Blessed Fr. Adolph Kolping (1813-1865) –Image: The Black Cordelias
(Franciscan Media) Born in the village of Kerpen Germany in 1813 Adolph Kolping became a shoemaker at an early age because of his families economic situation–Ordained in 1845, Kolping ministered to young workers in Cologne, establishing a choir which by 1849 grew into the ‘Young Workman’s Society’ a branch of this began in St Louis, Missouri in 1856
Nine years later, there were over 400 ‘Gersellenvereine’ (workman societies) around the world more commonly called the Kolping Societies today this group has over 500,000 members in 54 countries emphasizing the sanctification of the family life and dignity of labor.
Father Kolping, worked to improve conditions for workers and greatly assisted those in need.
Father Kolping once told his followers: “The first thing a person finds in life and the last to which he holds out his hand and the most precious he possesses even if he does not realize it, is his family.”
Blessed Fr. Kolping was beatified by Pope John Paul II on the 27 October, 1991 who said during his homily:
“Adolph Kolping gathered skilled workers and factory laborers together thus he overcome their isolation and defeatism–a faith society gave them strength to go out into their everyday lives as Christ’s witnesses before God and the world, to come together, to become strengthened in the assembly and thus to scatter again is and still remains our duty today. We are not Christians for ourselves alone but always for others too.”
More here on Blessed Fr. Adolph Kolping from The Black Cordelias
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