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Cardinal Joseph Frings is the eponym for our magazine, which we are pleased to publish twice a year to inform you about topics, trends, theories and facts relating to Misereor.

Frings, who lived in Cologne by choice and was the founding father of Misereor, first became known far beyond the borders of his archdiocese not for giving, but for receiving. In his New Year's Eve sermon in 1946, Joseph Frings authorised the stealing of coal as a last resort for the starving and freezing people of Cologne to bring some warmth into their bombed-out homes.

With a twinkle in his eye, the procurement of food and heating fuel for acute personal needs became proverbial as "fringsen".

When prosperity became apparent in Germany in the late 1950s, Joseph Frings focussed on giving with a central question that ultimately led to the founding of the aid organisation Misereor: What can we do about injustice and unequal life chances in the world?
The answer still sends a signal today. "Give them something to eat" was the motto of the Lenten campaign in the founding years. And Frings went on to call on people to "speak to the conscience of the powerful from the Gospel". Especially in today's world, this mission must be realised.

Joseph Frings was a visionary philanthropist - we need such role models today more than ever. That is why we gave the Misereor magazine the name "frings.".