franz Cardinal König (August 3, 1905 – March 13, 2004) was an Austrian prelate, who was Archbishop of Vienna (1956 - 1985) and a Cardinal in the Roman Catholic Church. At the time of his death he was the second-oldest cardinal worldwide, and the longest-serving (the last surviving cardinal elevated by Pope John XXIII).

Born in Warth near Rabenstein, Lower Austria, as the oldest of nine children, König went to a Catholic school in Melk (Stiftsgymnasium) and later studied in Rome. Ordained as a priest in 1933, he pursued an academic career (first Privatdozent, later Professor at the University of Salzburg) before being appointed Archbishop of Vienna in 1956 as the successor of Theodor Cardinal Innitzer. König was elevated to Cardinal in 1958, receiving the Titulus S. Eusebii.

In the 1970s he worked, together with Austrian Federal Chancellor Bruno Kreisky, towards a reconciliation between socialism and the Catholic Church although he vehemently opposed the introduction of legalised abortion by Kreisky's Socialist government and was also seen taking part in a demonstration. Within the Church, he was mainly concerned with questions of ecumenism. He was also president of the Vatican Secretariat for Non-Believers and played a key role in the election of Pope John Paul II as pope.

His successor as Archbishop of Vienna was Hans Hermann Groer, a man in whose appointment König had no part and who was eventually removed from office by Pope John Paul II for sexual misconduct.

Until his death, Cardinal König was active in the Archdiocese of Vienna, which is now under the care of the current Archbishop of Vienna, Christoph Cardinal Schönborn. In 2003, while on holiday, König had a bad fall and fractured his hip. However, after being operated on he made a speedy recovery and a few months later celebrated Mass again, only supported by his bishop's staff.

König died in his sleep on March 13, 2004.

[edit] Further reading

Franz König, Christa Pongratz-Lippitt (ed.): Open to God, Open to the World, Burns & Oates/Continuum, London 2005 ISBN 0860123944
Hubert Feichtlbauer: Franz König. Der Jahrhundert-Kardinal (2003) ISBN 3854930828 (in German)

[edit] External links

Anton Pelinka: "Kardinal Franz König und die Öffnung von Gesellschaft und Politik in Österreich" (2003 lecture by a prominent Austrian political scientist; in German)

Cardinal König: man of faith, man of dialogue 05 April 2004 http://www.iofc.org/index.php?langid=1&catid=1&fsn=det&more=32&info=4

Austria's Franz König dies at 98: Last remaining cardinal named by John XXIII was Vatican II luminary, By JOHN L. ALLEN JR., National Catholic Reporter, Rome http://natcath.org/NCR_Online/archives2/2004a/032604/032604k.php