Jakob Rebmann

Father Jakob Rebmann, 1887

Father Jakob Rebmann, 1920

Father Jakob Rebmann, picture of old age

Jakob Rebmann SJ (born June 20, 1851 in Speyer , Palatinate , † November 5, 1935 in Spokane , USA) was a Catholic priest from the Diocese of Speyer , Jesuit , immigrated to the USA, Indian missionary and pastor in Spokane, Washington as well as rector of the Gonzaga College there (from 1912 Gonzaga University Spokane).

Life

Origin and work in Europe

Jakob Rebmann was born in Speyer, Rheinpfalz , Kingdom of Bavaria, as the son of the tinsmith Johann Jakob Rebmann and his wife Elisabetha nee. Stone. Both families were long-established in Speyer. When the boy was ½ year old, the father emigrated to America because of the better wages and was missing. The family never heard from him again. Jacob was raised by his mother alone; she did not enter into a new connection. The boy attended the Episcopal Konvikt in Speyer, under the direction of Dietrich Becker , later Cathedral Chapter, whom he describes in his memoirs as a “learned and holy priest” and as a benefactor and spiritual advisor to his mother.

In 1864 Jakob Rebmann was confirmed by Bishop Nikolaus von Weis in Speyer Cathedral . His company sponsor was Cathedral Chapter Wilhelm Molitor . He attended grammar school in Speyer, where his favorite teacher was Professor Josef Borscht, the father of the later mayor of Munich, Wilhelm Ritter von Borscht . Wilhelm's brother Franz Borscht later became a Jesuit together with Jakob Rebmann and worked in Liverpool. Rebmann graduated from high school in 1870 and volunteered for the Bavarian army when the Franco-German war broke out, but because of his youth he was not accepted there. Therefore he worked as a volunteer nurse and came u. a. for use in the battle of Sedan , on September 2, 1870. From the window of the hospital where he worked, he saw the imprisoned Emperor Napoleon III. drive past.

After returning from the war, the young man felt called to serve as a priest. He joined the Jesuit order on April 10, 1872 at Gorheim near Sigmaringen . During his first novitiate year, the order was banned in Germany and Rebmann moved to Blyenbeck in Holland to study philosophy (1875–78). Two other young Jesuits from Speyer were there with him, namely the aforementioned Franz Borscht and Otto Pfülf later famous writers in Rome and brother of the regional president of the Palatinate. From 1878 to 1882 Rebmann worked as prefect of studies in Feldkirch , Austria and studied theology in England from 1882 to 1885. There he was ordained a priest on August 31, 1884 , in Ditton Hall, near Liverpool .

Jesuit in America

On July 31, 1885, Jakob Rebmann joined the Order's "Rocky Mountain Indian Mission" according to his wishes and moved to America in September of the same year. In June 1886 he became superior and rector of the newly formed Gonzaga College (renamed Gonzaga University in 1912 ) Spokane, Washington (Pacific Coast); at the same time parish priest of the only local parish "Our Lady of Lourdes" . The Palatinate Jesuit acted as rector of the college from 1887–1890 a. 1896-1899. 1900–1923 he was a founder a. Pastor of the newly established parish “St. Francis-Xavier ” , Spokane. He also continued to teach as a professor at college and university. From 1923 he worked as a spiritual director at Gonzaga University. The singer Bing Crosby was one of his students there from 1920 to 1924.

Father Jakob Rebmann remained robust into old age. He died on November 5, 1935 in the Sacred Heart Hospital , Spokane and was buried in the city's Mount St. Michael Cemetery . Despite his long stay in the USA, the clergyman was always close to his home in the Palatinate. He also referred to the Speyer diocese newspaper “ Der Pilger ” in Spokane and published in it in 1931, under the title “God is good” , his historically interesting memoirs.

Works

• "God is good" , (memoirs of Father J. Rebmann), " Der Pilger ", Speyer, 1931, no. 36, pp. 843–844, no. 37, pp. 869–870, no. 38, p. 895-896, No. 39, pp. 918-920.

literature

• "Father Jakob Rebmann - a Palatine Jesuit 80 years old" , Pilger , Speyer, no. 25, from June 21, 1931.
• "Pater Jakob Rebmann - Obituary" , Pilger , Speyer, No. 52, from December 29, 1935.
• Jakob Bisson : "Seven Speyer bishops and their time" . Pilger Publishing House. Speyer 1956.

Web links

• History of Gonzaga University, with picture of Father Jakob Rebmann as 1st President ( Memento from June 2, 2010 in the Internet Archive )
• The "Rebmann House" (student dormitory) built on the university campus in Spokane in 1962 ( Memento from August 3, 2010 in the Internet Archive )