SENESTREY, IGNAZ VON

He studied at the German College, remaining in Rome from 1836 to 1842, when he was ordained priest. He taught at Eichstätt, then served as curate in Munich, parish priest at Kühbach, and canon of the cathedral at Eichstätt in 1852. On the recommendation of King Maximilian II of Bavaria, he was appointed bishop of Regensburg in 1858. He built the new ecclesiastical seminary, founded junior seminaries at Metten, Straubing, and Regensburg, promoted the adoption of the Roman rite, and saw to the completion of the cathedral. He also took the initiative for periodic meetings of the bishops of Bavaria and all Germany. The Fulda Conference, first convened in 1867, was the result of this initiative. At the Vatican Council he was a staunch advocate of papal infallibility. He defended the interests of the Church and of Catholics against Bavarian liberal politics. Particular notice was taken of his protest against the accusation that he had violated the Constitution and the Concordat by inviting Jesuits into his diocese in 1866.