To leave the site of the new Hauptbahnhof at its present site as undisturbed as possible, a temporary station was established to replace the destroyed building in time for the German Katholikentag of 1949.
As a result of his urging, the Mainz Katholikentag of 1871 initiated the St. Raphaelsverein zum Schutz deutscher katholischer Auswanderer (de), an aid organization for German Catholic emigrants.