Joseph Zimmermann (bishop)

Joseph Zimmermann (M.S.F.) (12 December 1923 – 4 December 1988) was a Swiss Catholic prelate who served as bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Morombe in Madagascar.[1][2][3]

Joseph Zimmermann
Personal details
Born(1923-12-12)12 December 1923
Birmenstorf, Aargau, Switzerland
Died4 December 1988(1988-12-04) (aged 64)
Map of the diocese of Morombe in southwestern Madagascar
Diocese of Morombe

Zimmermann was born in Birmenstorf, Aargau, Switzerland,[4] and attended the College du Christ-Roi in Nuolen.[5] A member of the Missionaries of the Holy Family [de; fr], he made his first vows in 1945 and was ordained to the priesthood in 1950.[6][7] In 1955 he began working as a missionary in Madagascar.[8][9]

In 1960, Pope John XXIII created the Roman Catholic Diocese of Morombe and named Zimmermann its bishop.[10] Zimmermann was the first Swiss member of the Missionaries of the Holy Family to be made bishop.[4] He was consecrated on 23 October by Franz von Streng [de; pl], with Paul Joseph Girouard and Johannes Anton Vonderach [de; it] as principal co-consecrators.[1][4] On 20 November he was installed at the cathedral in Morombe.[6] As of 1965, the diocese of Morombe contained approximately 121,000 people, 10,000 of whom were Catholic.[8]

In 1988 Zimmermann died in office after suffering a fall.[7][11] His body is buried in Morombe.[6]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b "Bishop Joseph Zimmermann [Catholic-Hierarchy]". www.catholic-hierarchy.org. Retrieved 17 May 2021.
  2. ^ "Vescovo Joseph Zimmermann MSF". Missionaries of the Holy Family.
  3. ^ "Lasa ny Raiamandreniben'ny diosezin'i Morombe - Lakroan'i Madagasikara on line - Les actualités sociales et religieuses à Madagascar" [The Patriarch of the Diocese of Morombe is gone]. www.lakroa.mg (in Malagasy). Retrieved 19 August 2021.
  4. ^ a b c "Consécration épiscopale d'un évêque missionnaire suisse" (PDF). Nouvelliste Valaisan. Vol. 58, no. 242. 19 October 1960. p. 2.
  5. ^ "Mgr Zimmermann fêté à Einsiedeln" (PDF). La Liberté. Vol. 91, no. 252. 28 October 1960. p. 3.
  6. ^ a b c "Missionaires". ecar-morombe.org. Roman Catholic Diocese of Morombe. Archived from the original on 21 March 2017.
  7. ^ a b "Diocese of Morombe, Madagascar". GCatholic. Retrieved 12 February 2018.
  8. ^ a b "Nos évêques missionnaires suisses" (PDF). Nouvelliste du Rhône. Vol. 5, no. 238. 15 October 1965. p. 10.
  9. ^ "Chronologie der CH-MSF-Madagaskar Mission 02" (PDF). Miray-Madagaskar (in German). 16 December 2018. Retrieved 19 August 2021.
  10. ^ "Un nouvel évêque missionnaire suisse" (PDF). La Liberté. Vol. 90, no. 138. 15 June 1960. p. 3.
  11. ^ "Création du diocèse". ecar-morombe.org. Roman Catholic Diocese of Morombe. Archived from the original on 24 February 2021.