Gregorius Thomas Ziegler

Gregorius Thomas Ziegler, bishop of Linz, (March 7, 1770 – April 15, 1852), was born at Kirchheim near Augsburg. He joined the Benedictines at Wiblingen Abbey in 1788 and was ordained priest on 25 May 1793. He taught in various Benedicting institutions until 23 October 1852 (this was after he died?), when he became prior of that Wiblingen Abbey.

After the dissolution of Wiblingen abbey in 1806 he removed with some of his confreres to Tyniec in Poland and taught theology at the neighbouring University of Cracow. When the Benedictines were forced to leave Tyniec in 1809 he was engaged as professor of church history at the Lyceum of Linz, 1809-15, and of theology at Vienna, 1815-22. On 2 February 1822, he became Bishop of the new diocese of Tyniec, but transferred his see to Tarnów, where he began the erection of a seminary and renovated the cathedral. On April 13, 1827, he was promoted to the diocese of Linz, where he remained until his death.

He laboured successfully for the emancipation of the Church from governmental encroachments, fostered the religious life of the clergy and laity by introducing clerical retreats and popular missions, and advanced the religious education of the laity by introducing religious orders. he is the author of "Die Feier der heil. Firmung in der Kath. Kirche" (Vienna, 1817); "Das Kath. Glaubensprincip" (Vienna, 1823); "Züge und Schilderungern aus dem Leben des sel. Seb. Franz Job" (Linz, 1835) and various minor works, pastoral letters, occasional lectures, and sermons. He also re-edited Klypfel's "institutiones theologiae dogmaticae" (Vienna, 1819-21) and contributed various theological treatises to Jakob Frint's "Theologische Zeitschrift" (Vienna, 1813-16).