DROSTE ZU VISCHERING, KLEMENS AUGUST von. - Bishop, b. Jan. 21, 1773 at Münster, d. there Oct. 19, 1845. Ordained priest in 1798, he served as vicar general of the diocese of Münster from 1815 to 1820. In 1818 he issued an ordinance requiring theology students to avoid attending courses at Bonn in order to curb the spread of Hermesianism.
In 1827 he agreed to serve as auxiliary to his brother Maximilian, bishop of Münster.
Upon the death of the archbishop of Cologne, Spiegel, Droste was appointed to that see in 1836. Upon learning of the convention regarding mixed marriages concluded by his predecessor with the Prussian government, which was contrary to the brief of Pius VIII of March 23, 1830, a conflict arose between the archbishop and the state authorities. This ended with Droste’s arrest (Nov. 20, 1837) and his imprisonment in the fortress of Minden, from which he was released in April 1839, though without being allowed to return to his see, which was entrusted to Geissel as coadjutor. He then retired into dignified obscurity, having by his resistance preserved the rights of the Church.