John of Wildeshausen
|
John of Wildeshausen O.P. |
|
|---|---|
| Bishop of Bosnia | |
 |
|
| Diocese | Diocese of Bosnia |
| Installed | 1233 |
| Term ended | 1237 |
| Other posts | Master General of the Dominican Order (1241-1252) |
| Orders | |
| Consecration | 1233 |
| Personal details | |
| Born | ca. 1180 Wildeshausen, Westphalia, Holy Roman Empire |
| Died | 4 November 1252 Strasbourg, France |
| Buried | Priory Church of St. Bartholomew Strasbourg, France (destroyed 16th century) |
| Nationality | German |
| Denomination | Roman Catholic |
John of Wildeshausen, O.P., also called Johannes Teutonicus (c. 1180 – 4 November 1252) was a German Dominican friar, who was made a bishop in Bosnia and later the fourth Master General of the Dominican Order.
John, a nobleman, was born in his family's castle in Wildeshausen, Westphalia about 1180, where he received his early education. When he was of age, he went to Bologna to advance his studies. The records show that he showed himself to have an extremely agile mind and winning personality. This is shown in the fast friendship John forged with the teenaged Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II when they met during a stay Frederick made while returning home from a diplomatic mission, sometime about 1212. This was despite a significant disparity in age between them. John accompanied Frederick back to their homeland, where he joined the imperial court.
It would appear that court life did not agree with John, as he soon returned to Bologna, where he came to know the Dominican Order. Despite his age and standing (possibly already having received Holy Orders), John was eager to join in the new enterprise, and received the Dominican habit from the founder of the Order, St. Dominic himself, who possibly then also professed him at the same time. This was in either late 1219 or early 1220. He was almost immediately sent out to preach, in keeping with Dominic's vision of mission of the Order, especially since John was already known as an eloquent preacher, equally fluent in Latin, Italian and French, as well as his native German. John wandered through northern Italy, France and Germany, as far as Austria, preaching the Gospel everywhere he went, traveling entirely on foot, though he was already advanced in age for his era. After this tour, he settled in Strasbourg as his base.
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