Baron Friedrich von Hügel (1852-1925) - modernist and mystic
27 JANUARY 2025 marked the centenary of the death of Baron Friedrich von Hügel, one of the most significant theological figures of the early 20th century. His title a relic of the Holy Roman Empire, the Baron – his friends and much subsequent scholarship refer to him as nothing else – pursued a wide range of academic interests, at a scholarly depth that continues to surprise his readers. At the turn of the century, he was a central figure in the Modernist crisis in Roman Catholicism; hence the noted French Protestant Franciscan scholar, Paul Sabatier, dubbed him ‘the modernist bishop.’ But the Baron’s scholarly work transcended the immediate concerns of the Modernist crisis.
27 JANUARY 2025 marked the centenary of the death of Baron Friedrich von Hügel, one of the most significant theological figures of the early 20th century. His title a relic of the Holy Roman Empire, the Baron – his friends and much subsequent scholarship refer to him as nothing else – pursued a wide range of academic interests, at a scholarly depth that continues to surprise his readers. At the turn of the century, he was a central figure in the Modernist crisis in Roman Catholicism; hence the noted French Protestant Franciscan scholar, Paul Sabatier, dubbed him ‘the modernist bishop.’ But the Baron’s scholarly work transcended the immediate concerns of the Modernist crisis.
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Andrew Pierce
is Head of School of the Irish School of Ecumenics, Trinity College Dublin.