Manhartists Or Haagleitnerians
Manhartists Or Haagleitnerians [1]
the name of a party in the Romish Church, especially in the archbishopric of Salzburg, from 1814 to 1826, whose founder and chief was a young priest named Caspar Haagleitner, of Hopfgarten; and its most distinguished and active member was Sebastian Manzl, of Westendorf (known also by the name of Manhart, from one of his estates). In 1809 Napoleon I had appointed the prince-bishop of Chiem-see and the coadjutor of Salzburg as ecclesiastical authorities in the diocese. The clergy submitted with the exception of Haagleitner, who refused to recognize them, and showed symptoms of heresy. He left Hopfgarten and went to Tyrol, where he created some religions and political troubles, and gained a number of followers. At the peace of Schonbrunn the Tyrol fell again into the hands of the French, and Haagleitner was taken a prisoner to Kusstein and Salzburg. He finally succeeded in making good his escape; and when, in 1814, Austria recovered the Bavarian Tyrol, he was appointed vicar at Worgel. Here he continued his intrigue, and succeeded so well that the people came to consider him as the only true priest in the country, the others having failed to do their duty by submitting to the dictates of Napoleon. Manhart assisted Haagleitner greatly in propagating his doctrines in Westendorf, Hopfgarten, and Kirchbichel, and their effect was felt even long after Haagleitner had been removed from Worgel. Manhart held meetings in his own house, preaching himself, or allowing his wife to preach, as well as another woman from Hopfgarten. The administrator of the diocese of Salzburg, and afterwards the archbishop Augustin Gruber, sought in vain to reconcile them with the Church; they asked to be instructed by the pope himself in case they were in the wrong, and for this purpose went to Rome in 1825. The difficulty ended soon after. — Herzog, Real-Encyklop Ä die, 8:781.
