 |
| Dr. Helmut Rückriegel (right) during a meeting with Benedict XVI. |
His Excellency Dr. Helmut Rückriegel,
one of the elder statesmen of the International Federation Una Voce
(FIUV), a personal friend of former Pro Tridentina (Malta) President Godwin Xuereb, and a great champion of tradition over many decades, died early
on 25th of January, 2016.
Dr. Rückriegel has been actively
involved in the
Una Voce movement since 1967. He was head of
Una Voce
Deutschland in 1992–2005, member of the FIUV Council, and later one of
the Federation’s
Presidents d’honneur.
--------------------------
Obituary
Dr. Helmut Rückriegel, an important and highly meritorious upholder for the traditional Latin liturgy has left us.
Born
on the 20th of November 1925 in Niedergründau, close to Hanau, he spent
the days of his philological studies in Marburg, with whose university
he remained in close contact for all his life. Having achieved a
doctorate (Dr. Phil) he was a lecturer for ancient European languages in
Manchester prior to being employed as from 1956 by Germany’s Foreign
Service. His first assignment there was the post of an attaché at the
German embassy in London. Following further postings as chargé
d’affaires in Israel and with the German Information Center in New York
between 1979 and 1984 he ran the personal office and worked as head of
protocol of the German Federal President Dr. Karl Carstens. Following
that he officiated as German ambassador to Thailand until 1988 and until
his retirement in 1990 as German ambassador to Ireland.
In
November 1980 he was a member of the diplomatic team which greeted Pope
John Paul II on his first visit to Germany. As they waited for the
Pope’s aeroplane to land he found himself standing next to Cardinal
Joseph Ratzinger and they began conversing. This led to a friendship
that endured until his death.
Already fascinated by the Catholic
Church from an early age as a youth he converted to Catholicism. This
association post the liturgical reforms brought about by the Second
Vatican Council resulted in his exemplary and incessant engagement
towards the preservation and restoration of the traditional Latin
liturgy and Gregorian chant. Thus, from 1992 to 2006, he occupied the
position of President of
Una Voce Germany. During that period he led the
association and its publication, the
Una-Voce-Korrespondenz, to a
renewed flourishing.
A further passion of his, besides his love
of literature and poetry (he knew innumerable German poems by heart) was
that for old English and Irish roses which he planted and cultivated at
his 3,000 sqm property in Niedergründau. This rose garden was renowned
amongst the friends of roses and every year was the destination of a
great number of tourists. Following a long illness, during the night
leading to the 25th of January 2016, Helmut Rückriegel passed away. His
perseverance and his extraordinary merits for the traditional Catholic
liturgy shall remain unforgotten.
Dr. Johann von Behr, deputy president
Una Voce Deutschland e.V.
---------------------
In paradisum deducant te Angeli;
in tuo adventu suscipiant te martyres,
et perducant te in civitatem sanctam Jerusalem.
Chorus angelorum te suscipiat,
et cum Lazaro quondam paupere æternam habeas requiem.
