Blessed Adolph Kolping

Adolph Kolping (8 December 1813 — 4 December 1865) was a German Catholic priest and the founder of the Kolping Association. He led the movement for providing and promoting social support for workers in industrialized cities while also working to promote the dignities of workers in accordance with the social magisterium of the faith. He was called Gesellenvater (the Journeymen's Father). The beatification for the priest commenced on 21 March 1934 and he was later titled as Venerable in 1989. His beatification was celebrated under Pope John Paul II on 27 October 1991 in Saint Peter's Square; his liturgical feast is not affixed to the date of his death as is the norm but rather on 6 December. Adolph Kolping was born on 8 December 1813 in Kerpen as the fourth of five children to the poor shepherd Peter Kolping (d. 12 April 1845) and Anna Maria Zurheyden (d. 4 April 1833). He often lived in the shadow of frail health during his childhood. He proved to be an able student while in school from 1820 to 1826 but his poverty prevented him from furthering his education despite his commitment to pursue additional studies. In 1831 he travelled to Cologne as a shoemaker's assistant and soon became shocked with the living conditions of the working class that lived there and this proved to be definitive in influencing his decision to become a priest; he remained a shoemaker until 1841. Kolping's desire for higher education never ceased. In summer 1834 he attended the Three Kings School and afterwards in 1841 began his theological education in Munich (1841–42) at the college there as well as later in Bonn (1842–44) and Cologne (26 March 1844 – 1845). His time spent on his studies saw him become friends with the future Bishop of Mainz Wilhelm Emmanuel von Ketteler. Kolping was ordained to the priesthood on 13 April 1845 in Cologne's Minoritenkirche but his father died the night before so his ordination was full of mixed emotions.