Military Chaplaincy in the Royal Prussian Garrison Münster

With the takeover of the former Catholic prince-bishopric by the Prussians, Münster henceforth belonged to a state entity whose ruling house and the majority of the population were Protestant. Except in Upper Silesia, only the Rhine Province and the Province of Westphalia had a Catholic majority. From this arose conflicts even in relatively tolerant Prussia, which in the second half of the 19th century would intensify in the context of the Kulturkampf. The idea of parity was only slowly developed in the Prussian state. The civil service and the military were largely non-local and initially still predominantly Protestant. For them, military chaplaincy had to be secured.

Münster had no own (new) garrison church. Although in 1904 (and again in 1914) a plan for a large military church on the Neuplatz (later: Hindenburgplatz, now Schlossplatz) was drawn up, this concept was not realized. Already since the beginnings of the Prussian occupation (from 1802) the Apostelkirche had taken on the function of the garrison and first Protestant church in Münster and retained it until the decline of the Prussian state, even after it passed into the possession of the civilian congregation in 1840. Even today Bundeswehr services are still held here. Thus there was and is a special historical relationship between the Apostelkirche and military chaplaincy. Military chaplaincy in this context is understood as the spiritual and pastoral care of military personnel by full-time military chaplains tailored to the special conditions of the military — in other words: military chaplaincy is a collective term for the activities and the organizational structure of churches and religious communities in the military context.

The Prussian commander (Gebhard Leberecht v. Blücher) took immediate care for the military chaplaincy of the Prussian soldiers after the occupation of the city of Münster and requested the allocation of a (Catholic) church for the (Protestant) military service. General Vicar Baron Franz von Fürstenberg offered on 22.08.1802 alternatively the Clemens or the Minoritenkirche for shared use. The first Protestant service subsequently took place in the Clemenskirche and was conducted by a military chaplain from the Prussian garrison town of Hamm. On 02.11.1802 the field preacher Blumenthal was appointed for the military congregation in Münster with a monthly salary of 15 thalers.

The Apostelkirche has its origins as the church of a male monastery, namely the Minorites. They belonged to the Franciscan order, which originated in the 13th century. It was a mendicant order whose monks were to be without possessions. The Minorites, also called Friars Minor, established themselves around 1221 in Cologne, around 1233 in Soest and arrived in Münster around 1250. The order later split into the Observants, the Minorites and the Capuchins; in addition there was the female order of the Poor Clares. The split was mainly caused by a stricter or less strict interpretation of the rules of Saint Francis of Assisi.

The Minorites of Münster belonged to the Cologne province of the order. At the beginning of the 17th century the province comprised three so-called custodies with 10 monasteries and a total of 142 monks. At that time 22 monks are recorded for Münster. In addition there were lay brothers (mainly craftsmen); earlier there had been mostly domestic servants. The seat of the provincial superior was Cologne. The begging district of the Münster Minorites covered (in the 16th century) the whole upper chapter; it was visited by the monks on a rota basis and they mostly asked for foodstuffs, e.g. butter, rye, etc. This was not without return service; in particular the pastoral work of the monks should be mentioned. On fixed dates the Minorites held services in various places. Furthermore, the order had fixed income from capital and lease interest.

For the Münster convent 50 members are named for the year 1629. In Münster there was also a seminary building; the monastery once housed the college of the Cologne provincial order. Theology was taught here. Between the Observants, who were also resident in Münster (since 1613), and the Minorites there were persistent tensions, although the relationship of the Minorites with the citizenry was good. This positive relationship is also symbolized by a weathered memorial stone in the south wall of the church, which commemorates those who fell in the Battle of Valar in 1454. It was Münster citizens who died in the chapter dispute against the cathedral chapter and the nobility in the quarrel over a successor for the prince-bishop. As insurgents they were not allowed to be buried in the cemeteries of Münster parishes. However, they found their final resting place in the cemetery around or in front of the Minoritenkirche. A bronze plaque reproduces the memorial inscription in German.

With the secularization of churches and monasteries the decline of the Minorites also began. After the Prussians took possession of the city of Münster, they were displaced into a small monastery on Salzstraße. The monastery buildings were converted into a barracks (and the choir of the church), the church nave itself became a Protestant church. The Minorites had lost their seat and their economic base; however, the final dissolution of the order was carried out by the French through the decree of 14.11.1811. Most monks then took up parish positions or received pensions.

The former monastery church St. Katharina (patron saint of the sciences) and current Apostelkirche is a towerless — three-aisled — Gothic hall church. The nave has 8 bays, the long monastic choir has 3. The Apostelkirche is — alongside the Johanniskirche — the oldest preserved monastery church in Münster and at the same time the oldest Minorite church in Westphalia. It originated in the second half of the 13th century and was essentially built in three construction phases: around 1280: erection of a two-aisled hall church, around 1500: westward expansion into a three-aisled hall and 1654-61: addition of the eastern bays on the northern side aisle. The church stands on the edge of the Aa lowland and is therefore partially founded on piles. The hall was originally only two-aisled. It initially consisted only of the central and southern side aisles with 6 bays. The pillars in the hall are chamfered and provided with four so-called shafts, which lead up to or support the vault ribs. From the floor to the keystone in the vault a height of 12.80 m is reached. The windows in the older part of the church are two-light (with trefoil). Above the south portal there is a round window with tracery filling.

As was customary for the churches of the medieval mendicant orders, the church is towerless and has only a small slate-clad bell turret on the eastern gable of the nave.

In May 1508 a convent was to assemble in the Minorite monastery in Münster. Due to increased space requirements, the church was extended westward by two bays. At the same time the northern side aisle was extended by four bays. The extension is characterized by three-light windows (with fish-bladder tracery) and plain round pillars. In the west wall we find a large — four-light — window. The result of this expansion was an angular church that was now partly two-aisled and partly three-aisled. This was criticized by the papal legate Fabio Chigi during his stay in Münster on the occasion of the preparations for the Peace of Westphalia (1648), and he promised the financial means for a completion of the house of God. This constructional measure was then financed by Prince-Bishop Christoph Bernhard von Galen and carried out in the years 1654–59/61.

A coat of arms stone of the prince-bishop in the east wall still commemorates this patronage. As part of this completion, the eastern bays of the north side aisle were added; under the direction of the master builder Franz Gaugrebe from Bielefeld this construction presents itself as post-Gothic shaping in the Baroque period and has been described as a successful stylistic adaptation to the existing building fabric in the sense of early monument preservation. Now the Gothic hall was truly completed and constituted a structurally uniform harmonious space. In the course of these works the rood screen, which had hitherto separated the choir with altar from the actual church hall, was also removed.

The three construction phases outlined are also documented by the exterior masonry, which in the oldest part consists of rubble stones, in the late Gothic extension of ashlar and in the area of the final Baroque extension partly (west wall) or entirely (north wall) of brick.

The church peal, consisting of three bells, was cast in 1675 in Amsterdam by Peter Hemony and has survived all the upheavals of time. It is today the oldest coherent set of bells in the city. The old bells had — except for one example — been destroyed along with the bell turret in the 16th century and were then replaced. The remaining old bell did not, however, match the new set of bells and was requisitioned (and melted down) in World War I.

After completion (1661) there were for a long time no structural changes to the Minoritenkirche. Only with the takeover of the house of worship by the Prussian military was the choir separated and three-story apartments for non-commissioned officers installed here; the eastern bays of the side aisles were walled off and used as a sacristy or for the fire brigade. Galleries were installed in the side aisles. After the return of the Prussians, a comprehensive renovation of the church building was undertaken on the initiative of Lieutenant General von Thielemann. The refurbishment followed designs revised by Karl Friedrich Schinkel and also included a re-furnishing of the church. From 1818 the structural changes began and largely reversed the secularization for military purposes. At the same time a sacristy was created under the choir. The altar was renewed. The galleries were to no longer cut through the windows and impair the lighting of the interior of the hall church.

In the years 1867–69 an interior renovation and repainting took place. King Wilhelm I donated two side panels for the altar to the parish. The pulpit was relocated and the south portal redesigned. In 1936/37 the church was (again) restored; the galleries in the church hall were removed and the vaults renewed. The pulpit and the organ were simplified. During these works, overpainted decorations from the Gothic and Renaissance periods were discovered, which — despite the losses in World War II — are today unique in Münster. They date mostly from the second half of the 15th century, but there are also Baroque paintings from 1630. The paintings were probably overpainted during the last expansion of the church[1].

[1] Cf. Helmut Mende, Die Evangelische Apostelkirche Münster, in: Deutsche Kunst und Denkmalpflege. Berlin und Wien, p. 162 ff. and Nikolaus Rodenkirchen, Die Gewölbemalerei, ibid., p. 165 ff.

World War II brought the garrison town of Münster the most severe destruction; the Apostelkirche also suffered considerable damage from bomb hits. The three western bays were destroyed and the roof truss, the walls (including the windows), the pillars, the vaults and the medieval paintings were heavily damaged (partly by the air pressure). After initial securing works in 1945–47, the church was gradually rebuilt until 1956. The first service in the church after the severe war damage took place in 1949. In 1960 a sacristy was added on the north side of the choir. The old sacristy under the choir was removed and the choir lowered.

In the course of the construction of a community center north of the choir (1963/64) damage occurred to the church's foundation and resulting static problems. The church then had to be partially re-founded. The organ dates from 1968 and was overhauled in 1990. In the 1970s the chancel was redesigned; the provisional glazing installed after the wartime losses was only replaced in 1990–92 by new colored windows based on designs by the artist Paul Weigmann/ Leverkusen.

In the old Prussian army (before 1806) the establishment of each regiment included one (Lutheran) field preacher. He belonged to the junior staff. In the event of a vacancy, the respective regimental owner had a right of proposal, but the candidates had to have studied in Halle and could not be younger than 25 years. The candidate also had to present himself beforehand to the respective field provost, who examined him for suitability. In larger garrisons there were garrison preachers. After 6 (–9) years of service the field preachers were usually provided with civilian parishes. Reformed and Catholic military chaplains were only employed in the event of mobilization or war. At the mobilization in 1805 a total of 8 Catholic (field) preachers were employed.

When in 1802 the capital and essential parts of the prince-bishopric of Münster fell to Prussia, the future Catholic military chaplaincy became a problem. King Frederick William III always saw himself as a Protestant prince and was personally hostile to the Catholic Church. Under this sign an equal treatment of Catholic and Protestant military chaplaincy could not prosper. Even before the Rhineland and Westphalia became Prussian provinces in 1815 and the number of Catholics in the Prussian army significantly increased, larger Catholic communities existed only in Berlin, in Upper Silesia and in West Prussia. For example, the congregation of the Catholic St. Hedwig's Church in Berlin numbered about 10,000 members including military personnel in 1799. Already before 1806, efforts were made — especially in Berlin, Goldapp, Stettin and Münster — to ensure adequate Catholic military chaplaincy even in peacetime.

The prince-bishopric troops had their own military chaplain in Münster (Dean Albers) and special garrison services; otherwise parish duties (baptism, marriage, burial, etc.) were carried out by city parish priests. After the death of the dean in 1803 the position was not filled and remained vacant, although the Prussian garrison commander himself requested a reappointment.

It was problematic that already in old Prussian times the field preacher's congregation included "all and every staff senior and junior officers, privates, and briefly, everything that belongs to the establishment of a regiment or battalion, likewise the wives, children, servants, male servants and maids, as long as they are actually in service" (2nd main chapter, 1st section, § I of the Military Consistorial Regulation of 15.07.1750). The spiritual care of this military congregation was exclusively the responsibility of the Protestant field preacher, i.e., he was responsible for conducting services, parish duties (baptisms, marriages, burials), keeping the church register; moreover he instructed officer cadets or acted in the respective regimental schools. In wartime he accompanied the regiment or battalion to the field. The field preacher was also allowed to perform parish duties for the Catholic members of the military congregation; at least he was entitled in any case (!) to the fees[1]. The consequence was that Catholic soldiers — if they turned to a Catholic civilian priest — paid the fees twice[2]. The inadequate military chaplaincy for Catholic soldiers remained a problem and this would only be laboriously solved after the Napoleonic Wars.

After the defeat and demise of the old Prussian army in 1806/07 in the struggle against the young French Empire, military chaplaincy was reorganized as part of the reforms. In peacetime only three military preachers were to be employed at each brigade. The field preacher of the Guard took over the function of the field provost. Only in wartime were — as before — Reformed and Catholic military chaplains to be employed. The confessional question therefore remained current and the struggle for the employment of Catholic military chaplains would only be truly successful under King Frederick William IV.

[1] Thus confession had no influence on parish relations. The Military Church Regulation of 28.03.1811 also defined the military congregation similarly comprehensively (Section IV, numbers 2–4). Even after the Military Church Ordinance of 1832 (§ 34) Catholic military personnel still belonged to a unified military congregation, i.e., the confessional military church system was adhered to (for a long time). In the garrisons the individual pastoral care of Catholic soldiers could indeed be transferred to a Catholic clergyman, but the regular parochus of the military congregation remained the Protestant military chaplain. The Catholic civilian clergyman had to inform him of any baptisms, marriages and deaths performed.

[2] The Military Consistorial Regulation (1750) prescribed that all baptisms of legitimate children of soldiers were only to be performed by the Protestant military chaplain. Illegitimate children were baptized under the mother's name (by the respective civilian clergyman); but if the mother was a soldier's daughter, responsibility for the baptism again lay solely with the military chaplain. The Military Church Regulation (1811) then allowed optionally the baptism of children of Reformed or Catholic military personnel by clergy of the respective confession; in such cases the Protestant field preacher was no longer entitled to the fees.

After the Wars of Liberation, War Minister von Boyen proposed that two Protestant and one Catholic military preachers be employed at each brigade. The creation of a separate field ministry under a Catholic field provost was even discussed. At that time it was estimated there were about 36,000 Catholic soldiers (including family members there were 48,000 Catholics). For 1832 the proportion of Catholic soldiers in the Prussian army was given as 5/12. For 1837 there are concrete figures for the number of Catholic soldiers (including family members): Cologne: 3,839; Düsseldorf: 1,275; Münster: 1,718; Neisse: 3,616; Posen: 1,429; Breslau: 2,051; Berlin: 3,873; Potsdam: 1,537; and Wesel: 2,431.

The king's answer to the reform proposals was negative. Only under massive pressure from the Rhineland was the trial employment of three Catholic military personnel permitted by general order of 22.04.1834. Similar requests or petitions, e.g. for the area of the VII Army Corps (Münster), were initially rejected.

At least in 1837 the compulsion for Catholic soldiers to participate in the Protestant military service according to the so-called church parade was abolished[1]. This had been experienced by many as coercion of conscience and led to massive criticism from contemporaries. The handling of mixed marriages and children from these unions repeatedly led to tensions[2].

In 1838 the king finally agreed to the employment of Catholic military personnel in places with troop contingents that had a predominantly Catholic proportion. The founding of a separate Catholic field provostry, however, only succeeded under his successor: King Frederick William IV. He was considerably more liberal towards the Catholic Church.

[1] By general order of 11.12.1809 a church parade was prescribed to take place once monthly with a subsequent public service for all (!) soldiers of the regiments or battalions of a garrison. The king desired a solemn service for all soldiers "in the same manner." Previously Catholic soldiers had not been forced to participate in services of another confession, but were led into Catholic churches.

[2] The Catholic Church demanded at the marriage of Protestant soldiers with Catholic women the sworn promise that the children would be raised in the Catholic confession. Otherwise the sacrament of marriage was refused.

He finally allowed by decree of 04.02.1848 the appointment of a military pastor for each army corps. This had already taken place for the VII Army Corps in 1843.

From 1842 to 1907 the Catholic military service was held in the Petrikirche, thereafter in the Kreuzkirche. In 1931 it was held again in the Petrikirche.

After the apparent solution of the confessional issue, renewed tensions arose in the context of the Kulturkampf. The background was the conflict between the Catholic Church under Pope Pius IX and the Kingdom of Prussia and the German Empire under the political leadership of Chancellor Otto von Bismarck.

A dispute over the shared use of the Protestant garrison church in Cologne by Old Catholics led on 15.03.1873 to the removal of the Catholic field provost (Namszanowski).

The position was only refilled after long negotiations in 1888. The new Catholic field provost (Assmann) received an official instruction dated 02.11.1888.

The exemption of theology students from military service was lifted in 1874 and subsequently Catholic priests were even forced into military service on several occasions.

After the end of the so-called Kulturkampf the conditions normalized and the tensions caused by different confessions subsided or dissolved.

In principle, soldiers were now to be enabled to receive the religious rites of their respective confessions.

Even in peacetime the German Reich provided for religious care. Military chaplaincy was organized militarily.

In 1914 the German Imperial Army included among Protestant clergymen: 1 field provost, 21 military senior pastors, 101 military pastors and 98 sacristans; among Catholic clergymen: 1 field provost, 9 military senior pastors, 60 military pastors and 54 sacristans. Military chaplains were military officials with the rank of a military senior pastor or division or garrison pastor.

In Bavaria, Baden-Württemberg and Saxony military chaplains also had the status of military officials.

With the mobilization (1914) the military chaplains became military officials with officer rank.

In the field each division was accompanied by one Catholic and one Protestant pastor. In addition, civilian clergy employed under contract served as “extraordinary volunteer field chaplains.” At the end of 1914 so-called senior field pastors for the West and the East directed military chaplaincy. From the summer of 1917 there was an army senior pastor in each army area. In Bavaria clergy additionally served as orderlies; from 1916 they were called hospital chaplains. Field-grey clothing was introduced for military chaplains already in 1913. Typical for them were the round felt hat with the brim turned up on the right and the field-grey overcoat. The hat was decorated with a violet hatband. Both Protestant and Catholic military chaplains wore an official cross, which was designed differently for the two confessions. Catholic clergymen also wore a violet stole on certain occasions. In 1915 a new field uniform was introduced, with smaller changes for the military chaplains.