KOLPING INTERNATIONAL mourns the loss of his Kolping brother Robert Henrich, who died on March 2, 2023 at the age of 89.
Father Robert Henrich from Wettelbrunn shaped the Kolping Association over several decades and has shown enormous commitment to the implementation of Adolph Kolping’s ideals both in Germany and in Asia.
From 1988 to 2008 he headed the Kolping Diocesan Association in Freiburg as diocesan praeses and was praeses of the Kolping regional association in Baden-Württemberg for the same length of time. For his many achievements, he was honored with the Badge of Honor from the Kolping Society in the Archdiocese of Freiburg on the occasion of his 60th anniversary as a priest in 2021.
At the international level, Robert Henrich worked with great energy from 1990 onwards to make the Kolping idea popular in Vietnam. The political pressure on Christians and the social misery he experienced there made him to travel regularly to Saigon and, with the help of donations from Germany, to set up development projects, particularly in the areas of family, youth and educational support. This is how the Kolping Society of Vietnam came into being, which today has around 3,000 members, organized into 140 Kolping families, and was elevated to a national association in 2003. In 2004, KOLPING Vietnam named its founder Honorary Praese for his beneficial work. In the same year, Pastor Robert Henrich was awarded the Golden Medal of Honor by the International Kolping Society for his extensive services at all Kolping levels.
We will remember him at the celebration of Holy Mass in the Church of the Minorites in Cologne.
In gratitude
The board of KOLPING INTERNATIONAL
Karin Wollgarten, Dr. Markus Demele, Msgr. Christoph Huber
