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Michael Hesemann

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Michael Hesemann (born March 22, 1964, Düsseldorf) is a German historian, journalist and author, specialized on Church history.

Life

Hesemann studied History and Cultural Anthropology at the University of Göttingen in Germany. He lives in Düsseldorf and Rome, where he is accredited to the Holy See Press Office. The Wall Street Journal describes him as "a religious historian who helps the Vatican date relics" He is also one of the few academic historians who were granted access to and did research in the Vatican Secret Archives. Since November 2008, Hesemann advises and represents the “Pave the Way Foundation” with the aim to remove obstacles between the world religions and especially to improve the relationship between Judaism and Catholicism. His 34 books were published in 14 languages. He co-founded Deutschland pro Papa, a conservative catholic initiative which supports Pope Benedict XVI. Hesemann lectured at international conferences on religion, including the Vatican Lateran University and the Sorbonne in Paris. Together with Msgr. Georg Ratzinger, he co-authored "My brother, the Pope".

Vatican

In the Vatican, he investigated the history of the alleged relic of the inscription of the cross of Jesus, hidden in Rome for nearly 1700 years. It was dated by seven Israeli experts for comparative palaeography –the established method to date inscriptions- into the 1st century, indicating its authenticity. The relic is exhibited in the Basilica di Santa Croce.

Hesemann delivered the German language reading in the Easter Night Vigil 1999, presided by the Pope, in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome. He travelled with Pope John Paul II to Poland, the Holy Land and Fátima, Portugal. In the course of his research, Hesemann identified a 5th century cave monastery at the banks of the Jordan river in which this relic was seen and described by pilgrims of the 6th century AD.

In March 2006, on request of the Cofradia of the "Caballeros del Santo Caliz", Hesemann briefed Pope Benedict XVI and Archbishop Piero Marini, Master of Liturgical Ceremonies of the Holy Father, on the "Santo Caliz" (Holy Chalice) in preparation of the Pope's announced trip to the World Family Meeting in Valencia. He followed Benedict XVI on his trips to Germany (2005, 2006), Spain (2006) and Israel (2009). In April 2008, after research in Greece, Cyprus, Turkey, Israel and Malta, Hesemann published "Paulus von Tarsus", an "archaeological biography" of St. Paul. The book features the first forensic reconstruction of the face of St. Paul, done by experts of the State Bureau of Investigations (Landeskriminalamt) of Northrhine-Westphalia.

In October 2008 "The Pope who Defied Hitler. The Truth about Pius XII" for which he did research in the Vatican Secret Archives and consulted with the Relator and Postulator of the ongoing Beatification Process of the wartime Pope who, according to Hesemann, saved the lives of over 850.000 Jews during the Holocaust. In 2010, again in the Vatican Secret Archives, he uncovered the documents of an initiative started by Cardinal Eugenio Pacelli, the later Pope Pius XII, who requested Visa for 200.000 German Jews just three weeks after the Crystal Night (pogrom night of Nov. 9, 1939) in Germany. His discovery received, once again, worldwide attention and deeply influenced the perception of the wartime Pope in the Israeli media.

Bibliography

  • "Findet der Weltuntergang statt?" (Will doomsday happen?), 1984
  • "Geheimsache Fatima. Vom Vatikan verschwiegen: Was offenbarte die Gottesmutter über die Zukunft der Menschheit?" (Secret affair Fatima. Concealed by the vatican: What did God's mother reveal about the future of mankind?), München 1997, ISBN 3-88498-117-X.
  • "Die kommende Weltkrise" (The Coming World Crisis), 1998
  • "Die Jesus-Tafel” (The Jesus-Title), Freiburg (Herder) 1999
  • "Die stummen Zeugen von Golgota" (Silent Witnesses of Golgota), München (Hugendubel) 2000
  • "Das Fatima-Geheimnis" (The Fatima Secret), 2002
  • "Die Entdeckung des Heiligen Grals" (The Discovery of the Holy Grail), München (Pattloch) 2003
  • "Der erste Papst" (The First Pope), München (Pattloch) 2003
  • "Hitlers Religion", München (Pattloch) 2004; Augsburg (St. Ulrich) 2012
  • "Hitlers Lügen“ (Hitler’s Lies), Erfststadt 2005
  • "Johannes Paul der Große" (John Paul the Great), München 2005
  • "Stigmata", Güllesheim 2006
  • "Die Dunkelmänner" (The Black Legends), Augsburg (St. Ulrich) 2007
  • "Paulus von Tarsus“ (St. Paul of Tarsus), Augsburg (St. Ulrich) 2008
  • "Der Papst, der Hitler trotzte” (The Pope who Defied Hitler), Augsburg (St. Ulrich) 2008
  • "Jesus von Nazareth. Archäologen auf den Spuren des Erloesers", Augsburg (St. Ulrich) 2009
  • "Das Bluttuch Christi" (The Blood Cloth of Christ), Munich (Herbig) 2010
  • "Auf den Spuren des Grabtuchs von Turin" (In Search for the Turin Shroud), Fulda (Kehl) 2010
  • "Maria von Nazareth. Geschichte, Archaeologie, Legenden", Augsburg (St. Ulrich) 2011
  • "Johannes Paul II. Erbe und Charisma", Augsburg (St. Ulrich) 2011
  • with Benedict XVI.: "Der Papst in Deutschland", Augsburg (St. Ulrich) 2011
  • with Georg Ratzinger: "Mein Bruder, der Papst", München (Herbig) 2011
  • with Georg Ratzinger: "My Brother, the Pope", San Francisco 2012
  • "Jesus in Ägypten. Das Geheimnis der Kopten", München (Herbig) 2012
  • "The Face of Christ" (video), 2002

See also

German National Library: Entry about Michael Hesemann (in German language)

References

  1. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704216804575423673016971944.html
  2. http://www.zenit.org/article-29766?l=english
  3. www.ptwf.org
  4. Deutschland pro Papa Website (German)
  5. http://abcnews.go.com/International/video/author-denies-pope-benedict-nazi-rumors-15819403
  6. http://www.zenit.org/article-862?l=spanish
  7. http://www.linteum.com/tienda/58-linteum-n-39.html
  8. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/world-war-2/7874740/Hitlers-Pope-saved-thousands-of-Jewish-lives.html
  9. all books in German only; titles roughly translated into english.

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