Friar Hildebrando Kruthaup
Franz Kruthaup was born in Borringhausen bei Damme, Germany, on May 4, 1902. On February 23, 1923, he received the habit of the Friars Minor and took the name Friar Hildebrando Kruthaup. He chose to carry out his religious mission in Brazil. He disembarked in Recife and completed his novitiate at the Franciscan Convent of Olinda. He came to Salvador, where he studied philosophy and theology for five years, until he was ordained a priest on May 21, 1929. He lived in Salvador for fifty years, where he devoted himself entirely to social work, and in partnership with Saint Dulce of the Poor, he founded the Workers' Circle of Bahia (COB).
Among the various charitable works that Friar Hildebrando led, we highlight the founding of Rádio Excélsior in 1935, the Franciscan Social Works, where he practiced charity, and the Saint Francis Retreat House, built with the help of several families from Bahian society. In 1949, he received the title of Brazilian citizen, granted by President Eurico Gaspar Dutra. From 1955 to 1957, he lived in Recife, where he carried out social activities at the Oswaldo Cruz Hospital. He was appointed guardian of the Convent of Fortaleza-CE. In 1961, he returned to Salvador, where he continued to practice his role as friend and protector of the poor. During the last years of his life, he received several expressions of recognition and gratitude. In 1968, he was decorated by the German government for outstanding services rendered to Brazil and, shortly thereafter, was honored by the Legislative Assembly of Bahia with the title of honorary citizen. The City Council of Salvador named a square in the Brotas neighborhood after him in celebration of the golden jubilee of his arrival in Brazil.
Saint Dulce of the Poor met Friar Hidelbrando Kruthaup in 1928, before becoming a nun. He was her confessor, spiritual advisor, and wrote the letter of recommendation for her entry into the Congregation of the Missionary Sisters of the Immaculate Conception of the Mother of God. Years later, they joined forces to help the most needy and became known as the “Mother and Father of the Poor,” mainly for their dedication to the cause of the working class, for whom they built the Workers' Circle of Bahia (COB), as well as three movie theaters to support this entity.
The homily for the golden jubilee of Saint Dulce's religious life in 1984 was given by Friar Hidelbrando, who, moved, said in one of the passages: "Divine providence wanted, Sister Dulce, that 64 years ago, when you were still a young girl, about 13 or 14 years old, you gave yourself to my spiritual direction. And after some time, I introduced you to the Third Order of St. Francis. A little later, and already more mature, the desire arose in you to give yourself entirely to God in the religious congregation of the Missionary Sisters of the Immaculate Conception of the Mother of God..."
United by faith and willpower, Saint Dulce of the Poor and Friar Hidelbrando, confident in Divine Providence, were able to carry out significant works of charity that would have been impossible without resources. Friar Hildebrando Kruthaup passed away in Salvador on January 11, 1986.
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