RÄSS, ANDREAS. — Bishop of Strasbourg, b. at Sigolsheim (Upper Alsace) on 6 April 1794, d. at Strasbourg on 17 November 1887.
Ordained priest in 1816, for several years he was professor at the minor seminary of Mainz; then in 1825 he became rector and professor of dogmatic theology at the major seminary of Strasbourg. Elected coadjutor bishop of Strasbourg on 5 April 1840, he was consecrated on 14 February 1841 and succeeded to the see in 1842.
He vigilantly attended to the proper formation of the clergy; at the Vatican Council he proved a staunch defender of infallibility and as a writer he exercised an extraordinary influence on minds then straying from Enlightenment theories, especially through the founding, in 1821 with his colleague Nic. Weis, of the periodical Katholik. Of his numerous works, the most noteworthy are: Leben der Väter und Märtyrer (an adaptation of A. Butler’s work; 20 vols., 1823–26; 2nd ed., 23 vols., 1838–40), later condensed into Leben der Heiligen Gottes (4 vols., 1826–27); Bibliothek der katholischen Kanzelberedsamkeit (18 vols., 1829–36); he also contributed to the spread of missionary spirit through the Annalen der Verheitung des Glaubens (a translation of the Annales de la Propagation de la Foi). His principal work remains: Die Convertiten seit der Reformation (up to 1850; 10 vols., Freiburg im Br. 1866–80), with an index and three supplementary volumes.