BRINKMANN, JOHANNES BERNHARD. – Bishop, born 4 February 1813 at Everswinkel near Münster, died 13 April 1889 at Münster. Ordained a priest in 1839, he carried out his pastoral ministry at Beckum and in the prisons of Münster. Vicar general in 1857, he was appointed bishop of Münster on 27 June 1870. During the « Kulturkampf », B. was condemned by the state authorities for his steadfast resistance to the « May Laws », and was forced, because of his « systematic opposition », to leave the diocese. Having taken refuge in Stracheek, in the Netherlands, he returned to the diocese in January 1884, after having been pardoned by the Prussian authorities.
BIBL.: W. Cramer, J. B., Bischof von Münster, Münster in W. 1874; J. Schürmann, J. B. B., Bischof von Münster im Kulturkampf, 10th ed., ibid. 1925. Silvio Furlani