SCHMITZ, HERMANN JOSEPH. - Auxiliary Bishop of Cologne, canonist, promoter of the social movement, b. Cologne 16 May 1841, d. there 21 Aug. 1899. Ordained priest in 1866, after further studies in canon law at Rome he became assistant parish priest at Düsseldorf in 1868, archpriest at Krefeld in 1886, and auxiliary bishop of Cologne in 1893.
A brilliant orator, he promoted social and charitable works both in the pulpit and in the various organizations and conferences of Catholics. Among his writings, the two volumes of his historical-canonical researches on the penitentials are especially praised for their scholarly solidity.
Principal works: Cola di Rienzo (Freiburg in Br. 1879); Die Bussbücher und die Bussdisziplin der Kirche (Mainz 1883); Gattin und Mutter in Heidentum, Judentum und Christentum, under the pseudonym Fabrizius (Bonn 1885); Die Bussbücher und das kanonische Bussverfahren (Düsseldorf 1898); then collections of his sermons: Die acht Seligkeiten des Christentums und die Versprechungen der Sozialdemokratie (M. Gladbach 1891; 3rd ed., Cologne 1900); Tobias, ein Vorbild für Katholiken der Gegenwart (Mainz 1892; 3rd ed., ibid. 1904); Der Prophet Elias (Cologne 1897; 2nd ed., ibid. 1904); David, der Mann der Hoffnung auf Gott (ibid. 1899); after his death there appeared, edited by G. Hütter: Gegen den Strom (Einsiedeln 1901).