FORSTER, HEINRICH. - Bishop of Breslavia, b. 24 Nov. 1799 at Gross-Glogau, d. 20 Oct. 1881 at the castle of Johannesburg, in Austrian Silesia. Ordained priest in 1825, he initially carried out pastoral work at Landeshut. A member of the cathedral chapter of Breslavia in 1837, he distinguished himself by his effective sermons against J. Ronge, one of the founders of the schismatic “German Catholic Church.” In 1853 he succeeded Diepenbrock as prince-bishop of Breslavia.
A staunch defender of the rights of Catholics, he gave clear proof of his worth in the period following the Vatican Council and during the Kulturkampf. He immediately accepted the declaration of papal infallibility and suspended several professors reluctant to approve the resolu-
tions of the Council. In 1873 he appealed, also in the name of other prelates, to Emperor Guglielmo I, asking him not to give royal sanction to the so-called May Laws, expressly directed against Catholics. The state authorities then decided to proceed with the arrest of the courageous prelate and to compel him to resign his office. Warned in time, the bishop withdrew to the castle of Johannesburg (in the Austrian part of the bishopric), whence he continued to govern his diocese until his death. In Nov. 1875, a judgment of the Prussian court declared F. deprived of the dignity of prince-bishop of Breslavia.