With sadness we inform that our brother, Hermann Schalück, OFM, former Minister General (1991-1997), died unexpectedly on the morning of 26 January 2024 at around 11.00 a.m. at the House of the Mission of the Sisters of the Most Precious Blood in Neuenbeken, near Paderborn (Germany). He was 84 years old.
The funeral will take place on Monday, 5 February 2024 in Paderborn.
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Biography:
* 08 May 1939 in St. Vit (now Rheda-Wiedenbrück) † 26 January 2024 in Neuenbeken
Friedhelm Schalück was born in St. Vit on 8 May 1939 as the son of the farmer Wilhelm Schalück and his wife Ida, née Surmann. He grew up with eight siblings. In 1959, he graduated from the Franciscan College in St Ludwig/Vlodrop.
On 15 April 1959, he was accepted into the novitiate of the then Franciscan Province of Saxonia in Rietberg and was given the religious name Hermann. He made his solemn profession on 19 April 1963 in Warendorf. Archbishop Lorenz Cardinal Jäger ordained him a priest on 22 July 1965.
After further studies at the Ludwig Maximilian University in Munich, he was awarded his doctorate in theology on 7 February 1970 with a dissertation on the idea of poverty in Bonaventure's theology.
After a short period of teaching at the then Franciscan and Capuchin religious college in Munich, he was elected Provincial of Saxonia in April 1973. He held this office until 1983. His next tasks until June 1997 were working in the General Curia of the Order in Rome: 1983 Secretary General for Formation and Studies, 1985 Definitor General and from June 1991 Minister General.
After his return to Germany, he became President of the International Catholic Relief Organisation missio e.V., based in Aachen, in November 1997. In 1998 he was appointed a member of the Congregation for the Propagation of the Gospel. The Vice President of missio, Dr. Gregor von Fürstenberg, paid tribute to Hermann's work in an obituary: “His life's work was a worldwide commitment to the poor and the preservation of creation. His work was rooted in a deep Franciscan spirituality. We are deeply grateful for his work, which continues to shape missio to this day.”
In 2008, he moved to Munich after ending his work for missio. His attention to the missionary mission of the Church and the Franciscan Order remained focussed when he moved to the Franciscan mission headquarters in Bonn-Bad Godesberg in 2013. In 2021, he returned close to home and was transferred to Paderborn.
Increasing health problems following a fall in 2023 made it necessary for him to be admitted to the care centre of the Missionary Sisters of the Holy Blood in Neuenbeken near Paderborn. He settled in well there and continued to observe world events with his open eyes.
On the morning of 26 January 2024, he passed away unexpectedly in his room while the Eucharist was being celebrated in the convent church with a retreat for the sisters.
