Mag. Alois (Ludwig) Stöger OPraem

Ludwig Stöger was baptized Ludwig and initially attended elementary school in Suben. He then went to the Franciscan grammar school in Hall/Tyrol, but was drafted into the German army and was able to complete his A-levels at the grammar school in Innsbruck after serving in the war in 1944. He then began studying at the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Innsbruck, where he joined the student fraternity Alpinia Innsbruck, which was operating underground and in secret at the time.

After three semesters, Ludwig Stöger entered the Innsbruck seminary and began studying at the Faculty of Theology there. In 1947, he entered the Premonstratensian monastery in Wilten, took the religious name Alois and made his solemn profession in 1950. In the same year, he was ordained a priest in Brixen Cathedral. In 1951, he went to Belgium to study and came into contact with Joseph Cardijn, the spiritus rector of the international Catholic Workers' Youth (KAJ). After his return to Innsbruck in 1952, Alois Stöger became the diocesan chaplain of the KAJ.

In 1957, Alois Stöger was elected Abbot of Wilten and thus held the title of House, Court and Hereditary Chaplain of the Province of Tyrol.