FRANZ, Adolf. — Scholar of liturgical questions and political figure, born 21 Dec. 1842 at Langenhielau, died 6 Nov. 1916 at Baden-Baden. Ordained priest in 1867, he carried on active political and journalistic work: from 1878 to 1881 he was editor of Germania.
Deputy to the Prussian Diet and to the Reichstag from 1875 to 1882, he was called by Archbishop Herzog of Breslau to serve on the Cathedral Chapter and reorganized that diocese, which was in a grave state of neglect owing to the Kulturkampf. He later became an influential adviser to Cardinal Kopp, especially on social questions. He wrote valuable works of a historical-liturgical character: among these are Die Messe im deutschen Mittelalter (Breslau 1902) and Die kirchlichen Benediktinnen im Mittelalter (ibid. 1909).