Sambuga, JOSEPH ANTON, theologian, b. at Walldorf near Heidelberg, June 9, 1752; d. at Nymphenburg near Munich June 5, according to Sailer, but January 5 according to other statements, 1815. His parents were Italians who had come from the neighborhood of Como. He went to school at Mannheim and to the monastic school of the Augustinians at Wiesloch and then entered the University of Heidelberg. In 1770 family affairs took him to Italy where he finished his theological studies and was ordained priest at Como, April 2, 1774. After he had labored at Como for a while as chaplain at the hospital he returned to Germany and in 1775 was made chaplain at Helmsheim, in 1778 chaplain and in 1783 court preacher at Mannheim, in 1785 parish priest at Herrnsheim. In 1797 he was again called to the Court at Mannheim as teacher of religion to Prince Louis (later King Louis I of Bavaria), the oldest son of Duke Maximilian Joseph. When Maximilian Joseph went to live at Munich as Elector of Bavaria (from 1806 King Maximilian I), Sambuga followed the Court to that city and was later the teacher of religion to the younger children of the Elector also. He was a pious, deeply-religious priest, and belonged to the school of Sailer whose friend he was. Among his writings should be mentioned: “Schutzrede fur den ehelosen Stand der Geistlichen” (Frankenthal, 1782; 2nd ed., Munich, 1827); “Ueber den Philosophismus, welcher unser Zeitalter bedroht” (Munich, 1805); “Ueber die Nothwendigkeit der Besserung, als Riicksprache mit seinem Zeitalter” (2 vols., Munich, 1807); “Untersuchung fiber das Wesen der Kirche” (Linz and Munich, 1809); “Der Priester am Altare” (Munich, 1815; 3d ed., 1819). There were published after his death: “Sammlung verschiedener Gedanken fiber verschiedene Gegenstande”, ed. by Franz Stapf (Munich, 1818); “Auserlesene Bride”, ed. b Karl Klein (Munich, 1818); “Zweite Sammlung”, ed. by Franz Stapf (1819); “Predigten auf Sonn-und Festtage”, ed. by K. Klein (Mannheim, 1822); “Reden and Aufsatze”, collected and ed. by J. B. Schmitter-Hug (Lindau, 1834).
FRIEDRICH LAUCHERT