HERWEGEN, Ildefons. — Benedictine abbot and promoter of the liturgical movement in Germany, b. at Junkersdorf (Cologne) on 27 Nov. 1874, d. at Maria Laach on 2 Sept. 1946. In 1895 he entered the famous Rhenish monastery of Maria Laach (Andernach am Rhein); he studied at Seckau (Austria), at Sant’Anselmo (Rome), specializing in Christian archaeology, and later at Maredsous (Belgium). In 1913 he was elected the 44th abbot of Maria Laach.
Endowed with extraordinary spiritual and intellectual gifts, devoted to scholarly research—especially in the history of canon law, art, and monasticism—and deeply concerned with the pressing issues of religious life, Herwegen became, in the two decades between the world wars, the leader of a profound liturgical renewal movement, not only within his own abbey but also among Catholic intellectuals in Germany and beyond.
In his efforts to contribute to the revival of liturgical “science,” Herwegen ultimately aimed at the religious goal of “living the liturgy” (Pius XII, encyclical Mediator Dei). A keen psychologist, an effective orator, and a connoisseur of sacred art, he exercised wide influence and served as the guiding figure of the important association Katholischer Akademikerverband.
In 1911 he founded the series of monographs Beiträge zur Geschichte des alten Mönchtums und des Benediktinerordens (16 vols.), followed by the series of liturgical translations Ecclesia Orans (19 vols.). He published more than thirty books or pamphlets, the most notable of which are: Der heilige Benedikt. Ein Charakterbild (3rd ed., Düsseldorf 1926; translations into Hungarian, Flemish, English, Italian [Montecassino 1932], French, and Czech); Sinn und Geist der Benediktinerregel (Einsiedeln 1944).