Vinzenz Eduard Milde
|
His Excellency Vinzenz Eduard Milde |
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|---|---|
| Prince-Archbishop of Vienna | |
 |
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| Church | Roman Catholic |
| Archdiocese | Vienna |
| Appointed | 27 December 1831 |
| In office | 1832–1853 |
| Predecessor | Leopold Maximilian von Firmian |
| Successor | Joseph Othmar Rauscher |
| Orders | |
| Ordination | 9 March 1800 |
| Consecration | 13 July 1823 by Matthias Paulus Steindl |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
May 11, 1777 Brno Moravia (Present day Czech Republic) |
| Died | March 14, 1853 (aged 75) |
| Nationality | Moravian |
| Previous post | Bishop of Litoměřice (1823–1831) |
| Coat of arms |  |
Vinzenz Eduard Milde (1777, in Brünn, Moravia – 1853 at Vienna) was Prince-Archbishop of Vienna. He was the first Prince-Archbishop and commoner: the see had always hitherto been occupied by a nobleman.
He entered the "Alumnat" or little seminary at Vienna in 1794. There he formed an intimate friendship with Vinzenz Darnaut, the future professor of church history, and with Jakob Frint, later Bishop of St. Pölten. The three men were again united as court chaplains, and remained friends for the remainder of their lives. He later attended the Seminary of Vienna. Meanwhile, Milde became catechist in the Normal High School and successor of Augustin Gruber, and occupied also the chair of pedagogics at the university.
Later, as court chaplain at Schönbrunn, Milde spoke comfortingly to the Emperor Franz I, after a battle lost to Napoleon. The emperor named Milde Bishop of Leitmeritz in 1823, and in 1831 Prince-Archbishop of Vienna.
The year of the Revolution (1848) brought him bitter enmities and severe illness. He was between two fires. On 13 March the storm broke, and four days later he warned his clergy, in a circular letter, not to overstep the bounds of their calling: "Priests are not intended to advise regarding the earthly affairs of men, nor to regulate them, but should only concern themselves with interior matters pertaining to the salvation of souls." But the revolution soon menaced the archbishop. Mock serenades were held repeatedly outside his palace and its windows were broken. On the other hand, a portion of the clergy clamoured that he should be declared incapable of managing the affairs of the diocese and expressed the hope of being led to victory by a stronger personality.
A deputation of the clergy represented this to Milde, who complied as far as possible by retiring to his castle of Kranichberg. When the draft of the fundamental laws of the Austrian constitution was discussed by the assembly of the States of the Empire at Kremsier, the archbishop drew up an address to the assembly:
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Wikipedia