MELCHERS, PAULUS. - Cardinal, born 6 Jan. 1813 at Münster, died 14 Dec. 1895 at Rome. He studied theology under Döllinger. Ordained priest in 1841, he remained for several years at Münster, as vice-rector (1851) and then (1852) rector of the Seminary; in 1852 he became vicar general. In 1848 he also served in the Frankfurt Parliament. When in 1857 the Holy See reached an agreement with the Kingdom of Hanover for the reorganization of the dioceses of Hildesheim and Osnabrück, Pius IX appointed him to the latter see and as apostolic provicar for the north.
Upon the death of Cardinal Geissel in 1866, he was transferred to the archbishopric of Cologne. At the Vatican Council he was among those who considered the definition of papal infallibility inopportune; but on his return home he promptly gave public assent to the council’s decrees. Several professors of theology at the University of Bonn, who refused to submit to the council’s decisions, were