**OSNABRÜCK.** – A city and diocese in Germany, suffragane of Cologne. Over an area of 45,797 km², it has a population of 6,613,146, of whom 855,692 are Catholic, distributed across 420 parishes served by 690 diocesan priests and 24 religious; it has 14 male and 226 female religious communities (Ann. Pont., 1952, p. 304).
It was founded as a missionary station in 780 and erected as a diocese in 790. The first bishop was Wiho, a disciple of St. Boniface, who died in 804. The diocese is first securely mentioned in a bull of Charlemagne in 803. In 834, the missionary station of Meppen was annexed to the diocese; in 855, that of Visbek; and in 860, that of Wiedenbrück. Subsequent bishops were highly active in establishing extensive ecclesiastical estates. The principal church of Osnabrück was transformed into a cathedral by Bishop Egilmar (d. 918), who was also the first historian of Osnabrück. During his tenure, disputes arose between the monasteries of Corvey and Herford and the Bishop of Osnabrück over tithes; these continued under one of Osnabrück’s greatest bishops, Benno II (1068–88), known for his diplomatic dealings with Gregory VII on behalf of Henry IV. He also built the western section of Osnabrück Cathedral and the cathedrals of Speyer and Goslar. The disputes with the two abbeys ended under Bishop Philip von Katzenelnbogen (1141–73). Bruno von Isenburg (1250–58) laid the foundations for the church of St. John, completed in 1292 under Conrad II von Rietberg (1269–97).
He invited the Augustinians and Dominicans to Osnabrück and founded institutes for elderly ladies (Domus Chesternhaus and St. Johannes-Schwesternhaus). Despite the flourishing religious life and high culture evidenced in the goldsmith work of the so-called Master of Osnabrück and others, the diocese’s history is marked by conflicts between the curia, the nobility, and neighboring bishops. During the episcopate of the 53rd Bishop of Osnabrück, Erich von Braunschweig (1508–32), Luther published his theses in Wittenberg. The bishop, however, vigorously rejected his doctrine. His successor, Francis of Waldeck (1533–53), commissioned Superintendent Bonnus of Lübeck to draft an ecclesiastical and evangelical regulation that suppressed the Mass. This regulation became binding for the entire diocese in 1544. The secular clergy complied, but the Cathedral Chapter rejected the regulation. In 1547, the bishop joined the Schmalkaldic League, which resulted in the entry of imperial troops into Osnabrück. Pope Paul III summoned the bishop to Rome, though without success, to reach a satisfactory resolution. The next bishop, Johannes von Hoy (1553–74), was staunchly Catholic, advised by St. Peter Canisius; however, subsequent bishops leaned toward Protestantism. A change occurred under Eitel Friedrich von Hohenzollern (1623–25), who invited the Jesuits and removed Protestant-leaning pastors. He was followed by the most celebrated bishop of Osnabrück of this era, Franz Wilhelm von Wartenberg (1625–61), who became a cardinal in 1661. He continued reforms through diocesan synods, restored the entire diocese to Catholicism, and in 1631 founded a university in Osnabrück. His work was hindered by the Swedish invasion (1633–50). With the Peace of Westphalia (1648), the Bishops of Osnabrück gained 30 parishes and 20 Protestant ones. The diocese lost the counties of Lingen and Westerwald to the Diocese of Deventer and another portion to the Diocese of Münster. In 1802, the diocese was secularized, during which time an apostolic administrator, Clemens von Gruben, functioned in that role. In 1857, Bishop P. Melchers, formerly Bishop of Münster, was elected and became Archbishop of Cologne in 1866. Since 1914 (up to 1951), the Bishop of Osnabrück has been Wilhelm Berning, president of the St. Raphael Union (for emigrant assistance) and entrusted by the Holy See with the spiritual care of German-speaking Catholics in overseas regions of Eastern Europe.
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**«O SOLA MAGNARUM URBIUM».** – This is the hymn of praise for the feast of Epiphany, taken from the *Cathemerinon* of Prudentius (Canto 12, strophes 20, 2, 16, and 18), introduced into the Breviary by Pius V. Bethlehem, which was destined to give birth to the Messiah the Redeemer. The poet describes the halting of the star, the coming of the Magi, the offering of gifts, and their mystical significance.
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**«O SOL SALUTIS, INTIMIS».** – A hymn of Lauds for Lent, of unknown authorship, found in manuscripts from the 10th century onward.
Lent is the time of penance, a propitious time to receive heavenly gifts, a time of salvation: such is the guiding concept of the hymn, which is linked to the Epistle of the Mass for the First Sunday of Lent.
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**OSÓRIO, GIROLAMO.** – Portuguese theologian and exegete, born in Lisbon in 1506, died at Tavira on 20 August 1580. He completed his classical education in Salamanca and his philosophical-theological studies in Paris and Bologna, where he also learned exegesis and Hebrew. Returning to Portugal, he was entrusted by King John III with teaching exegesis. After ordination, he carried out a fruitful ministry until he was consecrated Bishop of Silves at the behest of Catherine of Austria, who governed the Kingdom of Portugal during the minority of Sebastian. Until his death, Osório exercised great moral and political influence in his country.
His principal works include: *In epistulam b. Pauli ad Romanos*; *Paraphrasis in Iob libri III*; *Paraphrasis in Psalmos*; *Paraphrasis in Isaiam libri V*; *Commentarius in Oseam prophetam*; *In Zachariam*; *In Evangelium Ioannis orationes XXI*. All these works by Osório were published by his nephew under the title: *Opera omnia Hieronymi Osorii nepotis diligentia in unum collecta*, 4 vols., Rome 1552 (2nd ed., ibid. 1592).
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OSOUF, PIERRE-MARIE. – Born on 26 March 1829 at Cérisy-la-Salle (Manche). Ordained priest on 11 July 1852, he first served as secretary to the Bishop of Coutances, then entered the Seminary of the Paris Foreign Missions on 2 August 1855.
On 10 June 1856, he departed for the Far East. He later served as procurator in Singapore and as procurator general in Hong Kong until 1875. In that year, he was recalled to Paris to direct the Seminary of the Paris Foreign Missions. On 19 December of the same year, he was appointed titular Bishop of Arsinoë and Vicar Apostolic of Northern Japan. The movement toward Japan’s material progress made missionary work difficult for Bishop Osouf, who devoted himself especially to the development of schools and seminaries. When the hierarchy was established in Japan on 15 June 1891, Bishop Osouf became Archbishop of Tokyo. He convened two important Synods in 1890 at Nagasaki and in 1895 at Tokyo. He died in Tokyo on 27 June 1906.
Antonio Anoge
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**OSPEDALI (hospitalium, hospitale).** – This term refers to those special charitable institutions intended for the care and shelter of the sick and the infirm, equipped with appropriate buildings and revenues for this purpose, unless supported by private charity. As charitable institutions, they are today mostly established as legal entities with their own patrimony and assisted by public authorities (v. CHARITY, II. History of c).
Some examples of these institutions are found in classical antiquity; but they had their true origin and development from the exercise of Christian charity, stimulated by needs that arose especially in troubled times, when public charity was insufficient to alleviate poverty and social conditions were therefore in a state of profound decline. They could be organized in a stable manner only after the Church had obtained recognition of its freedom. In Byzantine antiquity they are designated by the names «nosocomio» if intended for the sick, «xenodochio» if serving strangers, «ptochio» for the poor, «gerontocomio» for the elderly, «brefotrofo», «orfantrofo».
In the East, the hospital erected by St Basil near Caesarea in Cappadocia is recorded, of which St Gregory Nazianzen speaks (Orat., XX, 91); and in Rome, that erected by the noblewoman Fabiola (q.v.) and another erected by the patrician Pammachius at the mouth of the Tiber, of which St Jerome speaks (Ep. LXXVII ad Oceanum); followed by other foundations recorded by St Gregory the Great and the biographers of the Liber Pontificalis. Similar institutions also arose in other dioceses of Italy, whether under the protection of bishops or beside monasteries; indeed, monastic houses were founded with the express purpose of providing shelter for the sick and security for pilgrims, especially along the great communication routes in the most desolate and