Advent - Austria / II. Republic of Austria 2010 - 65 Euro Cent

Almost 'it is already a good tradition that the old bishop of Innsbruck, dr. Reinhold Stecher, a stamp with a Christmassy motif for the Austrian Post. For the fourth time, the dedicated amateur painter used brushes and palettes to create the image that adorns this year's Advent brand. It shows the most famous landmark of Dr. Ing. Stechers home town of Innsbruck, the Golden Roof, and next to a festively lit Christmas tree, immersed in a quiet rays, which interpreted the warm mood of the pre-Christmas time in a virtuoso manner. About the person: After the Matura in Innsbruck and performance of the Reich Labor Service Reinhold Stecher joined in 1939 in the seminary in St. Michael in Matrei. However, as the seminar was soon closed by the Gestapo, he continued to study at the monastery of St. Georgen in Carinthia. After a pilgrimage to Maria Waldrast Stecher was brought in 1941 to a two-month imprisonment in a Gestapo prison. Subsequently, the move to the Wehrmacht - with front-line operations in Karelia, in Lapland and in Norway. Reinhold Stecher was wounded and entered on his return to the seminary Canisianum. In 1947 he was finally ordained a priest. Various activities as Prefect, teacher and pastor followed, before he graduated in 1951 as a Doctor of Theology. In the years from 1956 to 1981 Dr. Stecher Professor of Religious Education at the Innsbruck Teacher Training Institute and in parallel from 1968 Professor of Religious Education at the Pädagogische Akademie des Bundes. In addition, he was from 1965 to 1970 Spiritual in the seminary of the two dioceses of Innsbruck and Feldkirch. The solemn appointment as bishop took place in December 1980 by Pope John Paul II. In the Austrian Bishops' Conference Dr. Ing. For many years Reinhold Stecher was responsible for the reports Caritas and Women, but at the same time he was also the representative in the Faith Commission of the German Bishops' Conference. During his tenure fell the acclaimed visit of Pope John Paul II in Innsbruck and the beatification of the two martyr Priests Otto Neururer and Jakob Gapp. To his stamp drafts Dr. Stecher modestly: "I contribute to the mystery of Christmas only a little bit of mood. But since no Christian festival is embedded in our society emotionally deeper than Christmas, the small memory on the corner of the corner can contribute to the fact that not only the letter, but also the heart goes on a journey in the direction of great peace. "