Stella Matutina

Geschichte

Stella Matutina in Feldkirch, Austria, was a Jesuit school that operated in 1651–1773, 1856–1938, and 1946–1979.History, scholarship, international flareThe “Kolleg” began in 1649 but opened formally in 1651. In 1773, when Pope Clement XIV discontinued the order of the Society of Jesus, the school closed. It was reopened under Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria in 1856 with the support of Pope Pius IX in Feldkirch by Fr. Clemens Faller, S.J. Students came from today’s Austria, Hungary, Poland, Czech Republic, Italy, Croatia, and also Germany, France, England, Switzerland, and the USA. The highly-international teacher and student body flourished there until the outbreak of World War I. The conversational language was Latin.The Stella Matutina scholars were well-known at the time. Achille Ratti, later Pope Pius XI, and Ludwig von Pastor went to Feldkirch to conduct joint research with Jesuit professors of the Stella. The Jesuit professors were expected to publish in their respective fields and not a few of them taught at the Gregorian University before or after their time at the Stella. A 1931 volume of 26 publications shows a wide range of topics, from theology to law and natural sciences. After the outbreak of World War I, the Stella lost much of its international flair and educated mainly students from German-speaking countries, including much of the Catholic aristocracy.