There is mourning for Andreas Laun in the Archdiocese of Salzburg. The auxiliary bishop emeritus died on New Year’s Eve at the age of 83, as the archdiocese announced to Kathpress. Laun was Salzburg’s auxiliary bishop from 1995 to 2017 and has lived in seclusion in Salzburg since his retirement. Laun was most recently under medical treatment in the fall for a more serious illness, but his condition was considered stable.
Archbishop Franz Lackner was deeply affected by the death of the former Salzburg Auxiliary Bishop Andreas Laun on New Year’s Eve. Laun was “an upright and steadfast advocate for life, especially in its most vulnerable moments,” Lackner said in a statement to Kathpress. His faith gave him the steadfastness to “always raise his voice without fear.”
Only two days ago he visited Laun at his sickbed – “now we as a diocese want to accompany him on his final journey after a fulfilled life, pray for him and entrust him to the grace and love of that humane God, in whose name Auxiliary Bishop Andreas the people,” said a statement from the Archdiocese of Salzburg on New Year’s morning. Details of the funeral services will be announced as soon as possible.
Andreas Laun was born on October 13, 1942 in Vienna. In 1962 he joined the Oblates of St. Francis de Sales; he was ordained a priest on June 29, 1967 in Eichstätt. After years as an educator, chaplain and religious teacher, Laun completed his doctoral studies in Friborg (Switzerland) in 1973. From 1972 to 1985, Laun also served as chaplain in the Krim parish in Vienna-Döbling. In 1981 he completed his habilitation in moral theology at the Catholic Theological Faculty of the University of Vienna. From 1981 he held a professorship for moral theology at the Heiligenkreuz University. From 1982 to 1987 he taught moral theology at the Salesian Order College of Don Bosco in Benediktbeuern.
On January 25, 1995, John Paul II appointed him titular bishop of Libertina and auxiliary bishop for the Archdiocese of Salzburg. The episcopal consecration by Archbishop Georg Eder took place on March 25, 1995 in Salzburg Cathedral. Laun was an episcopal vicar for pastoral care of marriage and families. Laun was also known far beyond Austria for his uncompromising commitment to protecting the unborn. He has lived in Salzburg since his retirement as auxiliary bishop on October 13, 2017.
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