Franz Xaver von Baader

Franz Xaver von Baader (born March 27, 1765, Munich, Bavaria [Germany]—died May 23, 1841, Munich) was a Roman Catholic layman who became an influential mystical theologian and ecumenicist. Abandoning a profitable career as a mining engineer in 1820, he turned his attention to a study of politics and religion. His earlier efforts to achieve ecumenical and political unity contributed to the formation in 1815 of the Holy Alliance, a security pact among Russia, Austria, Prussia,...