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Josef Miller (April 22, 1890 – November 24, 1985) was a German Jesuit theologian and superior who worked mainly in Austria.
Josef Miller was born in Lengmoos (Lower Bavaria); his parents were practicing Catholics and ran a bakery. For his grammar school studies he attended Scheyern Abbey; later he attended another Catholic school in Freising. In 1908, at the age of 18, before finishing school, he decided to enter the Jesuit Order. The order was still forbidden in Germany as a result of the Kulturkampf, so he entered the Austrian Jesuit Province instead. The novitiate (1908-1910) took place in St. Andrä in the Lavanttal; after that he finished his schooling (1910-1912) and graduated from Kalksburg College in Vienna. He studied philosophy in Innsbruck from 1912 to 1915. After that he worked as a prefect in the Kalksburg College (1915-1917). Four more years of theology studies followed in Innsbruck (1917-1921). He did military service as a medic in Munich (1917-1919). On July 26, 1920, he was ordained a priest in Innsbruck's Jesuit Church; in 1923 he received his doctorate from Innsbruck's Faculty of Theology.[1]
He presided over the Jesuit students' sodality in Innsbruck from 1922 to 1936. He was known for his administrative skills and working well with people. He went on to serve as the Provincial of the Austrian Province of Jesuits. He had to master this task in the years from 1936 to 1942, much of the time during the Third Reich. Many religious houses and colleges were suppressed in this era. Several Jesuit Fathers were imprisoned or sent into exile. During the war, almost all the younger confreres were drafted into the Wehrmacht; some died in battle.[1]
As of 1942, he served as spiritual director to Berchmans College, located in Pullach near Munich. Many of his students were former soldiers. Fr. Miller was popular with them because of his uncomplicated manner and sober style.[1]
The last chapter of his life, starting in 1946, was devoted to teaching Moral Theology in Innsbruck. His Habilitation had been in pedagogy, and completed ten years prior (1936). Miller thus had to familiarize himself with much new material. He first taught as a lecturer in morals and finally received the appointment as a full professor of Moral Theology and pedagogy in 1955. In 1956/57 he was dean of the Faculty of Theology. He also presided over pastoral courses and continuing education for clergy for many years.[1]
From 1967 to 1985, Miller served as a confessor in the Jesuit Church in Innsbruck. When his health no longer permitted him to do this, he moved to the sanatorium of the Sisters of the Cross in the Tirolean village of Rum. He died on the Solemnity of Christ the King. His funeral took place in Innsbruck's Jesuit Church, and he was buried in its crypt on November 27, 1985, with Bishop Reinhold Stecher presiding.[2]
