Karl Borromäus Adam attended the Philosophical and Theological Seminary at Regensburg and was ordained a priest in 1900. Adam then studied at the University of Munich and received his doctorate in 1904. In 1919 he became a professor at the University of Tübingen. He retired from that post in 1949. He is best known for his 1924 work, The Spirit of Catholicism. It has been widely translated, and is still influential in the work of 21st century theologians and spiritual seekers.