His Eminence

Friedrich Gustav Piffl
Cardinal, Archbishop of Vienna
ChurchRoman Catholic Church
ArchdioceseVienna
Installed1 June 1913
Term ended21 April 1932
PredecessorFranz Xaver Nagl
SuccessorTheodor Innitzer
Other post(s)Cardinal-Priest of San Marco
Orders
Ordination8 January 1888
Consecration1 June 1913
Created cardinal25 May 1914
by Pius X
RankCardinal-Priest
Personal details
Born(1864-10-15)15 October 1864
Lanškroun Austrian Empire (Present day Czech Republic)
Died21 April 1932(1932-04-21) (aged 67)
Vienna Austria
NationalityAustrian
Coat of armsFriedrich Gustav Piffl's coat of arms
Styles of
Friedrich Gustav Piffl
Reference styleHis Eminence
Spoken styleYour Eminence
Informal styleCardinal
SeeVienna

Friedrich Gustav Piffl (15 October 1864 – 21 April 1932) was a Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church and Archbishop of Vienna.

Early life and education

Gustav Piffl was born in Lanškroun, Bohemia, in what was then the Austrian Empire. His father, Rudolf Piffl, was a bookseller and shopkeeper. He volunteered for a year in the Austrian army as a young man. After deciding to become a priest he enrolled in the Teutonic College of Santa Maria in Camposanto in Rome and later became an Augustinian canon at the Abbey of Klosterneuburg, Austria, in 1883. His name in religion was Friedrich. He finished his theological studies at the University of Vienna.

Priesthood

He was ordained on 8 January 1888 and served afterwards as a priest in various parishes of the Archdiocese of Vienna. He was the pastor of Klosterneuburg's abbey church until 1913 and led the community as its provost from 1907 to 1913.

Episcopate

Pope Pius X appointed him Archbishop of Vienna on 2 May 1913. He was consecrated on 1 June 1913. Pope Pius raised him to the cardinalate, creating him Cardinal-Priest of S. Marco on 25 May 1914. He participated in the conclaves of 1914 that elected Pope Benedict XV and 1922 that elected Pope Pius XI. Piffl presided at the funeral of Austria's Emperor Franz Josef.[1]

Piffl visited the United States in 1926, giving the opening address (in German) at Chicago's Eucharistic Congress.[2]

He was not born an aristocrat (his father was a book-binder), but received the title of prince-archbishop of Vienna, holding office at the dissolution of Austria-Hungary in 1918. When he died in 1932 in Vienna at the age of 67, he was the last to hold the title.[1]

References

  1. 1 2 "Cardinal Piffl". Catholic Union and Times. Buffalo, New York. 28 April 1932. p. 2.
  2. "250,000 Reverent Women". The News-Herald. Chicago. 22 June 1926. p. 1.
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