Vitus Seibel will be 90: a life for dialogue and the media!

Vitus Seibel will be 90: a life for dialogue and the media!

Vitus Seibel celebrates his 90th birthday on March 3, 2025. The Jesuit Father from Hauenstein is considered a significant contemporary Catholic publicist. In the past nine decades, Seibel has not only shaped spiritual life, but also left a lasting impression in the media landscape. His close connection to his namesake, the August Seibel, who died in 1991, is particularly striking.

The Catholic Church has repeatedly found ways to promote dialogue under the influence of personalities like Seibel. This is also shown by the foundation of the journalist school "Institute for the Promotion of Publicist Youngsters" (IFP) in 1968. This educational institution was colloquially referred to as a "Seibel Institute". The namesake, Wolfgang Seibel, who launched this institution, recently died at the age of 95. Despite health challenges, he kept in touch with his friends and alumni until his death, and enjoyed the encouragement of many who remained loyal to him.

a life for journalism

Wolfgang Seibel was an advocate of the reforms of the second Vaticanum and reported on these drastic changes for the Catholic news agency (KNA) from Rome. His commitment to the dialogue between believers and non -believers is a central element of his journalistic work. When he said goodbye in October 1991, he emphasized the need to promote open dialogue and seek the truth. This is also the spirit that shapes the “Seibel Institute”, where many journalists have been trained who have now influenced the media landscape.

The journalist school has established itself as a platform for critical thinking and the promotion of young talents since its foundation. The Father Wolfgang Seibel Prize for outstanding journalistic youth work is awarded annually. Despite the challenges with which the institute was confronted - external and internal allegations that the journalist school could influence the church in the media - defended Seibel the value of critical journalists for a constantly renewing church. His beliefs and views also expressed "votes of the time" from 1966 to 1998 in the Jesuit monthly magazine, where he tirelessly campaigned for church policy reforms and often received criticism from Rome.

a lasting inheritance

The merits of Wolfgang Seibel continue to live. His influence is not only evident in the initiatives that he launched, but also in the numerous life stories of his former students. These have internalized its principles and contributed to their own journalistic work. As Vitus Seibel is now celebrating its 90th birthday, the question remains how the Catholic Church will deal with the challenges of the present. The idea that church always has to renew itself remains central - and has also left effect in the media through personalities like Wolfgang Seibel.