Venerated in Catholic Church Name Hildegard Burjan Party Austrian People's Party | Feast June 12 Role Politician Beatified January 29, 2012 | |
 | ||
Born January 30, 1883 ( 1883-01-30 ) | ||
Blessed hildegard burjan an austrian politician who defended life and the poor
Hildegard Burjan, born Hildegard Freund (January 30, 1883 in Gorlitz, Germany – June 11, 1933, in Vienna, Austria) was the founder of a Catholic religious congregation for women and an Austrian politician. She was beatified by the Catholic Church in 2012.
Contents
- Blessed hildegard burjan an austrian politician who defended life and the poor
- Hildegard burjan seligsprechung 29 j nner 2012
- Early life
- Interest in social issues
- The Caritas Socialis
- Activities as a politician
- Veneration
- Literature
- References
Hildegard burjan seligsprechung 29 j nner 2012
Early life
Hildegard Freund was born into a liberal Jewish family in Germany. She studied literature, philosophy and sociology in Switzerland and Berlin and obtained a Ph.D. in 1908. In 1907, she married the Hungarian entrepreneur Alexander Burjan.
In 1909 she was surprisingly healed from a grave sickness, which prompted her conversion to Catholicism. She moved with her husband to Vienna, where she bore her only daughter Elisabeth, even though the pregnancy had at times threatened her life.
Interest in social issues
The industrialist's wife soon started to interest herself in the social issues of the day, especially concerning the working conditions and spiritual welfare of the poor. In 1912, she founded theSociety of Christian Women Working at Home and in 1918 the Society for Social Help.
The Caritas Socialis
Her main achievement however remains the founding of a religious congregation for serving the poor. On October 4, 1919, Hildegard Burjan founded the congregation of sisters named Caritas Socialis. The order cares especially for women and children in difficult conditions and also for the elderly and terminally ill people, also playing a pioneer role in the hospice movement in Austria.
Activities as a politician
Beginning in 1918, Hildegard Burjan was also politically active in the Christian-Social Party. In 1919, she became one of the first female members of the Parliament of Austria. She concerned herself especially with issues such as equal wages for men and women and social security for the working class as well as social and spiritual care for poor families.
Veneration
The beatification process for Hildegard Burjan was initiated in 1963 by Cardinal Franz Konig, then Archbishop of Vienna. On July 6, 2007, she was declared a Venerable, and on January 29, 2012, she was proclaimed blessed in St. Stephen's cathedral in Vienna, Austria.
On Thursday 11 June, 2015, a memorial was official revealed and blessed at a special Mass held at St. Stephan's cathedral. The blessing was conducted by Weihbischof DDr. Helmut Kratzl and Erzbischof Dr. Peter Zurbriggen.