Friedrich Dörr (7 March 190813 May 1993) was a German Catholic priest and professor of theology, who is known as a hymnwriter. He shaped the first common German Catholic hymnal, Gotteslob, published in 1975.
Life Friedrich Dörr was born in Obereschenbach to a family of bakers, the son of Georg Dörr, who was mayor of his hometown until 1933. Friedrich was a member of the of the humanist from age 11. After his Abitur in 1927, he studied philosophy and Catholic theology at the Collegium Germanicum in Rome, graduating in 1930 from the Pontifical Gregorian University. He was ordained as priest by Cardinal Francesco Marchetti Selvaggiani on 29 October 1933. He wrote his dissertation in 1935, entitled Diadochus von Photike und die Messaliner.
Dörr returned to the Diocese of Eichstätt in 1935, and worked as a parish priest in Erkertshofen, Fünfstetten, Wemding, Dietfurt, and at St. Walburg und Eichstätt and the Eichstätt Cathedral. In April 1940 he was drafted into the Wehrmacht to serve as a Sanitätssoldat, then from 1942 as . He worked in this function in southern France, Leningrad, the Caucasus, and in Croatia. In March 1944, he was responsible for Denmark and West Prussia. After World War II ended, Dörr was appointed professor of Systematische Philosophie und Pädagogik at the Philosophisch-Theologische Hochschule in Eichstätt (later called Catholic University of Eichstätt-Ingolstadt) from 1 November 1945. He served as Rector of the institution from 1964 to 1968, and was professor until 1976. He was also president of the Studentenhilfe in Eichstätt.
From 1966 to 1975, Dörr was a member of the commission working towards the first common Catholic hymnal in German, Gotteslob. He wrote several hymns. The Book of Hours of 1978 contained 30 of his hymns.
He died in Eichstätt.
Songs in Gotteslob For the Gotteslob of 1975, Dörr contributed several songs, especially translations of Latin hymns, including "Komm, Heilger Geist, der Leben schafft" from Veni Creator Spiritus, "Sakrament der Liebe Gottes" from Tantum ergo,495 / Sakrament der Liebe Gottes (L) / Leben in der Kirche – Eucharistie mein-gotteslob.de "O lieber Jesu, denk ich dein" from of Jesu dulcis memoria,368 / O lieber Jesu, denk ich dein (L) / Leben in Gott – Jesus Christus mein-gotteslob.de "Du Licht des Himmels, großer Gott" from Deus qui coeli lumen es615 / Du Licht des Himmels, großer Gott (L) / Tagzeitenliturgie (Stundengebet) – Laudes mein-gotteslob.de and the evening hymns "Christus, du bist der helle Tag" from "Christe, qui lux es et dies"90 / Christus, du bist der helle Tag (L) / Gesänge – Tag – Abend mein-gotteslob.de and "Bevor des Tages Licht vergeht" from Te lucis ante terminum. He created a new hymn, retaining only the first line of "Maria, dich lieben ist allzeit mein Sinn".
The following list has the numbers of the 2013 Gotteslob, and the numbers in the first edition in brackets:Gotteslob, Diocese of Cologne, 1975 "Bevor des Tages Licht vergeht" (Te lucis ante terminum), GL 663 (before 696) "Christus, du bist der helle Tag" ("Christe, qui lux es et dies"), GL 90 (before 704)
"Du Licht des Himmels, großer Gott" (Deus qui coeli lumen es), GL 615 "Ein Haus voll Glorie schauet", pseudonym: Hans W. Marx, GL 478 (before 639) "Gott ruft sein Volk zusammen", GL 477477 / Gott ruft sein Volk zusammen (L, Genf) / Leben in der Kirche – Kirche – Ökumene mein-gotteslob.de (before 640) "Ich bin getauft und Gott geweiht", GL 491491 ö / Ich bin getauft und Gott geweiht (L) / Leben in der Kirche – Taufe mein-gotteslob.de (before 635) "Komm, Heilger Geist, der Leben schafft" (Veni Creator Spiritus), GL 342 (before 241) "Kündet allen in der Not", GL 221 (before 106) "Maria, dich lieben ist allzeit mein Sinn", GL 521521 / Maria, dich lieben ist allzeit mein Sinn (L) / Leben in der Kirche – Maria mein-gotteslob.de (before 594) "O Gott, dein Wille schuf die Welt" (Deus creator omnium), GL 628628 / O Gott, dein Wille schuf die Welt (L) / Leben in der Kirche – Maria mein-gotteslob.de
"O lieber Jesu, denk ich dein" (Jesu dulcis memoria), GL 368 (before 550) "Sakrament der Liebe Gottes" (Tantum ergo), GL 495 (before 542) "Was uns die Erde Gutes spendet", GL 186186 / Was uns die Erde Gutes spendet (L) / Gesänge – Woche – Gesänge zur Gabenbereitung mein-gotteslob.de (before 490) "Wir sind getauft auf Christi Tod", third and fourth stanza of "Das ist der Tag, den Gott gemacht", GL 329,329 / Das ist der Tag, den Gott gemacht (L) / Gesänge – Jahr – Osterzeit mein-gotteslob.de (before 220)
References
Further reading Marco Benini (ed.): Gott preisen in Hymnen und Gesängen. Friedrich Dörr – Dichter für Gotteslob und Stundenbuch St. Ottilien 2018, . Veit Neumann: Professor Friedrich Dörr, in: Florian Trenner (ed.): Diener im Weinberg des Herrn. Priesterpersönlichkeiten aus zwölf Diözesen, Klerusblatt-Verlag, München 2008
External links
Wandlungen / Das Eichstätter Seminar (1564–2014) in den letzten fünfzig Jahren (in German) priesterseminar-eichstaett.de