DE WAAL, ANTON JOSEPH JOHANN MARIA. - Born in Emmerich on 5 May 1836, died in Rome on 23 February 1917. Ordained priest in Münster on 11 October 1862, he was sent to teach in the minor seminary at Gaesdonck, the *Collegium Augustinianum*. On 19 July 1868 he came to Rome and earned his doctorate in theology the following year. From the College of Santa Maria dell’Anima, where he served as chaplain, its rector Jaenig called him to the German College of Santa Maria in Campo Santo; he became vice-rector on 23 December 1872 and rector the following year, a position he held until his death.
He began by renewing the church, the heart of the house, which in turn renewed the entire institution; first with the reform of the statutes, which Pope Pius IX granted with a brief dated 21 November 1876, then by founding, one after another through gifts and bequests, five chaplaincies, expanding the guest quarters to accommodate an ever-growing number of boarders. Yet more important to him was the animating spirit of the foundation. He was always intent on investigating the origins and history of such Roman institutions (*Das böhmische gerhaus in Rom*, Prague 1873; *Die Nationalstiftungen des deutschen Volkes in Rom*, Frankfurt 1880; *Der Campo Santo der Deutschen zu Rom*, Freiburg im Br. 1896), guiding pilgrims along their way (*Die Wallfahrts zu den sieben Hauptkirchen Rom*, Freiburg im Br. 1897; *Die Apostelfürsten glorreiche Ruhestätte*, Regensburg 1873; *Die Katakomben des hl. Callistus*, Salzburg 1886; *Das heilige Jahr in Rom*, Mainz 1900; *Ein Besuch im Vatican*, Munich 1913; *Die Kirche St. Johannis ante Portam Latinam in Rom*, Cologne 1914), and illustrating the fortunes of the Roman Church in his own time (*Gedenkblätter an die Jubelfeier des hl. Vaters*, Münster 1869; *Erinnerungen an die Romfahrt zum Bischofsjubiläum Pius IX.*, Regensburg 1877; *Unseres hl. Vaters Papst Leo XIII. Leben*, Münster 1878; *25 Jahre in Rom von 1870 bis 1895*, Hamm 1985; *Papst Pius X. Lebensbild*, Munich 1903; *Vom Grab Pius X. zum Throne Benedikt XV.*, ibid. 1914). He gathered a library for young people and directed them to the libraries of Rome, especially the Vatican, and to those archives that had become accessible after 20 June 1879; he drew attention to monuments and wrote on the famous sarcophagus of Junius Bassus (Rome 1900); he formed a small museum and, to gather the fruits of all his labors, founded in 1887 the periodical *Römische Quartalschrift* and later, with A. Baumstark, *Oriens Christianus*; he also undertook excavations at his own expense. In 1892 he obtained permission to explore at San Sebastiano the so-called *Platonia*, where in 1893 he was fortunate enough to discover the inscription in honor of St. Quirinus (*La Platonia ossia il sepolcro della via Appia*, Rome 1892; *Die Apostelfürst und Catacumbas an der via Appia*, Freiburg 1894). He then succeeded, again at his own expense, in 1915 in obtaining from the Sacred Archaeological Commission, of which he had become a member, permission to extend the excavations beneath the church (*Gli scavi sul pavimento della basilica di S. Sebastiano sulla via Appia*, in *Römische Quartalschrift*, 29 [1915]), rejoicing that his chaplains at the Campo Santo, P. Styger and O. Fasiolo, had discovered the famous *Memoria Apostolorum*. As a guide for pilgrims, he wrote *Rompilger* (1st ed., Freiburg im Br. 1888, 12th ed., ibid. 1925) and *Roma sacra* (Munich 1905). With Christian charity he aided all who came from beyond the Alps. He gathered artists, took an interest in the *Gesellenverein*, founded in 1870 the *Leseverein* to promote culture, provided a home for young women in the *Marienheim* (1887), aided poor women through the *Liebfrauenverein* (1874), was a member of the conferences of St. Vincent de Paul, contributed to the establishment of the hospital run by the Sisters of the Holy Cross (1877), and in his sacerdotal jubilee (1912) thought of the elderly and infirm, dedicating all gifts to the founding of the *St. Antoniusheim*. For his organizations he wrote various plays, while a wider public was reached by his numerous stories such as *Valeria* (Regensburg 1885) and the well-known *Katakombenbilder* (1891); he was always concerned with the care of souls and zealously promoted the cult of the martyrs, offering his own house as the seat of the *Cultores* of the College of the Cultors of Martyrs, which he presided over for many years. His devotion to the Holy See took on a heroic aspect on the night of 13 July 1881, when he accompanied the remains of Pius IX to San Lorenzo with his chaplains, thus leading the procession. Simple and sincere, strict but full of self-denial and selflessness, rich in mind and great in heart, he enjoyed great esteem and won the friendship of eminent figures as well as the devoted affection of his students. Proof of this, among other things, are the two volumes dedicated to him on the occasion of his sacerdotal jubilee (*Römische Quartalschrift*, *Supplementheft*, 19 and 20), the honors bestowed by emperors and princes, his appointment as domestic prelate (1875) and apostolic protonotary (1900). The German College of the Campo Santo, which jealously guards his tomb, will remain his monument.
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