P. Georg Sporschill: Award as a model for humanity

P. Georg Sporschill: Award as a model for humanity

An outstanding event is imminent: The Jesuit Father Georg Sporschill will be awarded the Martin Buber badge on November 22nd in Kerkrade, the Netherlands. This honor is characterized by personalities who are particularly committed to humanity. According to the “Vorarlberger Nachrichten”, the badge has been awarded since 2002 and, among other things, has recently awarded significant personalities such as the former President of the USSR Mikhail Gorbachev and the former German President Richard von Weizsäcker.

The award is named after the Austrian-Israeli philosopher Martin Buber, which is known for his dialogue philosophy. In his writings, Buber emphasizes how important dialogue and interpersonal encounter are for human existence. The association "Euriade", which gives the badge, promotes exchange and dialogue, especially among young people from conflict -loaded regions such as Ukraine and Palestine

Father Georg Sporschill's life path

Georg Sporschill was born in Feldkirch, Vorarlberg in 1946. He is the fifth of nine siblings and studied theology, pedagogy and psychology after completing his school education in Innsbruck and Paris. He only entered the Jesuit order at the age of 30 and was consecrated to the priest two years later.

his commitment to disadvantaged groups began as a chaplain in Vienna-Lainz, where he particularly took care of young people who had to deal with difficulties such as drug addiction or homelessness. He was instrumental in the founding of the Caritas youth center and other institutions for homeless people. Sporschill's initiative of the "Canisibus", a moving soup kitchen service, has helped numerous needy and he opened the "Inigo" restaurant, which offers long-term unemployed new opportunities.

in 1991 he received the order from the Jesuit order to take care of the street children in Bucharest. What was originally planned for six months became a lifelong mission. Together with Ruth Zenkert, he founded the "Concordia" social projects that opened a new perspective of life thousands of children. The projects included the establishment of social centers, child and youth houses as well as vocational schools, which are not only successful in Romania, but also in the Republic of Moldova and Bulgaria.

At the age of 65, Sporschill retired from the board of "Concordia" to fulfill its original order. He took over the successor of Ruth Zenkert and was committed to the relief organization "Elijah", which is particularly committed to Roma in Transylvania. Agricultural and manual training projects were launched there, including a nursery, music schools and a boarding school for Roma children.

The appreciation of Father Sporschill with the Martin Buber badge underlines his lifelong commitment to human rights and social justice. He is not only a role model for society, but also a lively example of how indiv noisy action can change the lives of many people positively.

Further information on the Pater Sporschill projects can be found on the website elijah.at .