Vitus Georg Thönemann became the best known of Heinrich‘s sons, indeed a man of international reputation. He was named after his grandfather Georg Thöne, called Thonemann. Vitus Georg was born in 1659, the date of baptism is known: 4.10.1659. After attending the Jesuit grammar school in Paderborn, he studied four semesters at the local university and finally did his doctorate to Magister Artium. The intelligent student attracted the attention of his teachers at an early stage. This led to his entry to the Jesuit order on 7.2.1677. His noviciate followed at the college in Trier, a further year‘s study of philosophy and the fine arts, in between also a position as a lecturer in Paderborn, studies in Münster and in the monastery at Geist as well as final examinations as professor of theology and philosophy in Paderborn with the citation “magna cum laude”. Afterwards he taught poetry and rhetoric in Meppen and philosophy in Paderborn, where he also took the four vows on 20th February 1693.

He had proven his first great skill when he arranged a settlement with the elector Friedrich von Brandenburg after a long and difficult dispute of the Jesuits of Paderborn about the inherited control of Büren by Moritz von Büren, the imperial chamber court president, after his death. In the course of this he is supposed to have called Pater Thönemann an extremely competent Jesuit.
With the in-born conciliatoriness of a man of the world, who had grown up in the circles of senior government officials, he had moved on the polished floor of the imperial court of Vienna with sureness, admirable calmness, determination and perseverance, as the agreement of the sovereign to a settlement as well as confirmation by the Pope and the Kaiser had to be obtained. In Vienna he used every free hour in order to get at the university the necessary knowledge in civil and constitutional law and to acquaint himself with the intricate ways of a world diplomacy. In volume 8 of the journal of the society for history and antiquities on this protracted inheritance trial Rosenkranz writes the following: “Without Thönemann‘s involvement, Büren would hardly have become the site of a Jesuit college, maybe the Jesuits there would not even have succeeded in saving Moritz‘s inheritance out of the chaos of so many legal disputes and hostile conspiracy. Therefore, even after his death, he enjoyed the honour to be praised by the Jesuits as one of the greatest credits and pillars of the society of Jesus.”

Undoubtedly in recognition of this “immortal merit” – singulariter de hoc collegio, cujus magnus benefactor extitit, immortaliter mertio – in 1727 the son of his brother Arnold, the Paderborn University professor Christoph Thönemann, was appointed rector of the college in Büren. This splendid rococo construction was being built then. At the same time Vitus Georg became better known day by day to the court and people of power and influence also by various legal treatises, which he published in German and Latin, and the esteem his person enjoyed grew and grew. Thus he was also entrusted with fighting against certain theological-legal theses. He was appointed doctor of theology by the university of Vienna.

Due to the cleverness and reliability shown by the young diplomat, it was no surprise that the attention of the imperial court was drawn to Dr. Vitus Georg Thönemann. The German Kaiser Leopold I in Vienna (1658 to 1705; born 9.6.1640, died 5.5.1705 in Vienna), who was especially pleasantly touched by the upright and straight character of the scholastic diplomat, took him into his service and made him tutor and travel companion of Herzog Joseph of Lorraine (born on 26.7.1678 in Vienna, he ruled for only a short time from 1705 to 1711, died on 17.4.1711). In this way, Pater Dr. Thönemann got to know the Austrian inherited lands, Lombardy and Hungary. In this due to his unconditional reliability and his tactful behaviour, he was also able to win the full trust of his Kaiser to such an extent that in 1705 he sent him to Spain as confessor to Archduke Karl, King of Spain, whose confessor Pater Andreas Pauer had died on 8.10.1704. Like Kaiser Joseph I, his brother and successor, Kaiser Karl VI had Jesuits as confessors from their youth on. In 1693 at the age of eight he received Pater Andreas Pauer as instructor and confessor. After his death Pater Vitus Georg Thönemann took his place.

It was a great mark of confidence of Kaiser Leopold I in Pater Thönemann when he sent him to apply for a bride for Prince Karl to Schloß Salzdahlum to the court of Duke Ulrich von Braunschweig-Wolfenbüttel, to get to know Princess Elisabeth Christiane von Braunschweig (later mother of Kaiserin Maria Theresia). Besides the portrait of the princess, Pater Vitus Georg was able to bring the reassuring information to Spain that his canvassing for the Prince was successful. As this contract was settled to the complete satisfaction of both sides (the engagement of the young couple was celebrated in Barcelona on 1.8.1708), Pater Thönemann accompanied his lord on all trips afterwards.

In this time due to his absolute honesty and correct fulfilment of his duties he won with King Karl – meanwhile crowned Kaiser – complete trust because the monarch realised immediately that his confessor, as opposed to the courtly submissiveness of the other court servants, did not woo favour and prestige and in no way tried to exploit his generosity. A close relationship of confidence developed between the monarch and his advisor. Back in Vienna – King Karl took over government in 1711 after his imperial brother – Pater Thönemann was made responsible for the pastoral care of the military with the title of grandchaplain to the imperial troops. The total pastoral care for the soldiers was newly organised, discipline was enforced , independence of pastoral care for the army was introduced (despite the resistance of the bishops) and finally an independent imperial army episcopate was founded. Its occupancy was confirmed by the respective popes.

Thus the imperial councillor Dr. theol. Vitus Georg Thönemann had created a unique position of great significance for himself, not by the favour of wealthy patrons, but by his own skill and merit, and in total agreement with the Kaiser, who always used to call him “our Thönemann” – in order to testify to his favour in public. The imperial councillor gladly involved himself for every just cause and was helpful to many applicants at the court; with a sharp eye in the assessment of people and also the political circumstances, he was quickly able to “separate the wheat from the chaff”.

“It is unbelievable with what circumspection he had to act and indeed also acted so – in his exposed situation, in which he was exposed to so many looks, and so much was said about him; no despondency let him falter in the fulfilment of his duty and in his belief, he did not gamble away the goodwill of the ruler by brusque behaviour, and he punished slanderous accusations by his blameless conduct of life.” (eulogy…)

It is said in a statement about his charity and kind-heartedness: “Innumerable are those whom he again gave life lost by a court judgement through his request to the kind Kaiser or whom he helped in the struggle for reputation and honour. He helped nobles who got into need by support, others whose fortune had been used up by legal disputes dragging on for decades, he helped by expediting the court case. He especially took widows and orphans under his wing. He used to act like a father with them”.

The spiritual greatness summoned up by this ingenious man in his religious tolerance is really worthy of admiration. The scope of his view and of his decision was far ahead of his time and contemporaries, by centuries. For this tolerance was no empty talk, but an irrevocable decision based on fact. An example of this: as the government of Saxony forced the founder of the Herrenhuter community of brothers (a religious community devoted to piety – evangelical brotherly church) Graf Nikolaus Ludwig von Zinzendorf (born on 26.5.1700 in Dresden, died on 9.5.1760 in Herrenhut), “for the will of the cry of evangelical theology” to leave the country with his brothers, he fled to Mähren; from there he turned in his great need to the well-known confessor to the Kaiser in Vienna; Thönemann arranged the matter, took care of him and his people so well that Zinzendorf declared, “he will keep an everlasting memory of him for this”.
As a second example for an ecumenical attitude of Dr Vitus Georg Thönemann may be the efforts the very foresighted man took in the interests of religious peace: Archbishop Leopold of Salzburg, based on the decisions of the Augsburg religious peace, forced his subjects who did not want to profess to the same faith practised by him to leave the country. This incident caused a stir in the whole of Europe. Pater Thönemann did his utmost to prevent this evil order of the ruler. In Salzburg he arranged for the emigrants to be granted what they were entitled to according to imperial law. “The efforts in the interests of the evangelical Salzburgers will also be a credit in the history of our great relative” (Dr. Thöne).

From a report of the British envoy to Vienna to Lord Townshand in London of 17th December 1721 can be seen that there were only three people at the imperial court who were totally inaccessible to bribery (which was customary at the time), namely Prince Eugen von Sayoyen, the court chamber President Graf Gundacker von Starhemberg and the Kaiser‘s confessor, the Jesuit Thönemann. The statement is indeed doubly honourable, on the one hand, to be mentioned in the same breath with the leading general and statesman of the Austria of the time, if not even of Europe, on the other, in a time of daily, obvious and boundless corruption to stand like a steady rock in a raging surf for right and justice. This was an exemplary person.

Vitus Georg was a person who was driven to work by an untiring zeal; he seemed to feed on strain and to relax from it; in order not to let the briefest moment slip away idly, he turned to his desk or to prayer immediately after lunch without allowing himself a breather, and he never refreshed his strength by a short nap. This was only the external, official side of Pater Vitus Georg; his inner beauty, the nobility of his pious soul will have been much more impressive.

“The higher the position he reached, the deeper the roots of a real humility in him reached; he was never heard talking about the favour of the sovereign or about matters which he had carried out gloriously; when others began in this way, he broke the unwelcome conversation off immediately and showed how foreign such vanity was to him. There was nothing decorative or valuable in his room except for the jewellery of pure poverty and of honest praise that his noble visitors gave him, who could not express enough surprise at the excellent modesty of this pious courtier.” (eulogy)

“The following is really worthy of mention: during all the years he had to spend at the court in Laxenburg, where all the joys of spring were sacrificed, he did not get away from the house once in order to take part in the royal falcon hunt or to go for a walk in the nearby woods in the evening. In the city he behaved himself in the same way; although the court coach was always at hand, he only used it to go to the court and to the houses of the lords and ministers, never to go out of the city in order to go for a walk or to breathe fresh air, thus it was that although he had lived such a long time in Vienna, he remained almost a stranger there. He barred himself even more from going to theatre performances, although he was invited by the Kaiser himself, which were staged in Vienna in the grandest fashion, and he never attended one; in this way he avoided the temptations of the wealthy life and did not deprive useful activities of useful hours.” (eulogy)

Is it surprising that in the case of such honourable behaviour that the Kaiser and his whole family were truly fond of this great man of honour? Moreover there was also total harmony in theological and religious questions. The Kaiser attended the holy mass of the priest – for more than thirty years – and received the sacraments only from his hand. Vitus Georg should have been promoted to the highest ecclesiastical positions of honour, but Kaiser Karl could not part from him. The priest in his modesty refused all high honours and awards.

On the day of his golden jubilee as a priest, which was held two years late because Vitus Georg so strictly refused it, but finally the Kaiser commanded it, the whole royal family celebrated with him in the court chapel of Laxenburg. Numerous guests of honour, including Cardinal Sigismund von Kollowitsch from Hungary and the Venetian envoy took part. After the celebration Vitus gave all those present the priestly blessing – and it is reported – Kaiser Karl and Father Thönemann faced each other silently for a time, moved and with tears in their eyes.

At the royal lunch attended by the Kaiser and all the highest officials of the court, Durius, the imperial chamberlain and attendant of the private treasury of the Kaiser, handed a golden commemorative coin over to the surprised and perplexed Vitus Georg. It was decorated with numerous diamonds and the picture of the Kaiser; with sincere words he passed on the thanks of his majesty for the loyal services. Also the general of the order of the Jesuits wished luck and blessing to this honourable distinction, “whereby the Kaiser wanted the whole world to know how highly he appreciated your spiritual services over so many years. About the valuable commemorative coin, which he hung around your Grace, you cannot use for any other purpose than what the Kaiser determined, namely for your family, which I give you total permission to do”. Unfortunately this valuable piece is no longer available.

On 14 th March 1740 Kaiser Karl VI, visited the aged priest, dying of bronchial catarrh, alone in order to take leave of his trusted servant who had stood at his side in such an exemplary way for 34 years. Sitting in the poor cell on the bed of the patient, the Kaiser spoke with the beloved priest for over an hour.
On his departure the priest – with death approaching – gave his kind and beloved sovereign a present of his crucifix in his memory, which the Kaiser took with great emotion as a last memory out of the hand of the doomed person like a valuable present. Seven months later on his deathbed the Kaiser clutched this crucifix until his last gasp. The Kaiser is supposed to have said to Pater Vitus Georg on his departure that he would follow him into eternity quite soon. Three hours after this conversation with the Kaiser, the patient choked on his deadly phlegm and returned his gentle soul to his maker. Thus Pater Thönemann ended his wise life on 14.3.1740 with a wise death.

On his return to the court, the Kaiser confirmed that if the loss of a person had ever hurt him deeply it was the loss of this man. Pater Vitus Georg was ceremoniously buried in the tomb of the Profeßhaus (house of the novices) in Vienna. Kaiser Karl VI died on 20th October 1740 at the age of 56 after a 30-year reign. With him the male line of the glorious Habsburg family was extinguished.

The procurator of the province of the Austrian order Pater Michael Bliemel wrote on 16.3.1740 to the procurator of all Germany:
“Yesterday we lost a great credit and pillar of society, Pater Vitus Thönemann, a man of immortal merit in connection with the church, the whole society and our province, whose death is lamented by everybody but by nobody more than by the Kaiser.”

Without question our relative was suited to this high position with the Kaiser in Vienna – like no other. His innate kindness, his universal education, connected with his immense energy and straightness, on top of that his reliability, coupled with absolute faithfulness and incorruptibility, were the clear signs for the suitability of this distinguished personality. Due to his origins and upbringing, any arrogance, exaggerated opinion of himself and favouritism were totally foreign to him. He loved simplicity and modesty, was happy with his simple and busy life. The general of the order had to warn him repeatedly not to endanger his health through overly strict fasting. This superior of the order also had to keep him from leaving the imperial court with its underhanded intrigues, as such behaviour did not correspond to his nature, his deep piety and broad-minded tolerance.

Nikolai Church in Höxter, the former parish church, received as a present from Pater Thönemann a valuable keepsake, a magnificent chalice and a monstrance. These beautifully worked splendid rococo specimens are an expression of the great goldsmiths‘ art of the time.

The order had a portrait of this great Jesuit painted for the college in Paderborn.
From Vienna Pater Vitus Georg made the Jesuit residence in Büren a donation of 1,000 gold guilders (Herrschaft Büren, file 705 state archives Münster).
He was a good example for us all.
Should such personalities not live in our times too, who are a model for our children?
We need them very much.

For current research projects and further information see www.thonemann.eu