Cologne

(German KÖLN or CÖLN), German city and archbishopric.

THE CITY

Cologne, in size the third city of Prussia, and the capital of the district ( Regierungsbezirk ) of Cologne, is situated in the lowlands of the lower Rhine on both sides of the river. Its area is 45 square miles; its population (1 December, 1905), 428,722, of whom 339,790 are Catholics, 76,718 Protestants, 11,035 of other sects.

The history of Cologne goes back to the first century before Christ. After Marcus Agrippa transplanted the Ubii from the right to the left bank of the Rhine (38 B.C.), Ara Ubiorum, the centre of the civil and religious life of this tribe, occupied the site of the modern Cologne. In A.D. 50 Agrippina, the daughter of Germanicus, founded here a colony of veterans called Colonia Agrippina; the inhabitants of the two settlements mingled freely with each other, while the Germans gradually assumed Roman customs. After the revolt of the Batavians, Cologne was made the capital of a Roman province and was repeatedly the residence of the imperial court. At an early date Christianity came to Cologne with the Roman soldiers and traders; according to Irenaeus of Lyons, it was a bishop's see as early as the second century. However, Saint Maternus, a contemporary of Constantine, is the first historically certain Bishop of Cologne. As a result of its favourable situation, the city survived the stormy period of the migrations of the Teutonic tribes. When the Ripuarian Franks took possession of the country in the fifth century, it became the residence of their king. On account of the services of the Bishops of Cologne to the Merovingian kings, the city was to have been the metropolitan see of Saint Boniface , but Mainz was chosen, for unknown reasons, and Cologne did not become an archbishopric until the time of Charlemagne. The city suffered heavily from invasions of the Northmen, especially in the autumn of 881, but recovered quickly from these calamities, especially during the reign of the Saxon emperors and of such vigorous archbishops as Bruno, Heribert, Piligrun, and others.

In the course of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries Cologne attained great prosperity. The basis of this prosperity was the commercial activity of the city, which placed it in relation not only with Northern Europe, but also with Hungary, Venice, and Genoa. The local crafts also flourished; the spinners, weavers, and dyers, the woollen-drapers, goldsmiths, sword-cutlers, and armour-makers of Cologne were especially celebrated. The ecclesiastical importance of the city was equally great; no city north of the Alps was so rich in great churches, sanctuaries, relics, and religious communities. It was known as the "German Rome," and was annually visited by pilgrims, especially after Rainald of Dassel, Archbishop of Cologne (1159-67), brought thither the remains of the Three Magi from Milan. Learning was zealously cultivated in the cathedral school, in the collegiate chapters, and the cloisters ; famous philosophers taught here, among them Rupert of Deutz, Caesarius of Heisterbach, Duns Scotus, and Blessed Albertus Magnus. The arts also flourished, on account of the numerous churches and civil buildings. With the growth of the municipal prosperity, the pride of the citizens and their desire for independence also increased, and caused them to feel more dissatisfied with the sovereignty of the archbishop. This resulted in bitter feuds between the bishops and the city, which lasted for two centuries with varying fortunes. The first uprising occurred under Anno II, at Easter of the year 1074; the citizens rose against the archbishop, but were defeated within three days, and severely punished. They received important concessions from Archbishop Henry I of Molenark (1225-38) and his successor, the powerful Conrad of Hostaden (1238-1261), who laid the corner-stone of the cathedral. The bloody battle of Worringen in 1288, in which the citizens of Cologne allied with Brabant took prisoner Archbishop Siegfried of Westerburg (1274-97), resulted in an almost complete freedom for the city; to regain his liberty, the archbishop recognized the political independence of Cologne, but reserved certain rights, notably the administration of justice.

A long period of peace with the outside world followed. Cologne joined the Hanseatic League in the thirteenth century, and became an imperial free city in the fourteenth. On the other hand internal dissensions frequently disturbed the city. After the close of the twelfth century the government of the city was in the hands of patrician families, who filled all the offices in the city government with members of their own order. In time the craft organizations (guilds) increased in strength and demanded a share in the government. As early as 1370, in the uprising of the weavers, they gained the upper hand for a short time, but it was not until 1396 that the rule of the patricians was finally abolished. On 14 September of that year the new democratic constitution was adopted, in accordance with which only representatives of the guilds sat in the city council. The last act of the patricians was the foundation of the university (1388), which rapidly began to prosper. By their firmness and wisdom the new rulers maintained themselves against the patricians, against Archbishop Dietrich of Mörs (1419), and against Charles the Bold, who, in alliance with Archbishop Ruprecht, sought to bring the city again under archiepiscopal rule. It also suppressed domestic uprisings (for instance in 1481 and 1512). Throughout this period the city retained its place as the first city of the German Empire, in which learning, the fine arts, and the art of printing were vigorously cultivated.

Free Christmas & Advent PDFs | Available in English, Spanish and French

In the religious upheavals of the sixteenth century Cologne remained true to Catholic doctrine, thanks chiefly to the activity of the university, where such men as Cochlæus, Ortwin Gratianus, Jacob of Hoogstraeten, and others taught. Under their influence, the city council held fast to Catholic tradition and energetically opposed the new doctrines, which found many adherents among the people and the clergy. Cologne remained a stronghold of the old beliefs, and gave active support to the Counter-Reformation, which found earnest champions in Johannes Gropper , the Jesuits, Saint Peter Canisius, and others. The seventeenth and eighteenth centuries were a time of decadence for the city; its importance diminished especially after the Thirty Years War (1618-48) in which it was loyal to the emperor and the empire, and was never captured. The university eventually lost its prestige, because through over-caution it opposed the most justifiable reforms; trade was diverted to other channels; only its ecclesiastical glory remained to the city, which was governed by a narrow-minded class of tradesmen and often suffered from the dissensions between council and citizens (in 1679-86 and the bloody troubles caused by Nicholas Guelich). The outbreak of the French Revolution found it a community with but slight power of resistance. The French entered Cologne, 26 October, 1794, and the citizens were soon severely oppressed by requisitions, forced loans, and contributions. On 27 September, 1797, the old city constitution was finally annulled, the French administrative organization established, and the city made a part of the French department of the Roer of which Aix-la-Chapelle ( Aachen ) was the capital. The university was discontinued in 1798; it had dragged out a miserable existence owing to the establishment of the University of Bonn and the confused policy of the last archbishop. After the downfall of French domination in Germany, Cologne was apportioned by the Congress of Vienna to the Kingdom of Prussia. It was made neither the seat of the government of the Rhenish Province, nor the seat of the university, but it was restored to its rank of metropolitan see, and in the nineteenth century, under Prussian rule became the third largest city of Prussia and attained unusual prosperity, economic, intellectual, and ecclesiastical.

Only brief ecclesiastical statistics can be given here. In 1907, besides the archbishop and assistant bishop, there were in Cologne 214 priests, of whom 24 were members of the cathedral chapter and 38 were parish priests, and 128 others engaged in pastoral occupations. There are 12 Dominicans and 9 Franciscans. The two deaneries of the city embrace 39 parish and 3 military churches; in addition to the 39 parish churches, there are 22 lesser churches and 26 chapels. Religious societies are numerous and powerful among more than 400 religious societies and brotherhoods we may mention: Societies of Saint Vincent, Saint Elizabeth , and Saint Charles Borromeo , Marian congregations for young men and for young women, rosary confraternities, Associations the Holy Childhood, Holy Family, of Christian Mothers, etc. Among the trades organization the most powerful are the four Catholic Gesellenvereine, with 4 hospices and 18 Catholic workingmens' unions. The male religious orders and congregations are represented by Dominicans, Franciscans, Alexian Brothers, Brothers of Charity, and Brothers of Saint Francis; the female orders and congregations by Sisters of Saint Benedict, the Borromean Sisterhood , the Cellites, Sisters of Saint Dominic, Sisters of Saint Francis, Sisters of the Good Shepherd, Sisters of the Holy Child Jesus, the Ursuline Sisters, and Sisters of Saint Vincent; a total of 43 religious houses with about 1140 inmates. The Alexian Brothers, the Brothers of Charity, and the Brothers of Saint Francis, as well as almost all the female religious orders, conduct numerous charitable and educational institutions .

15% Off Christmas Blowout Sale

Among the churches of Cologne, the foremost is the cathedral, the greatest monument of Gothic architecture in Germany. Its cornerstone was laid by Archbishop Conrad of Hostaden, 14 August, 1248; the sanctuary was dedicated in 1322; the nave made ready for religious services in 1388; the southern tower was built to a height of about 180 feet in 1447; then the work of building was interrupted for almost four hundred years. During the French Revolution the cathedral was degraded to a hay barn. In the nineteenth century the work of building was resumed, thanks above all to the efforts of Sulpice Boisseree, who excited the enthusiasm of the Crown Prince, afterwards King Frederick William IV, for the completion of the work. The restoration was begun in 1823; in 1842 the Cathedral Building Society was founded, and generous contributions from all parts of Germany resulted. The interior was finished, 15 October, 1863, and opened for Divine service; and 15 October, 1880, the completion of the entire cathedral was appropriately celebrated in the presence of the German emperor. The whole edifice covers an area of about 7370 square yards; it has a nave 445 feet long, five aisles, and a transept 282 feet wide with three aisles ; the height of the nave is about 202 feet, that of the two towers, 515 feet. Among the numerous works of art, the most famous are the picture ( Dombild ) painted by Stephen Lochner about 1450, the triptych over the high altar, the 96 choir seats of the sanctuary, and the shrine in which are kept the relics of the Three Kings in the treasury of the sacristy. The last is considered the most remarkable medieval example of the goldsmith's art extant. Among the other churches of the city, the most noteworthy of those dating from the Romanesque period are Saint Gereon, Saint Ursula, Saint Mary in the Capitol, Saint Pantaleon , and the church of the Apostles ; from the Transition and the Gothic periods, Saint Cunibert, Saint Mary in Lyskirchen, the church of the Minorites ; from more recent times, the Jesuit church, Saint Mary Pantaleon, and Saint Mauritius. The city contains about 25 charitable institutions under Catholic management.

THE ARCHBISHOPRIC

According to ancient legend a disciple of Saint Peter was the first Bishop of Cologne, but the first historically authenticated bishop was Saint Maternus, who was present in 314 at the Synod of Arles. Among the earliest bishops the most prominent are: Euphrates, who took part in the Council of Sardica (344) and in 346 was deposed as a heretic by a general synod of Gaul; Saint Severinus (347-400), Saint Cunibert (623-63?), councillor of the Frankish kings Dagobert and Sigibert; Anno I (711-15), who brought the remains of Saint Lambert from Maastricht to Liège ; Saint Agilulfus (747-51); Hildebold (785-819), chancellor under Charlemagne and, in 799, first metropolitan of Cologne, whose suffragan sees were Liège, Utrecht, Muenster, Bremen, Osnabrück, and, after 829, Minden. During the vacancy of the archiepiscopal office (842-50) Bremen was cut off from the Archdiocese of Cologne, in spite of the protests of Gunthar (850-71). Willibert (870-89) assisted Ludwig the German to overcome Charles the Bald, by which action the archbishopric became finally a part of the German Empire. Under Hermann I (890-924) Bremen was definitively separated from Cologne. In 954 Bruno I (953-65) was made Duke of Lorraine by his brother, the Emperor Otto the Great; in this way the foundation was laid for the temporal power of the archbishopric of Cologne. For though Bruno's successors did not inherit the ducal rank, they retained a considerable territory (the Kölngau , or district of Cologne), in time increased by the family possessions and acquisitions of many archbishops. Saint Heribert (999-1021) was very active in promoting the welfare of his diocese, was made chancellor for Italy by Otto III , and aided Henry II at the time of his expedition to Rome in 1004. Piligrim (1021-36), who accompanied Henry II and Conrad II on their expeditions to Italy, obtained for himself and for his successors the office of imperial chancellor for Italy. Hermann II (1036-56) was followed by Saint Anno II, who did much for the authority and honour of the See of Cologne; at the same time he was the first archbishop to come into open conflict with the city, now rapily growing in numbers and wealth.

Light your Free Virtual Prayer Candle: We will pray with you

As princes of the German Empire, the archbishops were very frequently involved in dissensions between popes and emperors, often to the injury of their Church, since they were frequently in opposition to the pope. Frederick I (1100-31) was the last Archbishop of Cologne to be invested with the episcopal ring and crosier ; in 1111, during the three-days fight in the streets of Rome, he saved the Emperor Henry V from defeat, after his imprisonment of Pope Paschal II, but in 1114 abandoned the imperial party. His successor, Bruno II (1132-37), was again imperial chancellor for Italy, which office, after the incumbency of Arnold II of Wied (1151-56), was permanently attached to the Archbishop of Cologne. Rainald of Dassel (1159-67), the chancellor of Frederick Barbarossa, and Philip I of Heinsberg (1167-91) increased the prestige of the see ; the latter prelate, after the fall of Henry the Lion, obtained as a fief for himself and his successors the western part of the Duchy of Saxony, under the title of Duke of Westphalia and Engern. One of the most energetic archbishops in the following years was Saint Engelbert . In his short reign (1216-21) he furthered the moral and religious life by several synods, and by the favour he showed the new orders of Franciscans and Dominicans ; he also restored order within the limits of his see, and successfully opposed the continued efforts for civic independence. The long political conflict between the archbishops and the city, during which Conrad of Hostaden (1238-61) and Engelbert II of Falkenburg (1261-74) made many concessions was finally, as above stated, settled in favour of the city, under Siegfried of Westerburg (1274-97). The reconciliation of the archbishops with the city effected by Wikbold of Holte (1297-1304) brought with it increasing influence in the affairs of the German Empire . To the injury of his see, Henry II of Virneburg (1304-32) allied himself with Frederick the Handsome, while Walram of Juelich (1332-49) obtained many privileges from the Emperor Charles IV, whom he had raised to the imperial dignity against Louis of Bavaria. In his time the Black Death spread over Germany and entailed great misery. In 1356, under William of Gennep (1349-62), the dignity of imperial elector, recognized since about the middle of the thirteenth century as belonging to the archiepiscopal office , was formally acknowledged by the Golden Bull. Kuno of Falkenstein (1366-71), also Archbishop of Trier, added (1370) to the temporalities of the see the County of Arnsberg. After his resignation he was succeeded by Frederick III of Saarwerden (1370-1414), who adhered to Urban VI on the occasion of the Western Schism ; after Urban's death he followed a vacillating policy. His successor, Dietrich II of Mörs (1414-63), sought to make Cologne the strongest territorial power in Western Germany, but he was unfortunate in his political enterprises, and brought a heavy burden of debt on his see. Under him the city of Soest was lost to Cologne. After his death, and before the appointment of a new archbishop, the cathedral chapter, the nobility ( Ritterschaft ) and the cities of the archiepiscopal state ( Erzstift ) concluded an agreement ( Erblandsvereinigung ) with regard to the archbishop's hereditary lands, whereby the prelate's rights as temporal lord were considered limited in the archepiscopal State, whose territory, it must be remembered, did not coincide with the ecclesiastical limits of the archdiocese. This agreement was henceforth sworn to by each archbishop at his election. Ruprecht von der Pfalz (1463-80) squandered the revenues of the see, sought by force to gain control of the cities and castles previously mortgaged, and thereby entered into conflicts with the holders of the mortgages. Violence, arson, and devastation visited the diocese in consequence. In 1478 Ruprecht was captured and remained a prisoner until his death. His successor, Hermann IV of Hesse, devoted his energy to the restoration of order, paid a part of the public debt, and, by the diocesan synod of 1483, whose decrees he vigorously enforced, furthered the intellectual and moral elevation of clergy and people. Philip II of Daun (1508-15) walked in the footsteps of his predecessor.

Enjoy our RCIA class? Pay it Forward

The government of Hermann V of Wied (1515-47) brought trouble and disaster on his see. At the Diet of Worms he at first opposed the religious doctrines of Luther. He urged the banning of the Reformer and held a provincial synod in 1536; gradually, however, he turned away from the Catholic Faith, chose adherents of Luther for his counsellors, and allowed the new doctrines to be preached in his diocese. When he openly favoured the spread of Protestantism, he was suspended in 1546, and forced to resign (1547). By the advice of excellent men, such as Gropper, Billick, and others, Adolph III of Schauenburg (1546-56) took strong measures against the preachers brought in by Hermann, and published vigorous decrees against immoral priests. His brother Anton (1556-58) followed a similar course. Under Johann Gebhard of Mansfeld (1558-62) Utrecht ceased to be a suffragan of Cologne, and the Deanery of Zyfflich was incorporated with the newly founded See of Roermond . After the brief reign of Frederick IV of Wied (1562-67) and that of the vigorous Salentin of Isenburg (1567-77), who resigned because he did not wish to take priest's orders, Gebhard II Truchsess of Waldburg, succeeded to the office. He followed the evil course of Hermann of Wied. At first loyal to the Church, he became a Calvinist in 1582, owing to his passion for Agnes von Mansfeld, and sought to Protestantize the see in 1583; he was put under the ban of the empire and deposed, and Duke Ernest of Bavaria chosen as his successor. With Protestant aid Gebhard sought to keep possession of his diocese. But the War of Cologne ( Kölnischer Krieg ), which lasted five years, and brought untold misery on the land, ended in victory for the Catholic party. These attempts of Hermann of Wied and Gebhard to alienate the archdiocese from the Catholic Faith led to the establishment of a permanent papal nunciature in Cologne which existed from 1584 to the extinction of the archiepiscopal State at the end of the eighteenth century ( see NUNCIO ; SECULARIZATION ).

Ernest of Bavaria (1583-1612) was the first of the five princes of the house of Wittelsbach who held the Electorate of Cologne until 1761. Ferdinand of Bavaria (1612-50), Maximilian Henry (1650-88), Joseph Clemens (1688-1723), and Clemens Augustus I (1727-61) succeeded him. Following the tradition of their princely house, these five archbishops were intensely loyal to the Church, and upheld Catholicism in the archdiocese, which, however, had lost 122 parishes in consequence of the Reformation. However, in consequence of the repeated union of several bishoprics in the hands of these Bavarian prelates, the political administration of the territory was held to be of primary, its religious government of secondary, importance. Moreover, the foreign policy of these five Bavarian archbishops was not always fortunate. By their alliance with France, especially during the Spanish and Austrian Wars of Succession, they furthered the political dissolution of the old German Empire (begun in the Thirty Years War ) and encouraged the anti-Hapsburg policy of France which aimed at the final overthrow of the German imperial power. Similarly, their friendly relations to France favoured the introduction of rationalism into Cologne. This spirit of opposition to the Church and to the authority of the popes had a still stronger hold upon Archbishop Maximilian Frederick of Königseck (1761-84). In 1771 he founded an academy at Bonn in opposition to the loyal Catholic University of Cologne, and in 1781 issued in favour of the new academy an order according to which attendance at the University of Cologne was punished by inability to hold any office, either ecclesiastical or civil, in the diocese. The last Elector of Cologne, Maximilian Francis of Austria (1785-1801), took part in the anti-papal Congress of Ems , nominated Eulogius Schneider as professor in the Academy of Bonn, which he raised to the rank of a University in 1786, and instituted reforms similar to those enacted by his brother, the Emperor Joseph II, in Austria. As brother of Marie Antoinette, he was at first opposed to the French Revolution, but soon adopted a policy of inactivity which ultimately resulted in the loss of independence both by the city and the electorate. At the approach of the victorious French army the elector left his residence at Bonn, never to see it again. The French entered Cologne, 26 October, 1794, and Bonn, 8 November. The conquered territory between the Meuse, the Rhine, and the Moselle was divided into four departments governed by a civil commissioner at Mainz, and incorporated with France by the Peace of Luneville in 1801. In 1796 all the ecclesiastical property in the part of the archdiocese held by the French was seized by the civil authority ; in 1802 all religious orders and congregations were suppressed, and their property confiscated. By the Concordat of 1801 between the Apostolic See and Napoleon I, nearly all of the former archdiocese on the left bank of the Rhine was given to the newly founded See of Aachen. The old ecclesiastical organization remained undisturbed in the archdiocesan territory on the right bank of the Rhine. After the death of Maximilian Francis (1801), the cathedral chapter, which had taken refuge in Arnsberg, chose the Austrian Archduke Anthony as his successor, but he never occupied his see, owing to Prussian opposition. In 1803 the remainder of the electorate was secularized, an inglorious end for the ancient Archbishopric of Cologne. The loss to the Catholic Church in Germany was great. The archbishopric, i.e., the territory in which the archbishop was also temporal ruler, included in its Rhenish territory alone (without Westphalia ) 60 square miles and about 199,000 inhabitants (in 1797), of whom 180,000 were on the left bank of the Rhine.

Supporting FREE Catholic Education with Grass-fed Beef

In 1750 the archdiocese contained 860 parishes with as many parish churches, 300 benefices, 400 chapels, 42 collegiate chapters, 21 abbeys (10 Benedictine, 4 Premonstratensian, 7 Cistercian ), 5 Benedictine provostships, 18 Minorite and 24 Franciscan monasteries, 2 Franciscan houses of the Third Order. There were also 20 Capuchin houses, 6 Dominican, 3 Carthusian, 11 Augustinian, 8 of Knights of the Cross, 9 Jesuit ( suppressed in 1773), 2 Servite, and 2 Alexian. The Brothers of Saint Anthony, the Carmelites, the Zionites, the Brothers of Saint Martin had each one house. There were five establishments of the Teutonic Order and nine of the Knights of Malta. The female orders had a total of 146 nunneries (see below, Mooren, III, 426 sqq.). The loss in costly gold and silver church plate, vestments and the treasures of the libraries and archives, is incalculable. When the disorders of the Napoleonic regime had passed, the archdiocese was re-established by Pius VII. Its territory had previously been made a part of Prussia by the Congress of Vienna, in 1815. On 16 July, 1821, by the Bull "De Salute animarum" the Archdiocese of Aachen was abolished, the church of St. Peter in Cologne was again made a metropolitan church, and the territories of the Archdiocese of Cologne defined anew, with its present boundaries, except for a few unimportant changes. It then included 44 deaneries and 685 parishes (536 on the left bank of the Rhine and 149 on the right bank). On the 20th of December, 1824, Ferdinand August von Spiegel was named by the pope as the first archbishop of the new see; on 20 May, 1825, he took charge of the ecclesiastical government, which had been carried on by the vicar capitular, Johann Hermann Joseph von Caspars zu Weiss, from 1801 till his death (1822), and after that time by Prothonotary Johann Wilhelm Schmitz. Archbishop von Spiegel's administration (1824-35) was in many ways beneficial. He alleviated many evils which had crept in during the previous years and made serious efforts for the education of the clergy and for the reorganization of his diocese ; nevertheless, he was too subservient to the Prussian Government, and entered into a secret agreement with it in regard to mixed marriages, contrary to the spirit of the ecclesiastical marriage laws. His successor, Clemens Augustus, Freiherr von Droste zu Vischering , who vigorously opposed the spread of the Hermesian heresy, soon came into conflict with the Prussian Government on the question of mixed marriages, as a result of which he was taken prisoner, 20 November, 1837, and confined in the castle of Minden. This event caused great excitement throughout Germany, and helped to revive the religious life and activity of the German Catholics. When Frederick William IV came to the throne, the archbishop resigned his office in favour of his coadjutor, Johann von Geissel, Bishop of Speyer. As archbishop (1845-64), he displayed a most auspicious activity and infused fresh religious vigour into his diocese. Great injury was done the Church of Cologne by the Prussian Kulturkampf . During its course Archbishop Paul Melchers (1866-85) was imprisoned by the Government in 1874 (till 9 October), and then was forced to leave his diocese. The number of priests fell from 1947 to about 1500, and many parishes remained for years without a priest. After the conclusion of peace between Rome and Prussia, Archbishop Melchers abdicated his see. His successors, Philip Krementz (1885-99; cardinal, 1893), Hubert Simar (1899-1902), and Anton Fischer (since 6 November, 1902; cardinal since 22 June, 1903) devoted themselves to repairing the evil done by the Kulturkampf and developing to a prosperous state the religious and ecclesiastical life of the diocese.

Enjoy our Confirmation Class? Pay it Foward

STATISTICS

The Archdiocese of Cologne includes the Prussian administrative districts of Cologne and Aachen, the greater part of the district of Düsseldorf and small portions of the districts of Coblenz, Trier, and Arnsberg, altogether, 4219 square miles, with about 2,700,000 Catholics (census of 1 December, 1900, 2,522,648). The parishes in 1907 numbered 917, with 51 deaneries; the priests included 1934 secular priests (of whom 214 were stationed in the cathedral city), 208 regulars, and about 60 priests from other dioceses. The metropolitan chapter consists of 1 cathedral, provost ( Domprobst ), 1 cathedral dean ( Domdechant ), 10 residential, and 4 honorary canons. The archbishop is chosen by the cathedral chapter, the Bishops of Trier, Münster, and Paderborn are his suffragans. Within the city of Cologne there are 39 parishes and 3 military churches grouped in two deaneries. In addition to the cathedral chapter there is a collegiate chapter at Aachen. The educational institutions under ecclesiastical control include the archiepiscopal seminary for priests at Cologne, with 83 students (1906-07), the Collegium Albertinum at Bonn (175 students), the Collegium Leoninum at Bonn (104 students), the archiepiscopal seminaries for boys at Neuss, Muenstereifel, Rheinbach, and Opladen, 4 high schools and boarding-colleges for boys, and 26 boarding-schools for girls (the latter conducted by female orders). For the higher education of the clergy there is the Catholic faculty of theology at the University of Bonn, with 14 ecclesiastical professors, in addition to the (Cologne) seminary for priests already mentioned. Ecclesiastical teachers are also employed at 102 secondary schools (gymnasia, technical gymnasia, high schools, academies, and Latin schools, etc.), and 5 Catholic teachers' seminaries, at 42 Catholic girls' high schools and 5 Catholic training schools for women teachers. The total attendance at all the intermediate and higher schools of the archdiocese averages almost 17,400 Catholic boys and 11,700 Catholic girls. The total attendance at the primary schools ( Volksschulen ) is 428,000 children in 11,560 classes. (For the educational relations between the Church and the State see PRUSSIA.)

The religious orders of men in the archdiocese have 42 establishments with about 1100 members, and the orders and congregations of women have 401 with 6200 sisters, there being in the cathedral city alone 43 religious houses with 1140 inmates. The following orders or congregations are represented: Benedictines (1 establishment), Dominicans (2), Franciscans (9), Camillians (1), Capuchins (2), Carthusians (1), Redemptorists (2), Trappists (1), Fathers of the Holy Ghost and Immaculate Heart of Mary (2), Alexian Brothers (9), Brothers of Charity (6), Brothers of Saint Francis (6), Benedictine Sisters of Perpetual Adoration (3), Borromean Sisters (18), Cellites (86) Sisters of Christ (4), Congregation of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Saint Peter Fourier (1), Handmaids of Christ (69), Sisters of Saint Dominic (10), Order of Saint Elizabeth (35), Sisters of Saint Francis (96), Ladies of the Good Shepherd (3), Sisters of the Holy Child Jesus (10), Carmelite Sisters (3), Daughters of the Holy Cross (15), Sisters of Christian Charity (4), Penitent Recollects (1), School Sisters of Notre Dame (2), Ursulines (9), Sisters of Saint Vincent (31). The orders of men are devoted partly to pastoral and mission work, partly to charitable work; the orders of women devote themselves almost entirely either to educational work (instruction and care of young girls in various establishments, sewing schools, girls' high schools, and boarding-schools) or to charitable work in refuges, working-women's homes, servant-girls' homes, the care of the sick in hospitals, hospices, etc.

Light Your Virtual Prayer Candle For a Loved One

It is impossible to mention here all the numerous charities and organizations found within the limits of the archdiocese ; complete statistics are given in M. Brandt's book, "Die katholischen Wohlthätigkeits-Anstalten und Vereine sowie das katholischsociale Vereinswesen ins besondere in der Erzdiöcese Köln" (Cologne, 1896). In the cathedral city alone there are more than 400 religious societies and brotherhoods. The most important of the organizations and charitable institutions in the archdiocese which are not limited to a single parish are as follows: 182 congregations and 71 societies for young men, 160 Catholic working-men's clubs, 74 Catholic journeymen's associations ( Gesellenvereine ), 26 miners' associations, 29 congregations and societies of merchants, 10 societies for women employed in stores, 55 homes and schools for working-women, 22 homes for the insane and idiots, 10 homes for servant girls, 9 refuges for fallen women, 90 orphanages ; also the Elizabeth societies and 225 conferences of the Society of Saint Vincent de Paul, the Saint Regis societies, and others.

The most important churches are the cathedral ( Dom ) of Cologne (see above), the cathedral of Aachen, the churches at Cologne mentioned above, the cathedral churches at Bonn and Essen, the church of Saint Quirinus in Neuss, the churches of the former Abbots of Werden, Knechtsteden, Cornelimünster, and Steinfeld, the double church in Schwarz-Rheindorf, etc.

Enjoy Daily Readings? Pay it Forward