Blessed Francis Xavier Seelos, Redemptorist


EDEMPTORIST





Blessed Francis

Xavier Seelos,

Redemptorist

Alicia von Stamwitz

and

Rev. Carl Hoegerl, C.Ss.R.

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Blessed Francis

Xavier Seelos,

Redemptorist

Alicia von Stamwitz

and Rev. Carl Hoegerl, C.Ss.R.

On April 9, 2000, thousands of the

faithful witnessed the beatification ofan

American Redemptorist at Saint Peter's

Basilica in Rome. HisHoliness, PopeJohn

Paul II, declared Father Francis Xavier

Seelos blessed and a worthy example of

holiness for the universal Church. The

life of this self-effacing, hard-working

priest has not made many headlines in

our modern world, but it gives much

encouragement to those striving to fol-

low the Lord.

3



Introduction

In the fall of 1867, a severe outbreak of

yellow feverparalyzedNew Orleans. One

third of the city’s 150,000 residents con-

tracted the virus, and five thousand died.

Among the sick was a humble immigrant
priest—RedemptoristmissionaryFrancis
Xavier Seelos. During his three-week

illness, the daily newspapers published

regularupdates onhis condition. His death

on October 4 was front-page news. The

funeral drew poor and rich, black and

white, immigrants and Americans. They

crowded together in St. Mary’s Church

and waited for hours to pray before the

casket.

Some ofFather Seelos’ fellow religious

were bewildered by the outpouring of

affection and respect. They recalled

that a short while ago, the Redemptorist

Superior General in Rome had abruptly

4



removed Father Seelos from his impor-

tant office as director of Redemptorist

students. It had been a humiliating dis-

missal, one that had called into question

his competence and example in religious

life. They also remembered that at one

time or another his peers had complained

that he was “wretchedly weak,” “an old

mother,” “a blockhead,” and “wanting in

wisdom and foresight.”

But to the thousands of people Father

Seelos hadpreached to, prayed for, helped,

and befriended, he was a saint.

“My little debts”

Francis Xavier Seelos was born on

January 11, 1819, in Fiissen, Germany,

a picturesque town in the foothills of

the Alps. He was the sixth of Mang
and Frances Seelos’ nine children.

Shortly after Francis’ birth, Mang’s cloth-

weaving business began to falter. He was

5



barely able to provide the essentials for

his family, who were quickly outgrowing
their home. Francis’ mother playfully be-

gan calling the children “my little debts.”

Fortunately, Mang found a new position
as church sacristan when Francis was

eleven. Mang was guaranteed a steady
income and was able to move his family

into a spacious house with a lovely garden

near the church.

Francis was a good-natured child who

benefitted from the love and attention of

a close-knit Catholic family. His sister

later described their daily routine: “The

whole family arose early and went to

Mass. After breakfast each one went to

his accustomed work and the children

went to school. Before meals we recited

the Angelus and said our prayers. During

the meal the children had to tell what they

had learned in school, to which father

added a few comments.. . .When supper

6



was finished, we had spiritual reading,

which was always on the life of the saint

of the day.”

Young Francis was moved when he

heard the dramatic story ofhis namesake,

the missionary priest Francis Xavier. As a

boy he spoke excitedly offollowing in his

patron’s footsteps. The parish priest soon

took an interest in his bright, conscien-

tious altar server. He made arrangements

for Francis to continue his studies at a

high school in Augsburg and then at the

University of Munich.

By all accounts, Francis was a popular,

fun-loving young man. He had a joke

for every occasion and was a marvelous

storyteller. During his years in Munich,

he joined a university fraternity, took

fencing and dancing lessons, and enjoyed

snuffing tobacco. He had one irritating

habit, though. According to his class-

mates, he always sang at the top of his

7



lungs. At Mass, he startled worshipers

and embarrassed friends by belting out

every hymn.

This levity did not interfere with Fran-

cis’ studies. He knew that he needed to

excel academically to be accepted by the

Jesuits—a dream he mentioned to more
than one friend. But in 1842 he had a

change of heart. A compelling appeal
by the Redemptorists for missionaries,

coupled with a vivid dream in which he

saw himselfas a priest inAmerica, caused

Francis to apply to the Congregation of

the Most Holy Redeemer. A year later he
was on his way to America.

Pioneer Priest

Francis and his three Redemptorist

companions landed inNewYork on April
20, 1843. By this time, the Redemptor-

ists had been in America ten years.

Fifteen members were ministering in the

8



eastern states, primarily to poor immi-

grants.

After his novitiate, Francis was

ordained on December 22, 1844, and

assigned to St. Philomena’s parish in

Pittsburgh. The church building was

actually a decrepit old factory. A leaky,
cramped building nearby served as the

rectory. Despite the primitive conditions.

Father Seelos thrived under the guidance

and care of the rector of the community.

Father John Neumann—now known as
Saint John Neumann.

With onlytwenty-one priests to care for

45,000 Catholics in westernPennsylvania,

the pastoral needs were overwhelming.

Father Seelos immediatelybegan celebrat-

ing marriages and baptisms, visiting the

sick, hearing confessions, and preaching

in three languages—German, French,
and English.

Despite his broken, heavily accented

9



English, people were captivated by his

sermons. His message was simple, but

his preaching style was unconventional

and highly entertaining. Drawing on

his storytelling talent, he would often

act out Scripture narratives, ad-libbing

extended conversations between Jesus,

the disciples, and other gospel characters.

Inevitably, “Jesus” would veer from his

historical lines. He’d make asides to the

people, sharing wry observations on the

gospel passage or cracking jokes. The

people were delighted.

These sermons were by no means as

spontaneous as they appeared. Father

Seelos spent hours writing his text word

for word. Midway through delivering his

sermon he would stop, wait for the people

to quiet down, then continue in a more

serious tone of voice. He would explain

the Scriptures and drive home the impli-

cations for his listeners. His closing was

10



like an evangelical minister’s altar call.

He would extend his arms wide and cry

out: “O you sinners who have not courage

to confess your sins because they are so

numerous or so grievous or so shame-

ful! O come without fear or trembling! I
promise to receive you with all mildness;

if I do not keep my word, I here publicly
give you permission to cast it up to me in
the confessional and to charge me with
a falsehood!”

Confessor and Counselor

Father Seelos’ preaching and promise

to “receive with all mildness” spurred

even timid or guilt-ridden sinners to seek

him out. At times the line outside his con-

fessional would snake through the church

and out the door—a two- or three-hour
wait. His gentle, friendly manner made

it easy for penitents to confide in him,

and his confidence in God’s mercy lifted

11



their spirits. “It is not your justice but

God’s mercy which is the motive ofyour

trust,” he explained. “No one was ever

lost because his sin was too great, but

because his trust was too small.”

He had harsh words for priests who did

not receive penitents with kindness and

grace. “The priest who is rough with the

people does injury to himselfand to oth-

ers; he sins,. . .and he scandalizes all who

see him and hear him. Thousands reject

the Churchand the sacraments and perish

in eternity solely because they have been

badly treated by a priest.”

And he had no patience for religious
who complained about theircommunities

or blamed their sufferings on others. “It

is neither our confreres, nor our sisters

in religion, nor even our superiors, who

occasion these little sufferings for us,” he

wrote. “We deceive ourselves and give

in to temptation ifwe consider ourselves

12



ill-used by our community. The good

God always stands in the background.

He allows us to suffer how much and for

as long as this is good for us.”

Father of the Poor

Between 1847 and 1867, Father Seelos

moved from one community to another,

serving as pastor, professor, novice mas-

ter, director ofstudents, mission preacher,

and parish priest. While pastor of St.

Alphonsus parish in Baltimore, he wrote

home to his sister, “I cannot thank God

enough for my vocation, although from
morning till night I amoverwhelmedwith
cares andworries.. . .White andblack, Ger-

man and English, confreres and externs,

clerical andlaypeople, aristocratic women

and unworldly nuns, the poor, the sick,

ask for my assistance. One wants this,
the other that. There is no rest. It takes

a real effort to snatch a little time for

13



spiritual reading or a visit to the Blessed

Sacrament. Could I write you an account

of the experiences of even one day, you

would be astonished.”

Though the frustration in this letter is

apparent, mostpeople sawhim as easygo-

ing and approachable. He made time for

the poor and the sick, even when it was

most inconvenient. His confreres said that

he routinely went to bed fully dressed or

slept on a bench near the front door so that

he could respond quickly to the inevitable

urgent sick call.

The prostitutes in Baltimore could

never forget the night that he hurried to

one of their houses to comfort a young

woman on her deathbed. He stayed with
her till the end, knowing full well that his

long, late-night visit would spark scur-

rilous rumors. A few days later, when an
anxious friend showed him a newspaper

headline insinuating the obvious, he

14



shrugged his shoulders and said simply,

“Well, I saved a soul.”

A destitute man remembered the cold
winter day that Father Seelos passed him

on the street. Father Seelos glanced at

the rags tied around the man’s feet and

stopped short. He sat on the curb, pulled

off his boots, and handed them to him

with a kind word. Then he continued on

his way in stocking feet.

Ayoungmother isolatedand exhausted
by illness describedFather Seelos’ visits to

herhome. Afterhe had said the customary

prayers for the sick, he did not hurry offas

she expected. Instead, he pulledup a chair

to talk with her and keep her company,

then he read passages of a book aloud to

her. On his way out, he collected the fam-
ily’s soiled clothing and carried it home

to the rectory to wash and mend it.

One community member later said,

“Although he was the superior and his

15



attention was much in demand, it was

never too much for him to converse

about a half-hour with the poor idiot who

received his dinner at the monastery. He

patiently encouragedthe poorman, trying

to place himself in his circumstances in

order to understand him better.”

Another confrere was not so under-

standing. He berated Father Seelos one

day for “scandalously wasting time”

with a poor, eccentric elderly woman he
had spent hours consoling. Father Seelos

answered, “I do nothing wrong in re-

ceiving all kindly, without distinction. It

would be wrong to receive some affably

and some rudely.”

Trials and Criticisms

Since Father Seelos’ years ofministry

encompassed atime ofbigotry and Catho-

lic persecution in America, it took more

than a little courage for him to venture

16



out into the streets orcountryside to fulfill

his pastoral duties. Hostile gangs rou-

tinely threatened and heckled Catholics

in public; some threw torches at church

buildings, setting them on fire.

To reach isolated Catholic families on

the outskirts of the diocese, Father See-

los occasionally had to travel up to one

hundred miles in miserable weather and

over rough terrain. At one time or another

he was pelted by rocks, severely beaten,

threatened at gunpoint, and nearlythrown

overboard while on a ferry.

It is one thing to face the animosity

of your enemies; it is quite another to

be attacked by your own peers. Despite

Father Seelos’ efforts to serve his reli-

gious community well, a few influential

confreres spent unbelievable amounts of

time and energy filing official complaints

about his personal defects.

When Father Seelos was director of

17



Redemptorist students, one confrere

complained to local andRoman superiors
that Father Seelos lacked experience, in-

sight, andfirmness as a superior and—the
ultimate jab—he could not speak Latin
well. He was accused ofbeing a pushover

and criticized for allowing the students to

play music after night prayers, to swim at

a beach, and to put on school plays.

These may not seem like grave matters

to us today, but in those days religious

formation was highly structured and con-

trolled. His program did not fit the rigid

European model of religious formation,

which was all that his superiors knew.

He did not exactly break the rules, but he

willingly bent them to accommodate the

needs and culture of this first generation

of American students. In short, he was

a pioneer in his own congregation, and

some of his confreres were not ready for

his new methods and ideas.

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The barrage of complaints and ac-

cusations resulted in his being declared

“unfit” to direct the sixty students in

religious formation. Although this deci-

sion must have shaken him, he did not

regret giving up the responsibilities and

burdens of leadership. Years before, he

had written to his sister that he longed

to relinquish his administrative duties

—

“Martha’s work”—so that he could join
Mary, “adoringly sitting at the feet of

Jesus.”

Holy Death

Father Seelos’ final assignments

included three years as a mission team

preacher and one year as a parish priest at

St. Mary’s Church in New Orleans. Most
of the community members had been

Father Seelos’ students. They received

their beloved former superior and men-

tor with joy.

19



By this time he was widely regarded

as a holy man. People continued to be

attracted to him, to confide in him, and to

call for him when they were sick. Some

reported that remarkable conversions

and cures followed his visits. Others said

simply that they felt more lighthearted

or hopeful after spending time in his

presence.

Characteristically, Father Seelos’ last

pastoral act before he was bedridden

with yellow fever was to visit another

man dying of the disease. Although he

was feeling poorly that day, he walked a

considerable distance to care for the man

and stayed with him until he died. He

returned home at three in the afternoon

and collapsed into his bed.

At first. Father Seelos’ confreres

thought thathe had a mildcase ofthe fever.

But then one ofhis lungs collapsed, andhe

weakened and lost his appetite. When he

20



became delirious, they knew the end was

near. He died on October 4, 1867, as his

confreres sang one ofhis favorite hymns

in honor of the Blessed Mother.

His Legacy

In the eyes ofthe world. Father Seelos’

life was of little consequence. He held

no place of eminence in the American

Church, nor did he leave a mark on the

theological community. His legacy was

more important than these. Father Seelos

worked directlywith individual people

—

men and women, young and old, sinners

and saints—who were making their way
to eternal life through the troubles, dif-

ficulties, and temptations of this world.

His fame, known fully to God alone, lies

in the way in which he brought Jesus to

the people and the people to Jesus—on
the ordinary, everyday level of life.

God calls each of us, in every walk of

21



life, to holiness. Father Seelos responded

to this call to holiness by faithfully serv-

ing his Redemptorist confreres and the

Catholic community as a priest of God.

He performed his duties and accepted

his daily crosses with humility and joy.

His example clearly shows that holiness

is attained not in doing what the world

considers heroic but in being true to

the responsibilities of one’s state in life.

The life of this remarkable man proves

beyond doubt that joy and holiness come

to thosewho serve God andneighborwith

a full and devoted heart.

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The Father Seelos Center in New
Orleans has kept Father Seelos’

memory alive, spreading the story of

his life and encouraging others to turn

to him for healing and help. Each year

thousands of letters of petition and

thanksgivingpour into the center from

all parts ofthe U.S. If you would like

more information on Father Seelos or

the center, please contact

The Father Seelos Center

2030 Constance Street

New Orleans, LA 70130-5099
Telephone (504) 525-2495

23







o^ountiful God,

in Blessed Francis Xavier Seelos,

you have given your people

a model for those who labor joyfully

in your earthly kingdom.

May his smile dwell on those

who find life burdensome.

In him, our eyes continually behold

the gentleness of Jesus Christ,

our Redeemer.

,!^^ivine Physician,

you infused Father 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.

Amen

Director^ The Father Seelos Center

Byron Miller, C.Ss.R.

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