Valentin Gröne

A Catholic theologian, b. at Paderborn, 7 December, 1817; d. at Irmgarteichen, in the district Siegen, Westphalia, 18 March, 1882. On the completion of his studies he was ordained priest at Paderborn (4 July, 1844), after which he took an advanced course in Church history at the University of Munich, where he obtained the degree of Doctor in Theology (1848). He was then sent as chaplain to Bielefeld, Warstein (10 Nov., 1848), Brilon, Scherfede (10 Dec., 1853), and on 14 Oct., 1857, was appointed rector of the city high-school at Fredeburg, going later (17 Dec., 1860) to Schmallenherg in a similar capacity. On 24 Sept., 1868, he was made pastor at Irmgarteichen, and later dean.

Gröne’s best-known works are “Tetzel und Luther oder Lebensgeschichte und Rechtfertigung des Ablasspredigers und Inquisitors Dr. Johann Tetzel aus dem Predigerorden (Soest and Olpe, 1853, 2nd ed. 1860, abridged popular ed., “Tetzel und Luthur”, Soest. 1862); “Die Papst-Geschichte” (2 vols., Ratisbon, 1864- 66, 2nd ed., 1875). Other important works are: “Sacramentum oder Begriff und Bedeutung von Sacrament in der alten Kirche bis zur Scholastik” [Brilon (Soest), 1853]; “Glaube und Wissenschaft” (Schaffhausen, 1860); “Der Ablass, seine Geschichte und Bedeutung in der Heilsokonomie” (Ratisbon, 1863); “Compendium der Kirchengeschichte” (Ratisbon, 1870). Among his minor writings are: “Zustand der Kirche Deutschlands vor del Reformation” in the “Theologische Quartalschrift” (Tübingen, 1862), 84-138; “Papst und Kirchenstaat” (Arnsberg, 1862). His translations for the Kempten “Bibliothek der Kirchenvater” are entitled “Tatians, des Kirchenschriftstellers, Rede an die Griechen” (1872); “Melitos des Bischofs von Sardes, Rede an den Kaiser Antonius” (1873), “Hippolytus, des Presbyters and Martyrers, Buch uber Christus und den Antichrist” (1873); “Hippolytus Canones” (1874), “Ausgewahlte Schriften des hl. Basilius des Grossen, Bischofs von Caesarea und Kirchenlehrers” (3 vols., 1875-81).