Lothar Zenetti

Lothar Zenetti
Born (1926-02-06) 6 February 1926
Frankfurt am Main
Education Sankt Georgen Graduate School of Philosophy and Theology
Occupation
  • Theologian
  • Priest
  • Writer
  • Hymnwriter

Lothar Zenetti (born 6 February 1926) is a German Catholic theologian, priest, and author of books and poetry. He was in Frankfurt both a minister for young people and a parish priest. His songs, for example "Segne dieses Kind", appear in both Protestant and Catholic hymnals, and he was active on radio and television.

Life and work

Zenetti was born in Frankfurt am Main. He attended there from 1931 the Bonifatius-Schule and from 1936 the Goethe-Gymnasium. He was drawn in 1943, first as Luftwaffenhelfer, then to the Reichsarbeitsdienst. At the end of the War, he was a prisoner of war first of the Americans, then the French. During this time he began to study theology at the so-called Stacheldrahtseminar (barbed-wire seminary) of Chartres.[1][2]

Back in Frankfurt, he completed his Abitur and studied at the Sankt Georgen Graduate School of Philosophy and Theology. He graduated in 1952 and was ordained as a priest on 28 September 1952 by Wilhelm Kempf in Limburg an der Lahn. He worked as a Kaplan (vicar) in Oberbrechen, Kölbingen, Königstein im Taunus and at St. Bonifatius in Wiesbaden. In 1962 he became Stadtjugendpfarrer (minister for young people) in Frankfurt. He was a parish priest in St. Wendel, Sachsenhausen, from 1962 to 1995.[3]

He published several books and many poems. About 150 of his poems were set to music in the genre Neues Geistliches Lied (NGL), several were included in hymnals, others appeared in song collections and were recorded, for example the ballad "Was keiner wagt" by the Liedermacher Konstantin Wecker.[3] He also wrote texts and songs in Mundart (dialect).[3] He worked for public television in a series Das Wort zum Sonntag,[4] and was the representative of the Catholic Church for the broadcaster Hessischer Rundfunk.[2][3]

In 1984 he was awarded the prize Humor in der Kirche (humour in the church) by the Diocese of Limburg.[3]

Selected works

48 publications by Zenetti are listed by the German National Library (DNB).[5]

Books

Songs

Some of Zenetti's songs have been included in hymnals, such as Evangelisches Gesangbuch (EG) and the Catholic Gotteslob.[1]

music by Erna Woll, 1971 (former GL 636)
music by Michael Schütz, 1983 (EG 581, GL 490)

References

  1. 1 2 Herbst, Wolfgang (2001). Wer ist wer im Gesangbuch? (in German). Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht. ISBN 9783525503232.
  2. 1 2 Marx, Matthias (23 January 2016). "Lothar Zenetti" (in German). Diocese of Trier. Retrieved 25 June 2016.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Rossmann, Ursula (27 September 2012). "Pfarrer mit tiefgründigem Humor". Frankfurter Rundschau (in German). Retrieved 25 June 2016.
  4. ↑ "Lothar Zenetti ist seit 60 Jahren Priester". Frankfurter Neue Presse (in German). 24 September 2012. Retrieved 25 June 2016.
  5. ↑ "Lothar Zenetti / Werke" (in German). German National Library. Retrieved 14 July 2016.
  6. ↑ Hofmann, Dietmar (2004). Verkündigung des christlichen Glaubens durch geistliche Musik: dargestellt an der Totenliturgie (in German). Münster: LIT Verlag. ISBN 9783825862350.
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