Stöcklein, Joseph

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STÖCKLEIN, JOSEPH

Jesuit mission historian; b. Öttingen, Bavaria, July 30, 1676; d. Graz, Austria, Dec. 28, 1733. He entered the Society of Jesus Oct. 9, 1700, and received his theological training and was ordained in Vienna. As a priest he was chief field chaplain (171418) with Prince Eugene in Serbia. In this capacity he saw action in 11 field battles. Later he was rector at the College of Vienna-Neustadt (172023) and preacher at the court. He is best known for his writings, especially for his Der Neue-Weltbott (172861), a compilation of reports from Jesuit missionaries in the East Indies, the New World, and other overseas lands, forwarded to Europe from 1642 to 1726. The collection is one of the most important sources for the history of the Catholic missions of the 18th century. The first volume, comprising the first eight parts, was published by Stöcklein in Augsburg in 1726. This collection, greatly indebted to the Lettres Edifiantes of Charles Gobien, SJ, was extended later to include 38 parts. Stöcklein collected the first three volumes (24 parts), which were published in 1736. After Stöcklein's death, other Jesuits carried on the work. Thus, Peter Probst brought out parts 25 to 28 in 1748; Francis Keller issued parts 29 to 36 in 1758; and Francis Xavier Socher completed the work by 1761. Keller (170062) wrote a letter on the life and death of Joseph Stöcklein that appears at the end of part 29 (n. 572). R. streit gives a complete listing of the letters and descriptions contained in Der Neue-Weltbott.

Bibliography: c. sommervogel et al., Bibliothèque de la Compagnie de Jésus, 11 v. (Brussels-Paris 18901932; v.12, suppl. 1960) 7:158586; 12:821. r. streit and j. dindinger, Bibliotheca missionum (Freiburg 1916) 1:838, 942, 976, 994. m. a. blankenburg, "German Missionary Writers in Paraguay," Mid-America 29 (1947) 4561.

[j. j. hollohan]