«Militia est vita hominis». Die "militärische" Erziehung des Jesuitenpaters Ignaz Parhamer im Zeitalter Maria Theresias

The Jesuit Ignaz Parhamer’s «military» education in Maria Theresa’s reign. The Jesuit Ignaz Parhamer (1715-1786) was a prominent figure in Vienna during the reign of Maria Theresa. He was a relevant cathechist, the head of the missions in Austrian lands, and the director of orphanage of Vienna. His educational methods bore a marked military stamp. Convinced that sin sprang from ignorance, he devoted himself to the spreading of the Confraternity of Christian Doctrine and its schools, and to the teaching of cathechism. His missions were military directed and contrasted with the baroque ones. He made the Orphanage of Vienna a unique and famous one. This article considers his catechetic work, using sources from the Jesuit Archives in Rome, and shed light on the roots of Parhamer military spirituality. It so reveals the reasons for his success and the causes of the hostility which his educational work aroused: Parhamer gained the favour of Maria Theresa and the support of the people, but encountered the opposition of Josef II and the intellectuals of the Enlightenment.

Il gesuita Ignaz Parhamer (1715-1786) fu responsabile delle missioni in terra austriaca e direttore dell’Orfanotrofio viennese, dove usò un metodo educativo caratterizzato da una forte impronta militare. Per combattere l’ignoranza, madre del peccato, si dedicò alla diffusione della Confraternita della Dottrina Cristiana e delle sue scuole e all’insegnamento del catechismo. L’opera catechetica e la spiritualità militante sono esplorate con l’ausilio di fonti dell’Archivio romano della Compagnia di Gesù, che evidenziano le ragioni sia del successo sia dell’ostilità che incontrò la sua opera educativa.