- Friedrich Lorenz
Friedrich Lorenz (10 June 1897 in Klein Freden – 13 November 1944 in Halle) was a
Catholic priest and a member of theMissionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate .Life
Friedrich Lorenz was born as a postman's son in 1897 in Klein Freden in today's Hildesheim district in
Lower Saxony . In 1902, the family moved toHildesheim . Here Lorenz had his first contact with the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate. He went to the St. Karl Oblateboarding school in Limburg in theNetherlands from 1911 to 1916. In connection with this, he joined theNovitiate of the Oblates at Maria EngelportMonastery , although one month later, the monastery had to let him go because he had been called into thearmy . In theFirst World War , he fought as acorporal and anon-commissioned officer on the Western Front. For his bravery, he was awarded theIron Cross , second class.After the war, he joined the monastery again, took his eternal vows on 25 July 1923, and a year later, was ordained a priest by the
Bishop ofFulda , Joseph Damian Schmitt. Lorenz had his first posting in the People's Mission. Because he found it hard to deliver sermons, he was transferred toSchwerin .On 1 September 1939, he had to return to the military as a
chaplain as theSecond World War was looming. Once again, he received the Iron Cross for his bravery. In 1940, he returned toSchwerin . Here he developed contacts with the "Wednesday Circle" ("Mittwochskreis"), a discussion group for men from the Stettin pastoral area. On 4 February 1943, the Wednesday Circle was stormed by theGestapo resulting in 40 people being arrested, among them Friedrich Lorenz. Lorenz was sentenced by the "Reichskriegsgericht" inTorgau on 28 July 1944 to death for "listening to enemy broadcasts", "undermining the fighting forces", and "helping the enemy". The sentence was upheld in later proceedings from 2 to 4 September. On 13 November 1944 at 16:00, Father Friedrich Lorenz OMI was beheaded in Halle. His body was cremated. The burial of the urn took place on 3 November 1947 in the monastery graveyard in Hünfeld.External links
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* [http://www.bonifatiuskloster.de/KlosterTote/lorenz.htm Biography] (in German)
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