Yes he is, with the ribbon for Non Combattants, furthermore, at the back of the picture, you can see a sign which says Aufname, with a red cross above it. My guess is that this is a hospital were wounded soldiers were treated. And the priest just had that Iron Cross recieved by the officers you can also see next to him. But that are just my thoughts about this picture.I find it interesting that the priest is wearing an iron cross. Thanks for sharing Bruno!
Tony, I would have said upfront that this refers only to French history. One of the founding principles of the modern French society is the total separation between Church(es) and State (not opposition, but independance). This was made effective by a law promulgated in 1905 (Loi de Separation des Eglises et de l'Etat), after a long evolution rooted in the 1789 revolution. You would never, ever hear a French politician or other public individual refer publicly to God, while it is, as we know, common in the USA for instance. "Le sabre et le goupillon" ("goupillon" is the sort of hand sprinkler used by Catholic priests to spray Holy water during Mass) is a usually pejorative expression used to illustrate the fact that despite this separation, the Army and the (catholic) Church remain associated. It is attributed to Georges Clemenceau but has been commonly used by left-wing politicians, polemists, writers since then...Bruno would you mind explaining this a bit more? Many of us, (including myself) have probably never heard of this.
You are probably right, Coert, but I guess this clergyman is much more than a simple priest...Yes he is, with the ribbon for Non Combattants, furthermore, at the back of the picture, you can see a sign which says Aufname, with a red cross above it. My guess is that this is a hospital were wounded soldiers were treated. And the priest just had that Iron Cross recieved by the officers you can also see next to him. But that are just my thoughts about this picture.
You are abolutely right! Congratulations!The priest ? is standing next to Kronprinz Rupprecht von Bayern...
You may have nailed it! Thank you.The priest looks a bit like Cardinal Felix of Hartmann (Archbishop of Cologne) but I don’t know if he got an ironcross of non-combatants.
Source: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Felix_von_Hartmann
(Illustriertes Hausbuch für christliche Familien, Verlag Theodor Triebenbacher München (1913))
View attachment 17056
Awesome, happy to helpYou may have nailed it! Thank you.
I found on internet a picture of Cardinal von Hartmann in similar company, and they do look alike.View attachment 17057
Hi,„Cardinal Hartmann with the rhinelander in the field“