LÖW, JOSEPH

Liturgical scholar; b. Vienna, July 23, 1893; d. Rome, Sept. 22, 1962. After having studied at Vienna and Katzelsdorf, Austria, he entered the redemptorist novitiate at Eggenburg in 1911, took philosophy and theology in the Redemptorist seminary at Mautern, and was ordained July 31, 1919. From 1920 to 1935 he taught liturgy, homiletics, archeology, and history of sacred art at Mautern and Gurk, making three long stays in Rome, where he worked under Johann Peter kirsch on the disciplines of Christian antiquity. He contributed valuable assistance in the restoration of the cathedral of Gurk, Carinthia. When called to Rome in 1935, he was named vice relator in the historical section of the Congregation of Rites and worked on hagiographical material, particularly in the preparation of the historical positions for the confirmation of cult and beatification of Hemma of Gurk, Kateri Tekakwitha, Rose Verini, and Herman Joseph. From 1948 he was employed in the preparation of liturgical reform that eventuated in the restored Easter Vigil (1951) and the new Code of Rubrics (1960). His interest in liturgical reform stemmed from a sane pastoral appreciation, which was for him a most important aspect of liturgical cult. He was named relatore aggiunto for the historical section of the Congregation of Rites (Nov. 21, 1959). Meanwhile, he published studies on liturgy, archeology, and the history of the Redemptorists. He was a founder and editor of the Spicilegium historicum CSSR.

Bibliography: f. antonelli and a. sampers, Spicilegium historicum Congregationis Sanctissimi Redemptoris 10 (1962) 305–322, with complete bibliog. a. sampers, Ephemerides liturgicae 77 (1963) 39–45.

[a. sampers]