Heinz Hubert Baumann (11 December 1946 – 24 April 2010) was a German Roman-Catholic priest in Aachen.
Life
Heinz Baumann grew up as the first son of August and Agnes Baumann in Jülich- and attended the humanities-oriented gymnasium . There he came into contact with the teachings of Francis de Sales and early on developed the desire to become a priest. After graduating in 1966, he studied philosophy and theology in Bonn and Tübingen under Hans Küng and Joseph Ratzinger and was ordained as a priest on 17 June 1972 in Krefeld. After a few years as a chaplain at the Aachen parishes of and he moved to in the on 2 April 1979. On 29 December 1981 (with effect from 1 January 1982) bishop Klaus Hemmerle appointed him to become the successor of Ferdinand Lenßen as pastor of St. Elisabeth. He was introduced into his duties on 17 January 1982. At the end of 1998, Heinz Baumann fell seriously ill for about seven months. After his recovery and return he continued to lead the parish until 2009. He died from illness on 24 April 2010. His grave is located in his birthplace Barmen.
Work
Baumann wanted to see church as a meeting place widely open for anyone and beyond confessional borders. He typically tried to convince people with deeds rather than words and to thereby encourage imitation. He was motivated by a deep belief and commitment to social justice, reflected in a multitude of projects, events and long-term established facilities. Besides his child and youth work he helped long-term unemployed people (f.e. by the creation of an unemployment center), drug addicts, and he supported the peace movement, cross-cultural communication and intercultural exchange. He also encouraged people to take over responsibility and initiative themselves.
While to him working with the youth had the highest priority he also continued to maintain already established initiatives such as the "Elisabeth Conference", a program originally founded in 1908 to support poor people, and among them especially elderly women and, increasingly, single mothers. Between 1989 and 2004 he set up a clothing store for people in need. In 1991, he helped set up a library open to everyone. He also initiated a local newspaper.
