The former provincial of the Salesian Don BoscoFather Herbert Bihlmayer, is dead. He died on Tuesday after a long, serious illness at the age of 89, as the order announced in Munich. We are losing a committed and visionary brother, priest and educator. The education of young people and the preservation of creation were always close to his heart. A lasting legacy is the Don Bosco Foundation, which he founded in 2001. This now has over 200 foundations managed in trust. In 2023, income of around 2.3 million euros was generated, which will benefit child and youth welfare projects.
Bihlmayer, born in Immenstadt in Allgäu in 1935, joined the Salesian Order of Don Bosco in 1954 and was ordained a priest in 1964. He paid particular attention to the Benediktbeuern Action Center, which he founded in 1969 with the then Provincial Father Franz Burger and which he directed until his appointment as director of the Benediktbeuern branch in 1985, it is said. This became a well-known place that still offers young people a space for encounters, education and spirituality.
Center for Environment and Culture established
From 1991 to 2003, Bihlmayer was the provincial of the order’s southern German province. He led the community through a time of change, it is said. The Salesian was strongly committed to supporting disadvantaged young people and initiating aid projects. At the same time, from 1988 onwards he supported the newly built Centre for Environment and Culture in the Benediktbeuern Monastery.
Bihlmayer was also a member of the provincial council of the all-German province that was united in 2005, set up the order’s public relations department and held positions in the then Association of German Superiors of Religious Orders. From 1996 to 1999, the Salesian was also chairman of the Federal Association of Catholic Youth Social Work in Germany. He has received several awards for his services, including the Bavarian Order of Merit.
The Salesians of Don Bosco say they are one of the largest male orders in the Catholic Church, with around 14,200 members in 134 countries. The German Province has around 200 members of the order, who work at around 30 locations in Germany, German-speaking Switzerland and Turkey with a good 2,000 employees. (KNA)
