Mass for the 80th birthday of Auxiliary Bishop Laun
Salzburg, October 14, 2022 (KAP) The Archdiocese of Salzburg celebrated the 80th birthday of a retired Auxiliary Bishop of Salzburg, Andreas Laun, with a thanksgiving service on Thursday evening. Laun’s successor as auxiliary bishop, Hansjörg Hofer, presided over the service in the Franziskanerkirche in Salzburg. Archbishop Alois Kothgasser, former bishop Klaus Küng, many diocesan and religious priests as well as relatives and friends of Laun also celebrated with the jubilarian. Hofer acted as main celebrant for Archbishop Franz Lackner, who was unable to attend due to illness.
The sermon was given by Fr. Karl Wallner, National Director of the Pontifical Mission Societies (Missio Austria). As a former student of the former dogmatics professor Andreas Laun at the Heiligenkreuz University of Applied Sciences, Wallner summed up the work of the honoree, who is also a great dog lover, in graphic language: “You were never a dumb dog! You worked to get the church to listen and you barked when it came to hot issues, such as marital fidelity, abortion or the protection of unborn life.” And: “You can also hear a dog barking in the darkness, in the night of unbelief.”
P. Wallner emphasized Laun’s episcopal motto: “Scio cui crediti. I know who I believed.” And he added: “Jesus Christ has been the love of your life since you were young. You have testified to us in the various stages of life.”
Auxiliary Bishop Hansjörg Hofer emphasized in his words of thanks: “It’s still about you. Now you live this love for Christ in prayer and in enduring your suffering.”
Working to protect the unborn
Auxiliary Bishop Laun celebrates his 80th birthday on October 13th. He was auxiliary bishop of Salzburg from 1995 to 2017 and has lived in seclusion in Salzburg since his retirement. Laun was episcopal vicar for the pastoral care of marriage and family. The auxiliary bishop was known far beyond Austria for his uncompromising commitment to the protection of the unborn.
Andreas Laun was born on October 13, 1942 in Vienna. In 1945 his family moved to Salzburg, where he graduated from Borromäum in 1960. In 1962 Laun entered the novitiate of the Oblates of St. Francis de Sales in Eichstätt and in 1966 interrupted the perpetual vows. In 1967 he was ordained a priest in Eichstätt.
After years as an educator, chaplain and religion teacher, Laun completed his doctoral studies in Friborg (Switzerland) in 1973; In 1981 he habilitated at the University of Vienna in moral theology. He taught this subject as a professor at the Heiligenkreuz University of Applied Sciences and at the Don Bosco Salesian University in Benediktbeuern (Bavaria). In 1995 Andreas Laun was appointed auxiliary bishop of Salzburg by Pope John Paul II and consecrated bishop by Archbishop Georg Eder.