Johann Michael Raich

Johann Michael Raich

Catholic theologian, born at Ottobeuren in Bavaria, 17 January, 1832; died at Mainz, 28 March, 1907. Raich pursued his gymnasial studies under the Benedictines at St. Stephen's at Augsburg, and studied philosophy and theology at the Collegium Germanicum at Rome (1852-5). On 29 May, 1858, he was ordained priest at the same place. In the autumn of 1859 he left Rome and went to Mainz as secretary of Bishop von Ketteler. He accompanied the bishop on journeys and thus was at Rome during the Vatican Council. He was also a cathedral prebend from 4 May, 1867. After the death of Bishop von Ketteler, during the years of the Kulturkampf, Raich had a position in the episcopal Chancery. On 29 November, 1890, Bishop Haffner appointed him cathedral canon, and on 11 April, 1900, he became cathedral dean.

Raich did much notable literary work. Among his writings are: "Die Auflehnung Döllingers gegen die Kirche u. ihre Autotät" (Mainz, 1871); "Ueber das Alter der Erstcommunicanten" (Mainz, 1875); "Shakespeare's Stellung zur katholischen Religion" (Mainz, 1884); "Die innere Unwahrheit der Freimaurerei" (first issued at Mainz, 1884, under the pseudonym of Otto Beuren; 2nd ed. under his own name Raich, 1897); "St. Augustinus u. der Mosaische Schöpfungsbericht" (Frankfort-on-Main, 1889). Besides these original works he edited the following: Liebermann's "Institutiones theologicæ" (10th ed., 2 vols., Mainz, 1870); "Joannis Maldonati Commentarii in quatuor Evangelistas" (new ed., 2 vols., Mainz, 1874); "Predigten des Bischofs von Ketteler" (2 vols., Mainz, 1878); "Briefe von u. an Wilhelm Emmanuel Freiherrn von Ketteler, Bischof von Mainz" (Mainz, 1879); "Hirtenbriefe von Wilhelm Emmanuel Freiherrn von Ketteler, Bischof von Mainz" (Mainz, 1904); "Novalis' Briefwechsel mit Schlegel" (Mainz, 1880); "Dorothes von Schlegel geb. Mendelssohn und deren Söhne Johannes und Phillip Viet, Briefwechsel" (w vols., Mainz, 1881); J.B. Rady's "Geschichte der katholischen Kirche in Hessen" (Mainz, 1904). After the death of Heinrich and Moufang, Raich was editor of "Der Katholik" from 1891 to 1907. From 1887 he also revised the "Frankfurter zeitgemässen Broschüren".

FRIEDRICH LAUCHERT