Johannes Maria Gföllner

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Johannes Evangelist Maria Gföllner (17 December 1867, Waizenkirchen – 3 June 1941, Linz) was an Austrian clergyman and bishop for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Linz.

Life and ministry

He was ordained a priest on 28 October 1893 in Rome and went on to teach in several institutions; he was appointed a bishop on 16 July 1915.[1]

In 1933 he wrote a pastoral letter entitled "On True and False Nationalism’’ warning of the dangers of National Socialism; this letter had a circulation of about 35,000.[2] He later refused to meet Hitler during his visit to Linz.[3]

A street in Linz was named after him; however, in 2022, the local council decided to change the name of the street due to his public anti-Semitism.[4]

References

  1. 1."Gföllner Johannes Maria, 1915 - 1941". Diocesan of Linz. Retrieved November 20, 2025.
  2. 2."Short biography Johannes Ev. Maria Gföllner". Diocesan of Linz. Retrieved November 20, 2025.
  3. 3."The Anschluss in 1938 and the Position of Linz Bishop Johannes Maria Gföllner". Diocesan of Linz. Archived from the original on 2013-12-16. Retrieved November 20, 2025.
  4. 4.Gschwandtner, Silvia (22 December 2022). "City Senate decides on renaming of historically charged streets". Mein Bezierk. Retrieved November 20, 2025.