KIRCHESCH, FRANZ. - German economist and sociologist, b. in Wissen an der Sieg on March 2, 1873, d. in Mayen on September 11, 1931. Ordained a priest in 1898, from 1901 he served as parish priest in Müllenbach and from 1912 as director of the Ständehaus in Mayen. Having witnessed during his ministry the hardship and poverty of workers of his time, K. dedicated himself entirely to the work of deproletarianization, seeking through the decentralization of production to secure for young artisans the possibility of establishing an independent livelihood.
To this end, he also advocated for trade union order and in his Ständehäuser practically demonstrated the advantages of the cooperative system. Great was his concern for the revival of the exercise of charity, which he saw as the most suitable remedy for those who did not trust the social policy of the state. For this purpose, he founded the Gesellschaft der göttlichen Liebe and in the journal Die göttliche Liebe sought to disseminate his principles, especially on just wages and the social function of property. Before his death, he received solemn confirmation of his concerns in the encyclical Quadragesimo anno.
Writings: various articles in Göttliche Liebe (1911-13), Ständedorhung (1906-14), Katholisch-soziale Friedensblätter (1913-14), Christliche Demokratie (of which he was himself editor, 1919-31).