He was remarkably open about his illness: Dean Robert Walter has now lost the fight against cancer. The popular pastor from Uffingen died on Friday, March 27 - a severe blow for Catholics in the region. In Corona times the burial can only take place in the narrowest circle.
Uffing - The sad news spread quickly on Friday, March 27: Robert Walter, Dean of Benediktbeuern and pastor in the parish community of Staffelsee, to which the parishes of Uffing, Seehausen and Spatzenhausen belong, together with districts, was the same in the early morning Killed his serious cancer in the day at the Murnau accident clinic - at the age of 56.
The shock is deep in Uffing. Walter lived there since 2004, was firmly integrated in the village community, was valued for his tackling, pragmatic nature and his pronounced social streak. "It is tragic that it happened so quickly," said Mayor Rupert Wintermeier. Recently, Walter had announced in a moving letter to the church that after a devastating diagnosis - a tumor had affected his liver - he did not want any more chemotherapy (we reported). Instead, he chose palliative care. There was talk of a “personal way of the cross” in the village - a comparison that the pastor apparently liked. As he said himself, he had placed his "fate in the hands of the Lord".
Walter was a pastor by passion, understood himself in the role of the dean as an equal among equals, who ensured cohesion between the clergy, employees, volunteers and believers. The Benediktbeuern dean's office includes 19 parishes with around 35,000 Catholics in the Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Weilheim-Schongau and Bad Tölz-Wolfratshausen districts. Walter, born in Lauingen in 1964, always had a good connection with his fellow human beings. "It was always there when you needed it," says City Hall chief Wintermeier.
Walter's path to the pastor seemed to be mapped out: his spiritual roots lay in church youth work - but also in the family that was close to the faith. Nevertheless, after graduating from high school, he wanted to become a bricklayer and then began studying surveying technology. Only his brother-in-law, a pastoral theologian, ultimately brought him to study theology in Munich - and from a test phase in the seminary, an appointment eventually grew. On June 26, 1994, he was ordained priest in Augsburg Cathedral. His deep relationship with Christ in particular gave him support. "The feeling that Jesus is always next to me is essential for me," he is quoted in a portrait that can be found on the website of the diocese of Augsburg.
After his chaplain time in Schongau and Augsburg-Pfersee, he became regional youth minister of the region of Old Bavaria and parish administrator in Hörzhausen in September 1998. During this time he was also involved in the development of the emergency pastoral care in the district of Neuburg-Schrobenhausen. Walter was a pastor in Uffing for 16 years and head of the Staffelsee parish community. In 2015 he took over the office of dean.
He had a rather unusual hobby for his profession: The man of God was a passionate motorcyclist. Whenever time allowed, he exchanged the chasuble for a leather jacket and helmet and whisked away with his BMW. The biker souls were dear to his heart: his motorcycle blessings at Lake Staffelsee were legendary.
The appointed bishop of Augsburg Dr. According to a press release from the diocese, Bertram Meier received the death announcement with great dismay: "With our brother Robert Walter, we are losing an active priest and dean who, despite his illness, has served ministers and parishes with great dedication in recent years, Faithfulness and concern for the faithful entrusted to him. "Even Walter's deputy, vice dean and Murnau pastor Siegbert Schindele, mourns:" For me he was a great role model of how he carried the disease. "
Due to the corona crisis, the burial can only take place in small groups. In order to be able to say goodbye anyway, the body is laid out in the Seehauser Ausegnungshalle. The festive requiem should be made up for later.