HASPINGER, JOACHIM. – Capuchin friar and renowned Tyrolean patriot, born at S. Martino Casies on 27 October 1776, died at Salisbury on 11 January 1858.
As both priest and soldier, he embodied the popular Tyrolean spirit in the defence of the homeland against Napoleonic rule (1809–10), earning from the people the nickname Rot-Bart, i.e. Red-Beard. Of these memorable events he left an important diary (Tagebuch), published posthumously (Vienna 1903) and constituting a valuable historical source. Later, owing to special circumstances and by special indult, he lived as a secular priest, receiving from 1836 a modest pension granted by the Austrian government. In 1848 he even served as chaplain to the Tyrolean student bands opposing Garibaldi’s troops.