Nicolaus von Weis

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Nicolaus von Weis (b. Rimlingen, Lorraine, 8 March 1796 - d. Speyer, 13 December 1869) was Bishop of Speyer (in the Rhenish Palatinate in what is now Germany).

[edit] Life

He studied at the seminary at Mainz, when Liebermann was regent, and was ordained 22 August 1818. Hereupon he taught the humanities at the seminary (1818-20), was pastor at Dudenhofen (1820-22), canon at the Speyer Cathedral (1822-37), and dean of the cathedral (1837-42). During this time he was said to have displayed remarkable literary activity.

[edit] Works

In conjunction with Andreas Rass, afterwards Bishop of Strasbourg, he revised, enlarged, and translated several apologetic, dogmatic, homiletic, and hagiographic 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. He was its sole editor from 1827 to 1841. For some time it was one of the leading German Catholic monthly periodicals.

On 27 February 1842, he was nominated as successor to Bishop Geissel of Speyer. He was preconized, 23 May, consecrated at Munich by Archbishop Gebsattel on 10 July, and solemnly enthroned in the cathedral of Speyer on 20 July.

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He laboured with what has been said to be 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 said to have been frustrated by the Bavarian Government. During his pontificate the cathedral of Speyer was artistically frescoed by Johann Schraudolph (1846-53), and the renovation of its western front was completed (1858).

This article incorporates text from the public-domain Catholic Encyclopedia of 1913.