Franz Kamphaus

Franz Kamphaus
Bishop emeritus of Limburg
Franz Kamphaus, 10 August 2008
Church	Roman Catholic
See	Limburg
Orders
Ordination	21 February 1959
Consecration	13 June 1982 by Joseph Höffner
Personal details
Born	(1932-02-02) 2 February 1932 (age 85) Lüdinghausen, Germany

Franz Kamphaus (born 2 February 1932) is a German Catholic priest, bishop emeritus of the Diocese of Limburg. He was bishop of the diocese from 1982 to 2007. He was the only German bishop to oppose Pope John Paul II in the matter of counseling pregnant women in conflict situations. Before being bishop, he taught pastoral theology and homiletics at the University of Münster; afterwards he became minister of a home for people with physical and mental disabilities in Aulhausen.

Born in Lüdinghausen as the fifth child of a peasant family, Kamphaus received his Abitur from the Collegium Augustinianum Gaesdonck (). He studied theology and philosophy at the University of Münster and the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich and was ordained as a priest on 21 February 1959 by the bishop of Münster, Michael Keller (). He worked as Kaplan (assistant minister) in Münster and Ahaus. From 1964 he was responsible for the diocese's Predigtausbildung (education for sermon).

Kamphaus earned a doctoral degree from the University of Münster in 1968 with the dissertation Von der Exegese zur Predigt. Über die Problematik einer schriftgemäßen Verkündigung der Oster-, Wunder- und Kindheitsgeschichten, on the topic of preaching about the biblical stories of Easter, miracles and the youth of Jesus. From 1971 he led the diocese's continuing education of preachers. From 1972 he taught pastoral theology and homiletics at the University of Münster. From 1973 he was also Regens (director) of the diocese's Priesterseminar (seminary for candidates for the priesthood).