Eberhard, Matthias, Bishop
of Trier, b. November 15, 1815, at Trier (Germany), d. there May
30, 1876. After successfully completing the gymnasium course of
his native town, he devoted himself to the study of theology, was
ordained in 1839, and soon after made assistant at St. Castor's in
Coblenz. In 1842 Bishop Arnoldi made him his private secretary,
and, at the end of the same year, professor of dogmatics in the
seminary of Trier. From 1849 to 1862 he was director of the
seminary and also preacher at the cathedral; in 1850 he became a
member of the chapter; from 1852 to 1856 he was representative of
his fellow-citizens in the Prussian Lower Chamber, where he joined
the Catholic section. On April 7, 1862, he was preconized as
auxiliary Bishop of Trier; after Arnoldi's death he was proposed
for the episcopal see, but the Prussian Government acknowledged
him only after the death of Arnoldi's successor, Pelldram, July
16, 1867. Having chosen St. Charles Borromeo for his ideal, he
spared no exertion, on the one hand, to make his clergy learned,
zealous, devout, and thoroughly cultured, and on the other to
cultivate a truly Christian and religious spirit in the people. To
attain this double end, he bestowed very great care upon his
seminary and demanded a conscientious observation of his rules on
the pastoral conferences and the annual retreat. In the parishes
he insisted on the instruction in Christian doctrine and on the
giving of missions, took care that religious associations were
established, especially among the youths and men, and tried to
found everywhere good libraries for the people. At the Vatican
Council he appeared several times as a speaker; he belonged to the
minority of the bishops, who considered the definition of the
pope's infallibility as inopportune for the time being; but as
soon as the matter had been decided, he published the constitution
at once. When, in the beginning of the seventies, the Prussian
Government wished to fetter bishops and priests by its
ecclesiastico-political legislation, Bishop Eberhard unflinchingly
defended the rights of the Church and thus became one of the first
victims of the so-called Kulturkampf. At first he was fined an
exorbitant sum, but since he could not pay it, he was retained in
the prison of Trier from March 6 to December 31, 1874. New
persecutions began after he had been dismissed; the flourishing
institutions which belonged to the Church were closed and the
appointment of priests was made impossible; the grief at the
unhappy condition of his diocese accelerated his death. He is the
author of a dissertation "De tituli Sedis Apostoliem ad
insigniendam sedem Romanam usu antiquo ac vi singulari"
(Trier, 1846). His sermons, masterpieces of oratory, were edited
after his death by Ditscheid in 6 vols. (Trier, 1877-1883;
Freiburg, 1894-1903).
PATRICIUS SCHLAGER
