Free Catholic Church
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The Free Catholic Church is a German derivative movement of the Brazilian Catholic Apostolic Church.
[edit] Church background
In 1937, the Roman Catholic Bishop Carlos Duarte Costa of Botucatu, Brazil, was forced to step down. In 1945, he accused the Vatican of having collaborated with the national socialists (Nazis) and fascists.[citation needed] He was excommunicated and that same year founded the Igreja Católica Apostólica Brasileira (Brazilian Catholic Apostolic Church). In 1949, the church was brought to Germany by the future Archbishop Johannes Peter Meyer-Mendez, where it was registered as the Free Catholic Church ("Freikatholische Kirche").
After the death of Abp. Meyer-Mendez, his successor Georg Fröbrich later Archbishop Hilarios Karl-Heinz Ungerer transferred the seat of the Archbishop, i.e. the principal seat, from Cologne to Munich, the capital of Bavaria. Archbishop Ungerer also was temporarily Conductor of the now vacant Kustodie der Mariaviten in Bayern - founded by Archbishop Maria Paulus Norbert Maas - until his successful bid for demission[1] of bishop's duties in 1978.
In September 1972, Bishop Ungerer rented a shop for a "shop church" which became the Free Catholic Shop Church at 25 Thalkirchner Strasse in Munich, as was the fashion in some big towns at that time. Over the next 25 years he endeavoured to integrate marginal groups into the church. More than 35,000 people in Bavaria, mainly in Munich, were administered all Catholic sacraments or received pastoral care.[citation needed]
The Free Catholic Church also takes care of those Christians who have left the traditional churches, but nevertheless look for a church home, and who want to have a church wedding although their first marriage ended in divorce, who wish to have a church funeral, or who simply long for membership of a church community.
The Free Catholic Church has never received any state or municipal grants.
Today Munich supports mission work in Manila (Philippines) and Los Angeles and Miami (United States). Every year the Archbishop makes pastoral trips to the above mentioned missions.
