FAULHABER, MICHAEL VON

Cardinal, archbishop of Munich, Germany; b. Klosterheidenfeld, Lower Franconia, Bavaria, March 5, 1869; d. Munich, June 12, 1952. After studying at Schweinfurt and Wurzburg, Faulhaber was ordained in 1892. He was chaplain at Kitzingen for a year before taking his doctorate in theology at the University of Wurzburg, where he remained as a lecturer (1899–1903). He was professor of Old Testament at the University of Strasbourg until 1911, when he was named bishop of Speyer. During World War I he ministered to the Bavarian armies in the field. In 1917 he was transferred to the archdiocese of Munich, and in 1921, made cardinal.

Faulhaber, a monarchist devoted to the Wittelsbach kings of Bavaria, led his people throughout the Nazi era. His sermons frequently condemned the racism, totalitarianism, and paganism that he described as the basis of the new order. In 1951 the Jewish community formally expressed its appreciation for his attack on anti-Semitism and emphasis on the Jewish background of Christianity during his Advent sermons of 1933. After World War II Faulhaber worked closely with the American occupation forces in the reconstruction of his archdiocese. The highest award of the West German Republic, the Grand Cross of the Order of Merit, was conferred on him by Pres. Theodor Heuss. Faulhaber also published several books.

Bibliography: j. weissthanner, Michael Kardinal Faulhaber, 80 Jahre (2d ed. Munich 1949). m. a. gallin, German Resistance to Hitler (Washington 1961). m. schmaus, Staatslexikon, ed. gÖrres-gesellschaft (Freiburg 1957–63) 3:231–233.

[m. a. gallin]