OHe was often a lone cryer in the wilderness. A weirdo who preached renunciation but flew around the world himself. In some years, Notker Wolf covered a good 300,000 kilometers as a Benedictine abbot-primate. He made millions from spirituality and lifestyle books and seminars he gave to entrepreneurs. He remained modest and the money went to the monastery community. The fact that he was also a bon vivant, that he knew how to enjoy life, and that he was not only a clergyman who preached from above, but also proclaimed truths, which he also called “heretical ideas”, all made him popular. , especially in Germany. And finally believable.
Even as a student, Werner Wolf wanted to become a missionary, which for him meant freedom and the opportunity to go out into the world. Born in 1940, Wolf came from a Catholic Allgäu family and was an altar boy. The priest helped him so that he could go to the Benedictine high school of the Sankt Ottilien mission. After graduating from high school, he entered the queue and chose the name “Notker”. He studied at the Pontifical College of Sant'Anselmo in Rome and was ordained a priest in 1968. At the age of 37, he was already the chief abbot of Ottilien, and in 2000 he was elected to the highest Benedictine position in Rome.
He also sometimes criticized the Popes
Notker Wolf also sometimes criticized the Popes when it seemed necessary to him. He considered reforms, such as the synodal path chosen in Germany, to be correct and important. The Abbot Primate also had to deal with cases of abuse that also affected “his” Benedictine monastery in Ettal. He criticized the fact that the archdiocese of Munich and Freising put pressure on two people, the headmaster and the abbot, who were working on old cases. In general, “tragic” events too often involve the perpetrators and not enough the victims.
It was well received by those who find the church backward. Notker Wolf was different. That's exactly what he liked: he went on talk shows, played electric guitar, once even opened for the hard rock band Deep Purple with his school band, and had a podcast: “Against the Current.”
On Tuesday, Notker Wolf died suddenly at the age of 83 on a return trip from Italy to Ottilie, the monastery announced on Wednesday.