Father Florian of Bavaria: descendant of King Ludwig I is dead – Munich

He returned to Upper Bavaria every two to three years. From a purely visual point of view, the priest fitted in well with the lovely landscape around Lake Starnberg, which he had been familiar with since childhood. Even as a young adult, he wore a veritable mustache and his blond hair often casually reaching down to the nape of his neck. You can also see it here with seasoned men on the golf courses, such as the course at Gut Rieden. Here Father Florian grew up as Franz-Josef Prince of Bavaria with his six siblings, familiar with agriculture and yet in the aristocratic style befitting his status. Gut Rieden was once the royal model estate of his ancestor King Ludwig III.

But this lifestyle was part of the Father’s early past. If he was later asked about his feelings about home in Upper Bavaria, the answer was rather negative. He had already spent too many years in Kenya, choosing conditions of his own free will that could not be compared to his childhood and youth. For Father Florian, however, the people were always decisive and not the place to feel comfortable. Here and there he remained closely connected throughout his life with everyone who was close to his heart, who could laugh with him, who supported him.

Father Florian von Bayern was born on September 21, 1957 in Leutstetten near Starnberg. In 1982 he entered the Benedictine monastery of Sankt Ottilien. After his ordination he decided to go to Kenya. After several stays at various mission locations, he came to Illeret on Lake Turkana in 2002 and founded a parish. Illeret is located in northern Kenya on the border with Ethiopia. His everyday life in Kenya is characterized by prayer, meditation and work, he said in interviews. It was no different in Sankt Ottilien.

And yet Father Florian found a special task in his African homeland. He himself made no secret of the fact that learning in secondary school had not always been easy for him. But he understood the opportunities that were offered to him as an enrichment and a privilege. A privilege that is denied to many children in this world.

Father Florian of Bavaria on a tour of the Turkana region in Kenya

(Photo: Jörg Boethling/oh/Agenda)

In Illeret, Father Florian did all he could to ensure that the children of the Daasanach were educated and founded the INES (Illeret Nomadic Education System) project, eagerly collecting donations for it. He had understood that the existing schools did not suit the lives of nomadic peoples, that the lessons had to come to the children. He spoke to the parents, persuaded them to send their offspring and campaigned for teacher training.

Father Florian was able to inspire people who knew him. He had an impressive charisma that worked equally well in the barren areas of Kenya as in lush Bavaria. The resemblance to his ancestor King Ludwig I, who founded the Ludwig Missionsverein, today’s Missio Munich, was unmistakable. Father Florian built on this with his work. He summarized his adventurous, often difficult life in his book “Because there is something bigger”.

After a serious illness, Father Florian passed away on the evening of June 22nd in Ruaraka Hospital. His confreres in Illeret want to continue his life’s work.

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