Johann Baptist Franzelin (1816–86): A Jesuit Cardinal Shaping the Official Teaching of the Church at the Time of the First Vatican Council

Abstract

Johann Baptist Franzelin (1816–86), a Jesuit from South Tyrol, was an important systematic theologian at the Collegio Romano. Against emerging neo-Scholasticism, he supported the growing awareness of the need for historical context and to see theological doctrines in their development over time. He was an influential theologian at the First Vatican Council. Created cardinal by Pope Pius ix in 1876, he engaged in the work of the Roman Curia, for example against the German Kulturkampf and for the Third Plenary Council of the Catholic Church in the usa (Baltimore, 1884). This article provides an overview of Franzelin’s biography and analyzes his contributions to theology and church politics.