Born on 3 February 1887, in Schopfheim in Baden, Germany, Metzger studied first at the lycee in Konstanz, where Martin Heidegger was also a student.

[3] In 1911 he was ordained a Roman Catholic priest, and was sent to parish work in the Archdiocese of Freiburg, since he definitely didn't want to pursue a scientific career.

"My object is not to become a scholar, nor ... to obtain an honorable or pleasant position one day, but only to become a pious priest and capable pastor and to be able to develop all my powers for the glory of God", he stated.

His experience on the front lines convinced him that "future wars have lost their meaning, since they no longer give anybody the prospect of winning more than he loses".

[1] With the permission of his local bishop Metzger moved to Graz, where he heard lectures on law and political science.

He became secretary to the Catholic League of the Cross of Austria, an organization involved in educating people about the dangers of alcoholism.

[7] In 1920 Metzger was admitted to a private audience with Pope Benedict XV, who encouraged him to work for disarmament in Europe.

[8] He re-located to Meiningen in Germany, where he and the community, now called the Society of Christ the King, had been invited to staff and manage the Catholic Charities facility.

[4] In 1943, Metzger wrote a memorandum on the reorganization of the German state and its integration into a future system of world peace.

On 14 March 2024, the Dicastery announced that it recognises the murder of the priest from Schopfheim by the National Socialists as a martyr's death, thus clearing the way for the beatification of Metzger in the near future.

[12] The beatification of Max Josef Metzger was celebrated on 17 November in Freiburg Minster by Cardinal Kurt Koch on behalf of Pope Francis.

Merton, in turn, wrote: "To question those who wield power, to differ from them in any way, is to confess oneself subversive, rebellious, traitorous.