On March 6, 1972, Horst Straßburger celebrated his first priesthood in the Catholic Old Town Church of his home parish of St. Dionysius in Krefeld. 50 years later, the GdG St. Peter Mönchengladbach-West invited to the Eucharistic celebration in the Venner parish church of St. Maria Immaculate. Occasion: the anniversary of the valued and popular pastor after 50 years in office.
Musical, humorous and devotional elements characterized the festive service, which only 100 guests were allowed to attend due to the corona virus, but hundreds of friends and companions of the jubilee followed this celebration via live stream on their digital devices. Straßburger led the service himself, accompanied by Vicar Hermann Küppers and GdG leader Pastor Rüdiger Hagens. Straßburger had wanted the evangelical clergyman Karl-Heinz Bassy from the Großheide/Windberg congregation to be his guest preacher. And Bassy came up with a speech full of punch lines, humor and personal events from the life of the jubilee.
–
Since Straßburger was and still is the contact for the rifle fraternities in Bettrath, Venn, Hardt, Waldhausen and also for the riflemen in Windberg/Großheide, six rifle flags decorated the chancel. District Federal Champion Horst Thoren spoke for the Gladbach riflemen and presented the jubilee with an apostle beer mug. Thoren addressed the merits of Straßburger, who in 1995 was Schützenkönig in Bettrath and there and in Hardt, Waldhausen and Venn President of the brotherhoods. In Venn with the award “a. D.”, which the St. Josef riflemen interpret as “in the long run”. His shooting service on the bumper car in 2018 at the Venner fair is also unforgettable.
–
Strasbourg loves music. So it went without saying that the Venner choir “Sound and Spirit” under the direction of Klaus Müßeler brightened up the evening.
–
“Lev Pastuur, you’re the man for this mess” (melody by the Paveiern and text by Klaus Müßeler) was the musical guiding principle. Happy to hear from the jubilee: the song by the Bläck Fööss “I wör su jään ens Auxiliary Bishop”. In real life, Straßburger said, he never wanted to be an auxiliary bishop, preferring to be close to the people.
–
Straßburger is a real Niederrheiner. He was born in Krefeld in 1945 and grew up near the former Capuchin monastery. He completed his chaplaincy at St. Remigius in Viersen and at St. Cyriakus in Krefeld-Hüls. In 1982, Bishop Klaus Hemmerle transferred him to Bettrath as pastor, and a year later he became dean of the district of MG-Nordost. Straßburger has been working as a pastor in Venn since 2006 and today as a subsidiary in the GdG St. Peter.
–
He often made pilgrimages to Rome and the Holy Land with his parishioners. For the near future he has promised the Venner Schützen after two pilgrimages to Rome and one pilgrimage to Israel.
–
–
