Bidspirit auction | 1927 Katholikentag Dortmund Commemorative Badge

1927 Katholikentag Dortmund Commemorative Badge - Bischof Ketteler - An oval commemorative badge marked ”66 · KATHOLIKENTAG · DORTMUND · 1927” with a portrait of ”BISCHOF KETTELER · +1877” in relief, signed ”Kissing” near the shoulder. The reverse carries an incuse mirror impression of the same design along with the maker inscription ”Heinr. Kissing, Menden i. Westf.” Katholikentag badges of this type were produced annually for the German Katholikentag assemblies, commemorating the general meeting of German Catholics; this example honors Wilhelm Emmanuel von Ketteler, the influential Bishop of Mainz noted for his social teaching, on the occasion of the 66th Katholikentag held in Dortmund in 1927. Wilhelm Emmanuel von Ketteler (1811–1877) served as Bishop of Mainz and is regarded as a founding figure of Catholic social doctrine, addressing questions of labour, industrialisation, and workers' welfare well before Pope Leo XIII's *Rerum Novarum*. The Katholikentag was an annual national assembly of German Catholics, bringing together clergy and laity to discuss religious, social, and political matters affecting the Church in Germany. This badge marks the 66th such gathering, held in Dortmund in 1927, and honours Ketteler's legacy fifty years after his death.