Bienheureux
François-Xavier Seelos
Prêtre
de la Congrégation du Très Saint Rédempteur (+ 1867)
Martyrologe romain
SOURCE : https://nominis.cef.fr/contenus/saint/10489/Bienheureux-Francois-Xavier-Seelos.html
Le Bienheureux Francis-Xavier Seelos
Francis-Xavier Seelos naquit le 11 janvier 1819 à
Füssen en Bavière, Allemagne. Il fut baptisé le même jour à l'église
paroissiale de Saint Mang. Il entretint le désir de devenir prêtre dès son
enfance. Il entra au Séminaire diocésain après avoir terminé ses études de
philosophie.
SOURCE : https://www.stclemens.org/FRAHZSeelos
FRANZ-XAVIER SEELOS
Prêtre Rédemptoriste, Bienheureux
(1819-1867)
Franz-Xavier Seelos naquit le 11 janvier 1819, à
Füssen, petite ville de Bavière, en Allemagne. Ses parents, Mang Seelos et
franziska Schwarzenbach eurent douze enfants, et Franz-Xavier était l'aîné. Il
fit ses études secondaires à l'Institut de saint Stephen à Augsbourg, puis, en
1839, il alla à l'université de Munich pour compléter ses études de
philosophie. Comme depuis son enfance il désirait être prêtre, Franz-Xavier
entra au séminaire diocésain le 19 septembre 1842. C'est alors qu'il rencontra
les Missionnaires de la Congrégation du Très-Saint-Rédempteur, les
Rédemptoristes.
Les Rédemptoristes ont pour mission essentielle l'évangélisation des
plus abandonnés. Franz-Xavier décida de se joindre à cette congrégation et
d'orienter son ministère vers les immigrants de langue allemande aux
États-Unis. En effet, les migrants de langue allemande étaient un peu délaissés
sur le plan spirituel. Franz-Xavier entra donc au noviciat des Rédemptoristes
le 22 novembre 1842. L'année suivante, partant du Havre, en France, il arriva à
New York le 20 avril 1843 où il termina son noviciat et ses études de
théologie. Puis, il fut ordonné prêtre le 22 décembre 1844, dans l'église Saint
James, à Baltimore, dans le Maryland, aux États-Unis.
Devenu prêtre, Franz-Xavier travailla pendant neuf ans dans la paroisse
sainte Philomène à Pittsburg, en Pennsylvanie, d'abord comme vicaire de saint
Jean Neumann, supérieur de la communauté, et puis en qualité de supérieur et
curé pendant les trois dernières années. Il était également le maître des
novices des futurs Rédemptoristes.
Franz-Xavier se consacra à la prédication missionnaire avec Jean
Neumann. Franz-Xavier disait de Neumann: “C'est lui qui m'a initié à la
vie active” et “il fut mon guide comme directeur spirituel et
confesseur”. Toujours disponible, Franz-Xavier fut vite apprécié comme
confesseur et guide spirituel. Il était un vrai missionnaire, constamment
souriant et toujours généreux envers les personnes dans le besoin ou les
marginaux. Il s'intéressait tout particulièrement à la catéchèse des
enfants, et son enseignement destiné aux adultes était à la fois très riche
tout en restant très simple dans son expression. C'était un vrai pédagogue,
fidèle à son charisme de prêtre rédemptoriste.
En 1854, Franz-Xavier Seelos fut envoyé à Baltimore, puis à Cumberland
en 1857. En 1860, son nom fut proposé au poste d'évêque de Pittsburgh. Mais
Franz-Xavier refusa, et le Pape Pie IX compris ses excuses. En 1862,
Franz fut envoyé à Annapolis. Partout où il passait, Franz-Xavier était
toujours chargé d'un ministère paroissial tout en travaillant à la formation
des étudiants et des futurs rédemptoristes. De 1863 à 1866, il s'adonna comme
missionnaire itinérant en anglais et en allemand dans les États du Connecticut,
de l'Illinois, du Michigan, du Missouri, du New Jersey, ainsi que dans les
États de New York, de l'Ohio, de la Pennsylvanie, de Rhode Island et du
Wisconsin. Partout où il passait, Franz-Xavier était toujours un bon pasteur
heureux, disponible, attentif à tous les besoins, surtout de ses étudiants,
futurs missionnaires rédemptoristes, auxquels il s'efforçait surtout
d'inculquer l'enthousiasme, l'esprit de sacrifice et le zèle apostolique
nécessaire au bien spirituel et temporel des gens. Notons qu'il prêchait en
anglais et en allemand.
Après son passage dans l'état du Michigan, il fut nommé à la tête de la
communauté rédemptoriste de la Nouvelle Orléans en Louisiane et curé de la
paroisse Sainte-Marie de l'Assomption. Partout on reconnaissait le pasteur
joyeux, disponible envers tous ses paroissiens, surtout les plus pauvres et les
plus abandonnés. Au mois de septembre 1867, quoique épuisé par ses multiples
activités, il multiplia ses visites et ses soins aux victimes de la fièvre
jaune, qu'il contracta lui-même, et qu'il supporta avec une patience admirable
jusqu'à sa mort, le 4 octobre 1867, à l'âge de 48 ans et 9 mois.
Le Père Franz-Xavier Seelos fut proclamé bienheureux par le Pape
Jean-Paul II le 9 avril 2000. Sa fête est le 4 ou le 5 octobre.
Paulette
Leblanc
SOURCE : http://nova.evangelisation.free.fr/leblanc_franz_xavier_seelos.htm
Blessed Francis Xavier Seelos
Also
known as
- Father
Seelos
- Francesco
Saverio Seelos
- Franz
Xaver Seelos
- 5 October (Optional Memorial)
- 4 October (2001 Roman Martyrology)
- 12 October on some calendars
Profile
One of twelve children born to Mang and
Frances Schwarzenbach Seelos; he was named for Saint Francis Xavier. His father was a
textile merchant who became parish sacristan. Francis was Confirmed on 3 September 1828, and made his
first Communion on 2 April 1830. The boy wanted to be
a priest from an early age,
and often claimed he would be another Francis Xavier.
He completed his
basic studies in Füssen, Germany, and graduated from
the Institute of Saint Stephen in Augsburg, Germany in 1839. Received a degree
in philosophy and theology from the University of Munich, and entered the Saint Jerome seminary in Dillingen an
der Donau, Germany on 19 September 1842.
Francis became familiar
with the Congregation of the
Most Holy Redeemer, and their mission to work with the poorest, the abandoned, and immigrants. He joined on 22 November 1842. Feeling a call to
minister to German immigrants to America, he left the seminary on 9 December 1842, sailed for the America on 17 March 1843, and arrived in New
York on 20 April. Ordained in the Redemptorist Church of Saint
James in Baltimore, Maryland on 22 December 1844.
Worked nine years
at Saint Philomena parish in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, six of those years as
assistant pastor to, and spiritual student of Saint John Neumann, and the other three as
superior and novice master of his Redemptorist community.
Faithful to the Redemptorist teachings, he led
a simple life, preached a simple message,
and was always available to those in need. His sermons drew crowds from
neighboring towns, there were lines outside his confessional, and he never tired of
working with children. He heard Confessions in English,
German, and French, from black and whites and anyone else with a burden.
Transferred to parish ministries
in Baltimore in 1854, Cumberland, Maryland in 1857, and Annapolis, Maryland in 1862. Proposed as bishop of Pittsburgh in 1860, but he begged to be
excused “from this act of God“, and his desire was
granted by Pope Pius IX.
In 1863, during the American
Civil War, all men were obliged to be available for active military duty. Seelos, as
Superior of the Redemptorist Seminary, met with President
Abraham Lincoln, and obtained an agreement not to send seminarians to the front.
Seelos soon after lost his position as Prefect of Students for being “too
lenient”.
From 1863 to 1866 he lived as an
itinerant mission preacher in both English
and German in Connecticut, Illinois, Michigan, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Wisconsin. Hearing of an influx
of German immigrants to New Orleans, Louisiana, he pastored a Redemptorist church there
beginning in 1866. He worked with
yellow fever victims until he was taken
by the illness the next year.
Born
- 11 January 1819 at Füssen, Bavaria, Germany
- baptized on the same day
- 4 October 1867 in New Orleans, Louisiana of yellow fever
- buried in a crypt beneath the floor of Saint Mary’s Assumption Church, New Orleans
- 27 January 2000 by Pope John Paul II (decree of heroic virtues)
- 9 April 2000 by Pope John Paul II at Rome, Italy
- responsible for the miraculous healing from inoperable liver cancer of Angela Boudreaux in 1966
Readings
O Lord, my strength and
my Redeemer, let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be
pleasing in Your sight. I offer praise to You for the grace You have bestowed
on Your humble missionary, Father Francis Xavier
Seelos. May I have the same joyful vigor that Father Seelos possessed during
his earthly life to love You deeply and live faithfully Your gospel.
Amen. – Byron Miller, C.Ss.R.
Faithful to the spirit
and charism of the Redemptorist
Congregation to which he belonged, Father Francis Xavier
Seelos often meditated upon these words of the Psalmist. Sustained by God’s
grace and an intense life of prayer, Father Seelos left his
native Bavaria and committed
himself generously and joyfully to the missionary apostolate among immigrant
communities in the United States.
In the various places
where he worked, Father Francis Xavier
brought his enthusiasm, spirit of sacrifice and apostolic zeal. To the
abandoned and the lost he preached the message of
Jesus Christ, “the source of eternal salvation” (Heb 5: 9), and in the hours
spent in the confessional he convinced many
to return to God. Today, Blessed Francis Xavier
Seelos invites the members of the Church to deepen their
union with Christ in the sacraments of Penance and the Eucharist. Through his
intercession, may all who work in the vineyard for the salvation of God‘s people be encouraged
and strengthened in their task. – Pope John Paul II at the beatification recognition
for Blessed Francis
MLA Citation
- “Blessed Francis Xavier Seelos“. CatholicSaints.Info. 10 May 2020. Web. 3 October 2020. <https://catholicsaints.info/blessed-francis-xavier-seelos/>
SOURCE : https://catholicsaints.info/blessed-francis-xavier-seelos/
Photo of the Shrine of Blessed Francis Xavier Seelos in the Basilica of St Mang, Füssen, Germany.
Photo taken by Myke Rosenthal-English on 18th May
2007.
Pope John Paul II – Homily at the Mass for the Beatification of Five Servants of God – 9 April 2000
1. “We wish to see Jesus”
(John 12: 21).
This is the request made
to Philip by some Greeks who went up to Jerusalem for the Passover. Their
desire to meet Jesus and to hear his word prompts a solemn response: “The hour
has come for the Son of man to be glorified” (John 12: 23). What is this “hour”
to which Jesus refers? The context explains it: it is the mysterious and solemn
“hour” of his Death and Resurrection.
To see Jesus! Like that
group of Greeks, countless men and women down the centuries have desired to
know the Lord. They have seen him with the eyes of faith. They have recognized
him as the crucified and risen Messiah. They have let themselves be won over by
him and have become his faithful disciples. They are the saints and blesseds
whom the Church holds up to us as models to imitate and examples to follow.
In the context of the
Holy Year celebrations, today I have the joy of raising several new blesseds to
the glory of the altars. They are five confessors of the faith who proclaimed
Christ in word and bore witness to him in continual service to their brethren.
They are Mariano de Jesús Euse Hoyos, a diocesan parish priest; Francis Xavier
Seelos, a professed priest of the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer; Anna
Rosa Gattorno, a widow, foundress of the Institute of the Daughters of St Anne;
Mary Elisabeth Hesselblad, foundress of the Order of the Sisters of the Most
Holy Saviour; and Mariam Thresia Chiramel Mankidiyan, foundress of the
Congregation of the Holy Family in India.
2. “If anyone serves me,
he must follow me; and where I am, there shall my servant be also” (Jn 12: 26),
Jesus told us in the Gospel we just heard. A faithful follower of Jesus Christ
in the self-sacrificing exercise of the priestly ministry, Fr Mariano de Jesús
Euse Hoyos, a Colombian, is raised today to the glory of the altars. From his
intimate experience of meeting the Lord, Fr Marianito, as he is familiarly
known in his homeland, dedicated himself tirelessly to the evangelization of
children and adults, especially farmworkers. He spared no sacrifice or
hardship, giving himself for almost 50 years in a modest parish of Angostura,
in Antioquia, for the glory of God and the good of the souls entrusted to his
care.
May his shining witness
of charity, understanding, service, solidarity and forgiveness be an example in
Colombia and also an effective help in continuing the work of peace and full
reconciliation in this beloved country. If 9 April 52 years ago marked the
beginning of violence and conflicts, which unfortunately are still going on,
may this day of the Great Jubilee year mark a new phase in which all Colombians
will build a new Colombia together, one based on peace, social justice, respect
for all human rights and brotherly love among children of the same homeland.
3. “Give me again the joy
of your help; with a spirit of fervour sustain me, that I may teach
transgressors your ways and sinners may return to you” (Ps 51: 14-15).
Faithful to the spirit
and charism of the Redemptorist Congregation to which he belonged, Fr Francis Xavier Seelos often
meditated upon these words of the Psalmist. Sustained by God’s grace and an
intense life of prayer, Fr Seelos left his native Bavaria and committed himself
generously and joyfully to the missionary apostolate among immigrant
communities in the United States.
In the various places
where he worked, Father Francis Xavier brought his enthusiasm, spirit of
sacrifice and apostolic zeal. To the abandoned and the lost he preached the
message of Jesus Christ, “the source of eternal salvation” (Heb 5: 9), and in
the hours spent in the confessional he convinced many to return to God. Today,
Bl. Francis Xavier Seelos invites the members of the Church to deepen their
union with Christ in the sacraments of Penance and the Eucharist. Through his
intercession, may all who work in the vineyard for the salvation of God’s
people be encouraged and strengthened in their task.
4. “I, when I am lifted
up from the earth”, Jesus promised in the Gospel, “will draw all men to myself”
(Jn 12: 32). Indeed, from high on the Cross Jesus will reveal to the world
God’s boundless love for humanity in need of salvation. Irresistibly drawn by
this love, Anna Rosa Gattorno made a continual sacrifice of her life for the
conversion of sinners and the sanctification of all mankind. To be “Jesus’
voice” in order to bring the message of his saving love everywhere: this was
her heart’s deepest desire!
With complete trust in
Providence and motivated by a courageous impulse of charity, Bl. Anna Rosa
Gattorno had one desire: to serve Jesus in the suffering and wounded limbs of
her neighbour, with sensitivity and motherly attention to all human misery.
Today the special
witness of charity left by the new blessed is still a stirring encouragement
for everyone in the Church who is committed more specifically to proclaiming
the love of God, who heals the wounds of every heart and offers the fullness of
immortal life to all.
5. “When I am lifted up
from the earth, I shall draw all men to myself” (Jn 12: 32). The promise of
Jesus is wonderfully fulfilled also in the life of Mary Elisabeth Hesselblad.
Like her fellow countrywoman, St Bridget, she too acquired a deep understanding
of the wisdom of the Cross through prayer and in the events of her own life.
Her early experience of poverty, her contact with the sick who impressed her by
their serenity and trust in God’s help, and her perseverance despite many
obstacles in founding the Order of the Most Holy Saviour of St Bridget, taught
her that the Cross is at the centre of human life and is the ultimate revelation
of our heavenly Father’s love. By constantly meditating on God’s word, Sr
Elisabeth was confirmed in her resolve to work and pray that all Christians
would be one (cf. Jn 17: 21).
She was convinced that
by listening to the voice of the crucified Christ they would come together into
one flock under one Shepherd (cf. Jn 10: 16), and from the very beginning her
foundation, characterized by its Eucharistic and Marian spirituality, committed
itself to the cause of Christian unity by means of prayer and evangelical
witness. Through the intercession of Bl. Mary Elisabeth Hesselblad, pioneer of
ecumenism, may God bless and bring to fruition the Church’s efforts to build
ever deeper communion and foster ever more effective cooperation among all
Christ’s followers: ut unum sint.
6. “Unless a wheat grain
falls on the ground and dies, it remains only a single grain; but if it dies it
yields a rich harvest” (John 12: 24). From childhood, Mariam Thresia Mankidiyan
knew instinctively that God’s love for her demanded a deep personal
purification. Committing herself to a life of prayer and penance, Sr Mariam
Thresia’s willingness to embrace the Cross of Christ enabled her to remain
steadfast in the face of frequent misunderstandings and severe spiritual
trials. The patient discernment of her vocation eventually led to the
foundation of the Congregation of the Holy Family, which continues to draw
inspiration from her contemplative spirit and love of the poor.
Convinced that “God will
give eternal life to those who convert sinners and bring them to the right
path” (Letter 4 to her Spiritual Father), Sr Mariam devoted herself to this
task by her visits and advice, as well as by her prayers and penitential
practice. Through Blessed Mariam Thresia’s intercession, may all consecrated
men and women be strengthened in their vocation to pray for sinners and draw
others to Christ by their words and example.
7. “I will be their God,
and they shall be my people” (Jer 31: 33). God is our only Lord and we are his
people. This indissoluble covenant of love between God and humanity was brought
to its fulfilment in Christ’s paschal sacrifice. It is in him that, despite
belonging to different lands and cultures, we become one people, one Church,
one and the same spiritual building whose bright and solid stones are the
saints.
Let us thank the Lord
for the splendid witness of these new blesseds. Let us look to them, especially
in this Lenten season, in order to be spurred in our preparation for the
forthcoming Easter celebrations.
May Mary, Queen of
Confessors, help us to follow her divine Son as did the new blesseds. May you,
Mariano de Jesús Euse Hoyos, Francis Xavier Seelos, Anna Rosa Gattorno, Mary
Elisabeth Hesselblad, Mariam Thresia Chiramel Mankidiyan, intercede for us so
that by deeply sharing in Christ’s redemptive Passion we can live the
fruitfulness of the seed that dies and be received as his harvest in the
kingdom of heaven. Amen!
The Holiness of the Church in the Nineteenth Century – Francis Xavier Seelos
The Servant of God,
Francis Xavier Seelos, a Bavarian Redemptorist, did great work for
German-American Catholics. He was born at Fiissen on 11 January 1819, made his
classical studies at Augsburg, and then went to the University of Munich.
Shortly after his entrance into the seminary of Dillingen, 3 November 1842, he
asked to be received into the Congregation of the Redemptorists. The career of
his patron saint presented to him his ideal and he was to have abundant
opportunity to put this ideal into practice. In March of the following year he
was sent to the United States to found the first North American novitiate of
the Redemptorists. On 22 December 1844, he was ordained by the archbishop of
Baltimore. A gigantic task awaited the ardent zeal of the young priest; for the
country was so extensive, and there were so many immigrants and so few priests.
Father Seelos spent the first year of his priestly labor in parish work and in
the direction of religious communities. Afterward he traveled through the wide
country as a missionary among the people. Everywhere an unmistakable blessing
followed his labor. Men observed that in himself, as in all he said and did,
there was an expression of most intimate conviction with which his external
conduct was in complete accord. And so it came to pass that he soon had everywhere
the reputation of a saint. He alone was much astonished at this and called
himself a hypocrite who would have to undergo the severest judgment before God
for having so deceived men by his conduct. But when we read what his brethren
tell of his prayerfulness, his zeal for penance, his spirit of faith, and his
profound humility, we can not wonder that God bestowed so many graces upon his
labors and worked through him a multitude of miraculous cures. Father Seelos
was an apostle who entirely forgot himself and his own interests and whose
heart was wholly filled with the Redeemer’s compassionate love of souls. If
such men accomplish great things in the vineyard of the Lord, it is because
they have in themselves something of that attractive power which the Son of God
Himself exercised when He was upon this earth.
Like his life, the death
of Father Seelos was heroic The yellow fever had broken out in New Orleans.
Contemning death, he visited the dying to give them the last consolations of
religion. He was soon a victim of the epidemic and with cheerful resignation he
died, aged forty-eight, on 4 October 1867. This noble death attracted the
notice of the world to the sanctity of the servant of God.
The “Baltimore Volks
Zeitung” wrote: “The Order of the Redemptorists has lost in him a precious
jewel, Catholics one of their most zealous missionaries, and the Church a most
exemplary priest; but heaven has gained a saint and a martyr. Charity,
gentleness, and piety spoke from his countenance and his exhortations in the
confessional compelled obedience through love and goodness. He was indeed a man
who by his goodness of heart, by his sincere sympathy for all in distress and
by his simplicity and affability won all hearts. Father Seelos died of yellow
fever, a victim of his divine vocation, a martyr of charity to suffering
humanity.”
The “Catholic Mirror”
said on the occasion of his death: “It is not ours to speak of the interior
life, of the mortification and self-denial of Father Seelos, which gave him a
singular power over men whether in the pulpit or in the confessional. It is
sufficient for us to say that in his congregation, which is not wanting in
admirable examples of virtue, none has been more highly revered than Father
Seelos.”
A New Orleans paper
gives him this praise: “No one could see him especially at the altar or in the
pulpit without being convinced that the man belonged rather to heaven than to
earth.” May the authority of the Church soon declare the sanctity of this son
of Bavaria!
– this text is taken from The Holiness of
the Church in the Nineteenth Century: Saintly Men and Women of Our Own Times,
by Father Constantine Kempf, SJ; translated from the German by Father Francis
Breymann, SJ; Impimatur by + Cardinal John Farley, Archbishop of New York, 25
September 1916
St. Mang Basilica Füssen
Francis Xavier Seelos, one of 12 children born to Mang and Frances Schwarzenbach Seelos, entered the world on January 11, 1819, in Füssen (Bavaria, Germany). He was baptized on the same day in the parish church of Saint Mang where his father, after having been a textile merchant, would, in 1830, become the sacristan.
Having completed his primary education in 1831, he expressed a desire to become a priest and, with the encouragement of his Pastor, he attended middle school at the Institute of Saint Stephen in Augsburg. Receiving his diploma in 1839, he went on to the University in Munich, Bavaria, where he completed his studies in Philosophy.
He then began to study theology in preparation to enter the seminary where he was admitted on September 19, 1842.
It was during this time that through his acquaintance with the missionaries of the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer, he came to know both the charism of the Institute, founded to evangelize the most abandoned, and its apostolic works, especially those among the immigrants in the United States of America.
Moved by a profound apostolic zeal and deeply touched by the letters published in the Catholic newspaper Sion, from the Redemptorist missionaries describing the lack of spiritual care for the thousands of German speaking immigrants, Seelos decided to enter the Congregation, asking to be allowed to work as a missionary in the United States.
Receiving the necessary approval on November 22, 1842, he sailed the following March 17, from the port of Le Havre, France, arriving in New York on April 20, 1843.
On December 22, 1844, after having completed his theological studies and novitiate, Seelos was ordained a Priest in the Redemptorist Church of St. James in Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.A.
A few months after his ordination, he was transferred to St. Philomena's Parish in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where he remained nine years. His first six years there were spent as assistant pastor with St. John Neumann, who was also the superior of the Redemptorist community. The remaining three years, Francis Seelos served as superior of that same community. It was during these years that he was appointed Master of Novices for the Redemptorists.
In addition to his work as assistant pastor, Seelos, together with Neumann, dedicated himself to preaching missions. Regarding his relationship with St. John Neumann, Seelos said: "He has introduced me to the active life" and, "he has guided me as spiritual director and confessor".
His availability and innate kindness in understanding and responding to the needs of the faithful, quickly made him well known as an expert confessor and spiritual director so much so that people came to him even from neighboring towns.
In both Baltimore and Pittsburgh, Seelos made Confession become, rather than a torment, the locus of a life-giving experience of an encounter with Christ Patient and Merciful. His confessional was open to all: "I hear confessions in German, English, French, of Whites and of Blacks".
The faithful described him as the missionary with the constant smile on his lips and a generous heart, especially towards the needy and the marginalized.
It is no coincidence that in Pittsburgh, after his death, the people began to attribute to his intercession many favors received.
Faithful to the Redemptorist charism, he practiced a simple life style and a simple manner of expressing himself. The themes of his preaching, rich in biblical content, were always heard and understood even by the simplest people. A constant endeavor in his pastoral activity was instructing the little children in the faith. He not only favored this ministry, he held it as fundamental for the growth of the Christian community in the Parish.
In 1854, he was transferred from Pittsburgh, to a number of cities in the state of Maryland: Baltimore, then Cumberland in1857, and to Annapolis (1862), all the while engaged in Parish ministry.
In Cumberland and Annapolis, he also served in the formation of future Redemptorists as Prefect of Students. Even in this post, he was true to his character remaining always the kind and happy pastor, always prudently attentive to the needs of his students and conscientious of their doctrinal formation. Above all, he strove to instill in these future Redemptorist missionaries the enthusiasm, the spirit of sacrifice and apostolic zeal for the spiritual and temporal welfare of the people.
In 1860, His Excellency Michael O'Connor, Bishop of Pittsburgh, upon leaving his diocese, recommended Father Seelos as the Priest most qualified to succeed him. Francis Seelos wrote Pope Paul IX explaining his inadequacy to accept such a responsibility and asking " to be liberated from this calamity". He was overjoyed when another Priest was named Bishop of Pittsburgh.
Following the outbreak of the Civil War in the United States, new laws were enacted in 1863 which required every able bodied male to make himself available for military duty. Seelos, as Superior of the Redemptorist seminary, traveled to Washington to meet with President Abraham Lincoln and ask him to exempt the Redemptorist seminarians from military service. Lincoln, according to Seelos himself, was not only extremely receptive of the petition, but promised to do everything in his power to bring it about. In fact, the students were exempted from going off to war.
Relieved from his office as Prefect of Students because, according to a zealous confrere, he was too obliging and not severe enough with the seminarians, from 1863 to 1866 he dedicated himself to the life of an itinerant missionary preaching in English and German in the states of Connecticut, Illinois, Michigan, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Wisconsin.
After a brief period of parish ministry in Detroit, Michigan, he was assigned in 1866 to the Redemptorist community in New Orleans, Louisiana. Here also, as pastor of the of the Assumption, he was known as a pastor who was joyously available to his faithful and singularly concerned for the poorest and the most abandoned. As in other cities, his prayers were considered very powerful in obtaining favors from God.
In God's plan, however, his ministry in New Orleans was destined to be brief.
In the month of September, exhausted from visiting and caring for the victims
of Yellow Fever, he contracted the dreaded disease. After several weeks of
patiently enduring his illness, he passed on to eternal life on October 4,
1867, at the age of 48 years and 9 months.
SOURCE : https://www.vatican.va/news_services/liturgy/saints/ns_lit_doc_20000409_beat-Seelos_en.html
PREACHER, MIRACLE
WORKER, FRIEND
The heroic and miraculous religious life of the “Cheerful Ascetic” Redemptorist Father
Francis Xavier Seelos, C.Ss.R. (1819-1867) inspires legions of the clergy,
religious, laity and specifically those seeking a miracle of healing throughout the world.
Beatified by Pope John Paul II in 2000, Fr. Seelos
possessed great mystical gifts due to his life of intense prayer and penance.
His innate kindness, understanding and dedication to the needs of the faithful
from all walks of life makes him an outstanding model for those in religious
life and laity alike. As a missionary preacher and lifelong friend of the poor
and destitute, Seelos was a spiritual father to tens of thousands, giving
counsel and hearing the confessions of all who came to him. Despite his
untimely death at age 48, so profound was his apostolic zeal that sickness,
persecution, and even the upheaval caused by civil war could not stop him.
SOURCE : https://seelos.org/
A BRIEF BIOGRAPHY OF BLESSED SEELOS
Francis Xavier Seelos was born on January 11, 1819 in
Füssen, Bavaria, Germany. He was baptized on the same day in the parish church
of St. Mang. Having expressed a desire for the priesthood since childhood, he
entered the diocesan seminary in 1842 after completing his studies in
philosophy. Soon after meeting the missionaries of the Congregation of the Most
Holy Redeemer (Redemptorists), founded for the evangelization of the most
abandoned, he decided to enter the Congregation and to minister to German
speaking immigrants in the United States.
SEELOS MAKES HIS WAY TO THE UNITED STATES
Seelos was accepted by the Congregation on November
22, 1842 and arrived in New York on April 20, 1843. On December 22, 1844, after
having completed his novitiate and theological studies, he was ordained a
priest in the Redemptorist Church of St. James in Baltimore, Maryland.
After being ordained, he worked for nine years in the
parish of St. Philomena in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, first as assistant pastor
with St. John Neumann, the superior of the Religious Community, later as
Superior himself, and for the last three years as pastor. During this time, he
was also the Redemptorist Novice Master.
A PASSION FOR MISSIONARY WORK
During his time spent with Neumann, Seelos dedicated
himself to parish ministry and preaching missions. Regarding their
relationship, Seelos said: “He has introduced me to the active life” and, “he
has guided me as a spiritual director and confessor.”
Seelos’ availability and innate kindness in
understanding and responding to the needs of the faithful quickly made him well
known as an expert confessor and spiritual director, so much so that people
came to him even from neighboring towns. Faithful to the Redemptorist charism,
he practiced a simple lifestyle and a simple manner of expressing himself. The
themes of his preaching, rich in biblical content, were always heard and
understood by everyone, regardless of education, culture or background.
A constant endeavor in this pastoral activity was
instructing little children in the faith. He not only favored this ministry, he
held it as fundamental for the growth of the Christian community. In all he
did, he maintained a deep devotion to Our Mother Mary.
SPREADING THE REDEMPTORIST MISSION ACROSS THE UNITED
STATES
In 1854 Seelos was transferred from Pittsburgh to
Baltimore, then to Cumberland in 1857, and to Annapolis in 1862, all the while
engaged in parish ministry and serving in the formation of future Redemptorists
as Prefect of Students. Even in this post he was true to his character,
remaining always the kind and happy pastor, prudently attentive to the needs of
his students and conscientious of their doctrinal formation. During his
years in Annapolis, Seelos met with President Abraham Lincoln in Washington to
urge him to excuse his seminarian students from military service during the
Civil War. They were not officially excused, but were never drafted. Above
all, Seelos strove to instill in these future Redemptorist missionaries the
enthusiasm, spirit of sacrifice and apostolic zeal for the spiritual and
temporal welfare of the people.
In 1860 Seelos was proposed as a candidate for the
office of Bishop of Pittsburgh. He was excused from this responsibility by Pope
Pius IX. From 1863 until 1866 he dedicated himself to the life of an itinerant
missionary, preaching in English and German throughout Connecticut, Illinois,
Michigan, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and
Wisconsin.
HIS FINAL YEARS
After a brief period of parish ministry in Detroit,
Michigan, he was assigned in 1866 to the Redemptorist community in New Orleans,
Louisiana. Here also, as pastor of St. Mary’s Assumption Church, he was always
joyously available to his faithful and singularly concerned for the poorest and
the most abandoned. In God’s plan, however, his ministry in New Orleans was
destined to be brief. In the month of September, exhausted from visiting and caring
for the victims of yellow fever, he contracted the dreaded disease. After
several weeks of patiently enduring his illness, he passed on to eternal life
on October 4, 1867, at the age of 48 years and 9 months.
His Holiness Pope John Paul II declared Father Seelos
“Blessed” in St. Peter’s Square on April 9 of the Solemn Jubilee Year 2000.
There is one official miracle attributed to his intercession and other cases
are currently under investigation. If the Vatican approves a second miracle,
Blessed Seelos will be proclaimed a saint. His Feast Day is October 5th.
SOURCE : https://seelos.org/biography/
BLESSED FRANCIS X. SEELOS
Feast Day: October 5
Blessed Francis Seelos devotional items (National Seelos Shrine)
Francis Xavier
Seelos was born in Fussen, Bavaria, on January 11, 1819. He
studied philosophy at the University of Munich and began theology as a diocesan
seminarian. After visiting the Redemptorists in Altötting, where he heard of
their missionary work in North America, he decided to join them.
With their approval, he set off for the United States
in 1843 where he made his novitiate. He made his profession in Baltimore in May
1844 and was ordained a priest there in December. His first assignment was to
St. Philomena's in Pittsburgh where he served for six years as assistant under
the leadership of John Neumann, who was pastor and superior of the community.
Father Seelos went on to serve as superior of the community and novice master
for three more years.
He was appointed pastor of St. Alphonsus in Baltimore,
1854; pastor and prefect of students at Sts. Peter and Paul in Cumberland, MD,
1857; and pastor and prefect of students at St. Mary's in Annapolis, MD, 1862.
Replaced as prefect of students, he preached missions
in German and English throughout the Northeast and Midwest. Father Seelos was
always an active and highly successful missioner. He was particularly devoted
to the confessional, and was revered as an exceptional confessor and spiritual
director. After a year as assistant pastor of St. Mary's in Detroit, MI, in
1866, he was assigned as pastor of Assumption Parish in New Orleans, LA. There
he made a great effort to care for the poor, sick, and neglected. While caring
for victims of yellow fever, he contracted the disease himself. Only a year
after being assigned, he died in New Orleans on October 4, 1867. He was
beatified in 2000.
The National Shrine of Blessed
Francis Xavier Seelos is in New Orleans.
Prayer to Blessed Seelos
O Lord, my strength and my Redeemer, let the words of
my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in Your sight.
I offer praise to You for the grace You have bestowed
on Your humble missionary, Blessed Francis Xavier Seelos. May I have the same
joyful vigor that Father Seelos possessed during his earthly life to love You
deeply and live faithfully Your Gospel.
Divine Physician, You infused Blessed Francis Xavier
Seelos with the gift of Your healing. By the help of his prayers, sustain in me
the grace to know Your will and the strength to overcome my afflictions.
For love of You, make me whole. May I learn from the
example of Blessed Seelos and gain comfort from his patient endurance.
Bountiful God, in Blessed Francis Xavier Seelos You
have given Your people a model for those who labor joyfully in Your earthly
kingdom. May the smile of Father Seelos in Your heavenly dominion dwell on
those who find life burdensome.
Help Father Seelos to keep continually before the eyes
of Your people the gentleness of Jesus Christ, our Redeemer. Amen.
Source: Sacramentary and Lectionary Supplement, The
Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer. (North American Redemptorist
Spirituality Commission, 2007)
Copyright © The Redemptorists of the Baltimore Province
SOURCE : https://web.archive.org/web/20161025023129/http://redemptorists.net/saints-seelos.cfm
Blessed Francis Xavier Seelos
Francis Xavier Seelos was born on January 11, 1819
in Fussen, Bavaria, Germany. He joined the Congregation
of the Most Holy Redeemer (Redemptorists) to minister to the German
speaking immigrants in the United States. He was accepted into the congregation
in 1842 and sailed the following year from Le Havre, France arriving in New York in 1843.
Fr. Seelos was ordained a priest in the Redemptorist Church of St. James in Baltimore,
Maryland on December 22, 1844.
After his
ordination, he worked for nine years in St. Philomena Parish in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, including time as
assistant pastor to St. John Neumann. He also served as
superior of the community, as pastor, then as novice master. Regarding
his relationship with St. John
Neumann, he said, "he has guided me as a spiritual director and
confessor."
Fr. Seelos was always known as kind and approachable,
and his reputation as a confessor and spiritual director attracted people from
far and wide. He practiced a simple lifestyle and expressed himself
simply. He was well known as a catechist for little children, and held
this as a fundamental aspect of the growth of the Christian parish community.
His reputation in Pittsburgh and in other locations, brought him to the
attention of Venerable Pope Pius IX, who in 1854 had declared the dogma
of the Immaculate Conception. The pope offered him the bishopric of
Pittsburg, but at Fr. Seelos' request, he was allowed to remain with the
people, ministering to their needs and traveling as an itinerant preacher in
both English and German. From 1863 to 1866 he travelled to locations
in Connecticut, Illinois, Michigan, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, Ohio,
Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Wisconsin. This is the time period in
which he visited St. Mary of Victories in St. Louis, Missouri. During
this time he also met with Abraham Lincoln to plead for seminarians to be
excluded from the conscription for the Civil War.
After serving in Michigan in parish ministry, he was
assigned in 1866 to the Redemptorist community in New Orleans, Louisiana.
As the pastor of the Church of St. Mary of the Assumption, he continued his
joyful work and attention to the needs of the faithful, especially the poorest
and most abandoned. His ministry there was brief. In September of
that year, exhausted from his work with the victims of a yellow fever
epidempic, he contracted the disease. After several weeks of enduring
this illness, he passed on to eternal life on October 4, 1867 at 48 years old.
Beatification
Pope St. John Paul II, proclaimed Father Seelos
Blessed in St. Peter's Square on April 9th of
the Solemn Jubilee Year 2000. His Feast Day is October 5.
Please continue to pray for the cause of Fr. Seelos'
canonization, and support his shrine in New Orleans.
SOURCE : https://smov.info/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=345&Itemid=683
Francis X. Seelos
Born
at Füssen, Bavaria, 11 January, 1819; died at New Orleans, La., 4 Oct., 1867. When a child,
asked by his mother what he intended to be, he pointed to the picture of his
patron, St. Francis Xavier, and said: "I'm going to be
another St. Francis." He pursued his studies in Augsburg and Munich, and entered the Congregation of the Most Holy
Redeemer, offering
himself for the American Mission; he arrived in America on 17 April, 1843. That
following year, 16 May, 1844, he made his religious profession at the Redemptorist novitiate, Baltimore, and seven months later he
was ordained by Archbishop Eccleston of Baltimore. He was assigned to St. James,
Baltimore. In May 1845, he was sent to Pittsburg, where he had as superior Ven.
John Neumann. In 1851 Father Seelos was appointed superior of the Pittsburg
community, where he laboured untiringly for nine years. His confessional was
constantly besieged by crowds of people of every description and class. It was
said by many that he could read their very souls. From Pittsburg, he was transferred
to St. Alphonsus's, Baltimore, where he fell dangerously ill. On
his recovery he was appointed prefect (spiritual director) of the professed students, and he
succeeded in winning the love an esteem of all who were privileged to
be under his spiritual guidance. In 1860 his name was proposed for the vacant Holy See of Pittsburg, but humbly refused the honour. The year 1862 found him again at
mission work. In 1866 he was summoned to Detroit, and in September of the same year
to New Orleans, Louisiana. The cause of his beatification is in progress.
Sources
ZIMMER, Leben des P.F.Z. Seelos (New York, 1887);
BECK, Die Redemptorists in Ammapolis (Ilchester, 1904);
BENEDETTI, Album Servorum Dei, C.SS.R. (Rome, 1903);
SHEA, History of the Catholic Church in the United States, I (New
york, 1908).
Warren,
Cornelius. "Francis X. Seelos." The Catholic
Encyclopedia. Vol. 13. New York: Robert Appleton
Company, 1912. 3 Oct.
2020 <http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/13681b.htm>.
Transcription. This article was transcribed
for New Advent by Maria Medina. Dedicated to Lita Candelaria.
Ecclesiastical
approbation. Nihil
Obstat. February 1, 1912. Remy Lafort, D.D., Censor. Imprimatur. +John
Cardinal Farley, Archbishop of New York.
Copyright
© 2020 by Kevin Knight. Dedicated to the Immaculate Heart of
Mary.
SOURCE : https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/13681b.htm
Beato Francesco Saverio Seelos Sacerdote redentorista
Fussen, Baviera, 11 gennaio 1819 - New Orleans, Stati Uniti, 4 ottobre
1867
Francesco Saverio Seelos
nacque l'11 gennaio 1819 a Füssen (Baviera, Germania). Frequentò il ginnasio
nell'Istituto di Santo Stefano a Augsburg. Ricevuto il diploma nel 1839,
proseguì gli studi a Monaco di Baviera. Entrò in seminario il 19 settembre
1842. In questo tempo conobbe
i missionari della Congregazione del Santissimo Redentore. Decise così di
entrare nella Congregazione, chiedendo di lavorare come missionario negli Stati
Uniti per gli immigrati di lingua tedesca. Ricevuto l'assenso il 22 novembre
1842, l'anno seguente, il 17 marzo, partì dal porto di Le Havre, in Francia,
per giungere a New York il 20 aprile 1843. Il 22 dicembre 1844 fu ordinato
sacerdote nella chiesa redentorista di San Giacomo a Baltimora, nel Maryland.
Fu poi trasferito a Pittsburgh in Pennsylvania nella parrocchia di Santa
Filomena, dove rimase nove anni, collaborando come viceparroco di Giovanni
Neumann, il superiore della comunità. Nel 1854, da Pittsburgh fu trasferito a
Baltimora, poi a Cumberland (1857) e ad Annapolis (1862). Nel 1866 fu assegnato
alla comunità di New Orleans in Louisiana, dove morì il 4 ottobre 1867. (Avvenire)
Martirologio Romano: A
New Orleans in Louisiana negli Stati Uniti d’America, beato Francesco Saverio
Seelos, sacerdote della Congregazione del Santissimo Redentore, originario
della Baviera, sempre attento alle necessità dei fanciulli, dei giovani e degli
immigrati.
Non dovevano andare a gonfie vele gli affari di quel commerciante di tessuti, se un bel giorno diede un calcio alla sua attività a se ne andò a fare il sacrestano. Come a dire: meglio uno stipendio modesto, ma sicuro, che un’attività più redditizia ma dal guadagno incerto. E di un’entrata sicura doveva aver certamente bisogno quel padre di dodici figli, che faceva i salti mortali per riuscire almeno a togliere loro la fame. Senza contare che, magari, fu proprio il suo lavoro di sacrestano a far nascere nel cuore di uno dei suoi figli il desiderio di diventare prete. Siamo in Baviera (Germania), precisamente a Fussen, dove questo ragazzo nasce l’11 gennaio 1819 e dove viene battezzato lo stesso giorno. Finite le elementari, proprio negli anni in cui papà diventa sacrestano, ecco spuntare una vocazione, al principio timida, che ha bisogno dell’incoraggiamento dell’arciprete. Studia da esterno e riesce anche bene, dimostrando intelligenza e capacità non comuni. Non appena, a 23 anni, entra in seminario per studiare teologia, conosce i Redentoristi, la congregazione fondata da S. Alfonso Maria de Liguori: ne resta talmente affascinato che tre mesi dopo è dei loro. Ad attirarlo è stato il carisma della congregazione, particolarmente orientata all’evangelizzazione degli ultimi, e la richiesta pressante, che arriva da oltre Oceano, di sacerdoti che si dedichino all’assistenza spirituale dei lavoratori di lingua tedesca emigrati negli Stati Uniti. E così , a 24 anni, si imbarca alla volta di New York. Dopo l’ordinazione lo mandano in Pennsylvania e, per gli scherzi della Provvidenza che spesso fa incontrare e coabitare i santi, diventa a Pittsburg collaboratore di Giovanni Neumann, oggi santo. Tra i due nasce subito un’intensa collaborazione e il pretino si fa dirigere spiritualmente dal suo superiore, che oltre ad accompagnarlo nei primi passi del sacerdozio, lo indirizza anche decisamente sulla strada della santità. I parrocchiani scoprono subito che il nuovo arrivato è affabile, disponibile al massimo, con un sorriso sempre stampato in faccia e con un debole particolare per i poveri. Predica bene e si fa capire da tutti, perché il suo stile è semplice e lineare come la sua vita. Davanti al suo confessionale comincia a formarsi una coda di penitenti, che arrivano anche da altre parrocchie e da altre città, perché si rivela un’eccellente guida spirituale, oltre ad essere un sacerdote che ascolta le confessioni “in tedesco, in inglese, in francese, dei bianchi e dei neri”. Il prete dal perenne sorriso e dalla pazienza infinita aiuta tutti a fare della confessione un incontro vivo con Gesù, paziente e misericordioso: è questa una fama che si porta dietro nei suoi vari spostamenti, da Baltimora a Cumberland, da Detroit a New Orleans. Poco più che quarantenne viene proposto come candidato vescovo di Pittsburg, ma scrivendo addirittura a Pio IX riesce ad evitare “questa calamità”. Nel 1866 viene nominato parroco di New Orleans, dove è destinato a fermarsi appena un anno: visitando e curando le vittime dell’epidemia di febbre gialla, si ammala anche lui e muore il 4 ottobre 1867, ad appena 48 anni. Neanche da morto si dimentica però di essere affabile e cortese e, a cominciare da Pittsburg, si segnalano grazie e miracoli per sua intercessione, che portano Giovanni Paolo II°, il 9 aprile 2000, a proclamare beato Padre Francesco Saverio Seelos, il parroco che sorrideva sempre e si faceva benvolere da tutti.
Autore: Gianpiero Pettiti
SOURCE : http://www.santiebeati.it/dettaglio/72975
FRANCESCO SAVERIO SEELOS
(1819-1867)
Francesco Saverio Seelos nacque l'11 gennaio 1819 a Füssen (Baviera, Germania), da Magno e Francesca Schwarzenbach, che ebbero altri 11 figli. Il giorno stesso fu battezzato nella chiesa parrocchiale di S. Magno, dove il padre, dopo essere stato commerciante tessile, comincerà dal 1830 a svolgere il compito di sacrista.
Completate le scuole elementari nel 1831, manifestando la sua aspirazione al sacerdozio, con l'incoraggiamento del parroco, frequentò il ginnasio nell'Istituto di S. Stefano a Augsburg. Ricevuto il diploma nel 1839, proseguì gli studi a Monaco di Baviera, frequentando il biennio di filosofia all'università.
Alla fine del corso, iniziò a studiare teologia per prepararsi ad entrare in seminario, dove fu ammesso il 19 settembre 1842.
In questo tempo, avendo contatti con i missionari della Congregazione del Ss. Redentore, venne a conoscenza sia del carisma dell'Istituto, fondato per l'evangelizzazione degli uomini più abbandonati, che della loro attività apostolica, particolarmente quella svolta negli Stati Uniti per gli immigrati.
Animato da un profondo zelo apostolico e rimasto profondamente colpito dalle lettere dei Redentoristi, pubblicate sul periodico cattolico Sion, che descrivevano la mancanza di assistenza spirituale alle migliaia di immigrati di lingua tedesca, Seelos decise di entrare nella Congregazione, chiedendo di lavorare come missionario negli Stati Uniti.
Ricevuto l'assenso il 22 novembre 1842, l'anno seguente, il 17 marzo, partì dal porto di Le Havre, in Francia, per giungere a New York il 20 aprile 1843.
Compiuto il noviziato e conclusi gli studi teologici, il 22 dicembre 1844 fu ordinato sacerdote nella chiesa redentorista di S. Giacomo a Baltimora, nel Maryland.
Qualche mese dopo l'ordinazione, fu trasferito a Pittsburgh in Pennsylvania nella parrocchia di S. Filomena, dove rimase nove anni, collaborando dapprima come viceparroco di S. Giovanni Neumann, il superiore della comunità, e poi in qualità di superiore negli ultimi tre anni. In questo tempo, fu anche nominato maestro dei novizi redentoristi.
Oltre all'attività di viceparroco, Seelos si dedicò con Neumann anche alla predicazione missionaria. Sul rapporto intercorso tra i due, Francesco Saverio ebbe modo di affermare: "Mi ha introdotto nella vita attiva" e "mi ha diretto come guida spirituale e confessore".
La sua disponibilità e la connaturale affabilità nell'accogliere e capire i bisogni dei fedeli, lo fecero subito conoscere quale esperto confessore e guida spirituale, tanto che le persone arrivavano a lui anche dai luoghi limitrofi.
Come a Baltimora, anche a Pittsburgh, Seelos fece sì che la confessione, più che un tormento, fosse per i penitenti un'esperienza fertile di incontro col Cristo paziente e misericordioso. Il suo confessionale era aperto a tutti: "Io sento le confessioni in tedesco, inglese, francese, dei bianchi e dei neri".
I fedeli lo descrivevano come il missionario dal costante sorriso sulle labbra e dal cuore generoso, particolarmente verso i bisognosi e gli emarginati.
Non è perciò un caso che proprio a Pittsburgh, dopo la morte, il popolo ha cominciato ad attribuire alla sua intercessione le grazie ricevute.
Fedele al carisma redentorista, si esprimeva sempre con uno stile di vita e un linguaggio semplice. Gli argomenti delle sue prediche, ricche di contenuti biblici, erano sempre ascoltati e compresi anche dalle persone più ignoranti. Una caratteristica costante del suo apostolato era la catechesi ai bambini. Un'attività che non solo prediligeva, ma riteneva fondamentale per la crescita cristiana della comunità parrocchiale.
Nel 1854, da Pittsburgh fu trasferito a Baltimora, poi a Cumberland (1857) e ad Annapolis (1862), sempre impegnato nel ministero parrocchiale.
A Cumberland e ad Annapolis svolse anche il compito di formatore come prefetto degli studenti redentoristi. Anche in questo ruolo, non smentì le precipue caratteristiche di pastore affabile e gioioso, sempre prudentemente disponibile alle necessità dei giovani e sollecito per la loro formazione dottrinale. Soprattutto si premurava di instillare nei futuri missionari redentoristi l'entusiasmo, lo spirito di sacrificio e lo zelo apostolico per il bene spirituale e temporale del popolo.
Nel 1860, il vescovo Michael O'Connor di Pittsburgh, nel lasciare la diocesi, raccomandò il P. Seelos come il sacerdote più qualificato a succedergli. Francesco Saverio scrisse a Papa Pio IX esprimendo la sua incapacità ad assumere una tale responsabilità e pregandolo che "fosse liberato da questa calamità". Fu contentissimo quando venne nominato vescovo a Pittsburgh un altro sacerdote.
A seguito dello scoppio della guerra civile, nel 1863 furono emanate nuove leggi sul servizio militare in cui si obbligavano tutti gli uomini a rendersi disponibili. Seelos, come superiore del seminario redentorista, si recò a Washington per incontrare il presidente Abraham Lincoln e chiedergli di esonerare gli studenti della Congregazione dal servizio militare. Lincoln, non solo, a detto dello stesso Seelos, si mostrò estremamente accogliente, ma promise di fare tutto ciò che era in suo potere. Di fatto gli studenti furono esentati dal partire per il fronte.
Sollevato dall'ufficio di prefetto degli studenti perchè, secondo qualche zelante confratello, troppo accondiscendente e non sufficientemente severo con i giovani, dal 1863 al 1866 si dedicò all'attività missionaria itinerante, predicando in inglese e in tedesco negli stati del Connecticut, Illinois, Michigan, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island e Wisconsin.
Dopo un breve periodo di attività parrocchiale a Detroit nel Michigan, nel 1866 fu assegnato alla comunità di New Orleans in Louisiana. Anche qui, come parroco della chiesa di S. Maria Assunta, fu riconosciuto come pastore sempre allegramente disponibile e singolarmente sollecito verso i più poveri e gli abbandonati. Come in altri luoghi le sue preghiere erano considerate ascoltate per ottenere i favori di Dio.
Nei piani di Dio però il suo ministero a New Orleans doveva essere breve. Nel mese
di settembre, estenuato dalle visite agli ammalati di febbre gialla, contrasse
anch'egli il morbo. Dopo varie settimane di paziente e allegra sopportazione
della malattia, passò alla vita eterna il 4 ottobre 1867, all'età di 48 anni e
nove mesi.
SOURCE : http://www.vatican.va/news_services/liturgy/saints/ns_lit_doc_20000409_beat-Seelos_it.html
Shrine of Blessed Francis Xavier Seelos, St Mang Basilica, Füssen,
Germany
FRANZ XAVER SEELOS
(1819-1867)
Franz Xaver Seelos wurde am 11. Januar 1819 in Füssen (Bayern) als Sohn von Mang (Magnus) und Franziska (geb. Schwarzenbach) geboren. Die Eltern hatten noch 11 andere Kinder. Franz empfing noch am Tag seiner Geburt die Taufe in der Pfarrkirche von St. Mang. Der Vater, ein Textilkaufmann, wird ab 1830 in der Pfarrkirche die Funktion eines Mesners übernehmen.
Nachdem Franz Xaver 1831 die Grundschule absolviert hatte, trat seine Hinneigung zum geistlichen Beruf zu Tage. Vom Pfarrer ermuntert besuchte er das Gymnasium im Institut St. Stephan in Augsburg. 1839 schloß er das Gymnasium mit dem Reifezeugnis ab und setzte dann seine Studien in München (Bayern) fort, wo er den zweijährigen philosophischen Kurs an der Universität besuchte.
Am Ende dieses Kurses begann er mit dem Studium der Theologie und bereitete sich auf den Eintritt in das Priesterseminar vor. Am 19. September 1842 fand er dort Aufnahme.
In dieser Zeit hatte er Kontakt mit den Missionaren der Kongregation vom Allerheiligsten Erlöser und lernte dabei nicht nur das besondere Charisma des Instituts, nämlich die Evangelisierung der verlassensten Menschen, sondern auch dessen apostolische Tätigkeit, vor allem bei den Einwanderern in die Vereinigten Staaten von Amerika, kennen.
Nach Abschluß des Noviziats und der theologischen Studien empfing er am 22. Dezember 1844 in der Redemptoristenkirche zum hl. Jakob in Baltimore (Maryland) die Priesterweihe.
Einige Monate nach der Priesterweihe wurde er nach Pittsburgh (Pensylvania) in die Pfarre zur hl. Philomena versetzt, wo er neun Jahre hindurch verblieb. In dieser Zeit war er Kaplan beim hl. Johannes N. Neumann, dem damaligen Oberen der Kommunität; die letzten drei Jahre war er selbst Oberer. In dieser Zeit wurde er auch zum Novizenmeister ernannt.
Neben der Tätigkeit als Kaplan widmete sich Seelos zusammen mit Neumann der missionarischen Arbeit. Über die zwischen ihm und Neumann herrschenden Beziehungen schrieb Franz Xaver: „Er hat mich in das aktive Missionsleben eingeführt" und „er hat mich als Seelenführer und Beichtvater begleitet".
Seine Einsatzbereitschaft und seine natürliche Freundlichkeit im Umgang mit Menschen und beim Verständnis der Nöte der Gläubigen machten ihn rasch als erfahrenen Beichtvater und Seelenführer bekannt, so daß Menschen auch aus großer Entfernung zu ihm kamen.
Wie in Baltimore so verstand es Seelos auch in Pittsburgh, die Gläubigen zu überzeugen, daß die Beichte nicht nur nichts Belastendes an sich hat, sondern im Gegenteil zur fruchtbaren Erfahrung einer Begegnung mit dem geduldigen und barmherzigen Christus wird. Sein Beichtstuhl stand allen offen: „Ich höre Beichte auf deutsch, englisch, französisch, gleichermaßen Weiße und Neger".
Die Gläubigen beschrieben ihn als Missionar mit einem ständigen Lächeln auf den Lippen, mit einem großzügigen Herzen insbesondere gegenüber den Bedürftigen und Entwurzelten.
Es ist daher kein Zufall, wenn nach seinem Tod gerade in Pittsburgh die Gläubigen begannen, seiner Fürsprache Gebetserhörungen zuzuschreiben.
Getreu dem redemptoristischen Charisma waren sein Lebensstil und seine Sprache von Einfachheit geprägt. Die Darstellungen in seinen Predigten, die reich an biblischen Inhalten waren, wurden gerne gehört und fanden auch bei Ungebildeten Verständnis. Ein ständiges Charakteristikum seines Apostolats war die Katechese für Kinder. Diese Tätigkeit schätzte er nicht nur besonders, er betrachtete sie auch als unentbehrlich für das Wachstum einer Pfarrgemeinde.
1854 wurde er von Pittsburgh nach Baltimore versetzt, dann nach Cumberland (1857) und Annapolis (1862); an allen diesen Orten war er in der Pfarrseelsorge tätig.
In Cumberland und Annapolis wurde ihm auch die Aufgabe des Erziehers als Präfekt der Studenten übertragen. Auch in dieser Stellung hat er nicht auf die wichtigen Eigenschaften des freundlichen und fröhlichen Hirten vergessen. Er war in kluger Weise immer für die Bedürfnisse der jungen Menschen da und trug Sorge für ihre wissenschaftliche Ausbildung. Vor allem aber war er bestrebt, in die Herzen der künftigen Redemptoristenmissionare Begeisterung, Opferfreudigkeit und apostolischen Eifer für das geistliche und leibliche Wohl der Menschen einzupflanzen.
Als im Jahre 1860 Bischof Michael O’Connor die Diözese verließ, empfahl er P. Seelos als den für seine Nachfolge geeignetsten Priester. In einem Brief an Papst Pius IX. brachte Franz Xaver jedoch seine mangelnde Eignung für diese verantwortungsvolle Aufgabe zum Ausdruck und bat, „von dieser Belastung verschont zu werden". Er war äußerst zufrieden, als ein anderer Priester zum Bischof von Pittsburgh bestellt wurde.
Im Gefolge des Ausbruchs eines Bürgerkriegs wurden 1863 neue Gesetze über den Militärdienst erlassen, die alle Männer verpflichteten, sich zur Verfügung zu stellen. Seelos, der Oberer des Redemptoristenseminars war, begab sich nach Washington zu Präsident Abraham Lincoln und bat ihn, die Studenten der Kongregation vom Militärdienst zu befreien. Lincoln war, den Worten Seelos‘ zufolge, äußerst entgegenkommend und versprach, alles in seiner Macht Stehende zu tun. Tatsächlich mußten die Studenten nicht an die Front ziehen.
Nachdem ein übereifriger Mitbruder Seelos beschuldigt hatte, den jungen Menschen gegenüber zu nachgiebig und nicht genügend auf Strenge bedacht zu sein, wurde er vom Amt des Präfekten abgesetzt und widmete sich in den Jahren 1863-1866 der Wandermission. Er predigte auf englisch und deutsch in den Staaten Connecticut, Illinois, Michigan, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island und Wisconsin.
Nach einer kurzen Zeit der Pfarrseelsorge in Detroit (Michigan) wurde er 1866 der Kommunität von New Orleans (Louisiana) zugeschrieben. Auch hier, als Pfarrer der Kirche Maria Himmelfahrt, wurde er bekannt als immer fröhlich verfügbar und besonders eifrig im Einsatz für die Ärmsten und Verlassensten. Wie an anderen Orten wurde auch hier seinem Gebet besondere Wirksamkeit bei Gott zugeschrieben.
Nach dem Plane Gottes war jedoch seinem Wirken in New Orleans nur eine kurze
Zeitspanne beschieden. Im September zog er sich, ermüdet von vielen Besuchen
bei an Gelbfieberkranken selbst diese Krankheit zu. Nach mehreren Wochen
geduldigen und frohen Leidens ging er am 4. Oktober 1867 ins ewige Leben ein.
Er hatte eine Lebenszeit von 48 Jahren und neun Monaten erreicht.
SOURCE : http://www.vatican.va/news_services/liturgy/saints/ns_lit_doc_20000409_beat-Seelos_ge.html
Voir
aussi : https://seelos.org/historical-timeline/
https://www.neworleans.com/listing/national-shrine-of-blessed-francis-xavier-seelos/32647/
https://catholicism.org/blessed-seelos.html
https://www.heiligenlexikon.de/BiographienF/Franz_Xaver_Seelos.html
https://www.franciscanmedia.org/blessed-francis-xavier-seelos/
http://jesusthrumary.blogspot.com/2016/10/oct-5-2016-blessed-francis-xavier-seelos.html
https://www.lifesiteministries.org/tophers-thought-of-the-day/archives/10-2012
