Josef Freinademetz

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Josef Freinademetz

Josef Freinademetz SVD ( Ladin Ujöp Freinadametz , born April 15, 1852 in Oies, Abbey , Tyrol , † January 28, 1908 in Taikia , Empire of China ) was a Catholic religious and missionary to China . He was canonized on October 5, 2003 . Its Chinese name is "Shèng Fú Ruòsè" ( 聖 福 若瑟  /  圣 福 若瑟 ).

Life

Josef Freinademetz was born in Oies, a small hamlet with five houses in Abtei in the Dolomites - then part of Austria , now in the Italian province of South Tyrol - and baptized on the same day.

During his time as a student in the seminary of the diocese of Brixen , he considered becoming a missionary . After his ordination on July 25, 1875, he was given the job title for St. Martin in Thurn , not far from his place of birth.

Two years after his ordination, he got in touch with Arnold Janssen in Steyl ( Netherlands ), the founder of the first German mission house, which later became the “Society of the Divine Word” (Steyler Missionaries, SVD = Societas Verbi Divini). With the permission of his bishop, Josef Freinademetz went to the mission house in Steyl in August 1878.

On March 2, 1879, he received the mission cross and set off with another missionary, Johann Baptist von Anzer , on the sea route to China. Five weeks later, the two left the ship in Hong Kong and spent two years preparing for the next step in the port city. They were destined for South Shantung , in 1881 they traveled to this Chinese province, which had exactly 158 baptized out of 12 million inhabitants.

Church window designed by Martin Häusle in the Liesing parish church

The following years were extremely difficult, marked by long and arduous journeys, robbery gangs and grueling work in building up the first Christian communities. But as soon as a congregation had developed to some extent, the responsible bishop told the missionaries to leave everything there in order to start again in another place.

Josef Freinademetz quickly understood how valuable the cooperation of committed lay people was for the first preaching, especially in catechesis . Therefore, he attached great importance to their further education and created a catechetical manual in Chinese. In addition, together with Anzer, who had meanwhile become bishop, he devoted himself to the preparation, spiritual accompaniment and further training of the Chinese priests and the other missionaries.

In addition, he alternately took on various important and responsible offices: he was administrator of the mission areas, rector of the seminary, spiritual or spiritual director of the first Chinese priests and finally provincial superior. His life was shaped by the effort to become a Chinese among Chinese. He wrote to his relatives: “I love China and the Chinese; I want to die here and be buried with them. "

A larynx disease and the onset of tuberculosis forced Joseph Freinademetz to take a break in 1898. To recover he went to Japan .

In 1900, after 20 years of arduous work in China, Father Arnold Janssen invited his first missionary to Steyl for the Silver Jubilee of the Society of the Divine Word. Freinademetz refused. It was the time of the Boxer Rebellion . The German authorities operating in China asked all missionaries to go to the port of Tsingtau immediately , where they could be better protected. Joseph Freinademetz decided to stay at the mission station in Puoli (now in Yanggu County, Liaocheng Prefecture), although he was aware of the danger.

Once he sent a group of orphans from inland to the coast of Tsingtau , where they were relatively safe. With the orphans he sent a letter to the confreres in Tsingtao, in which he wrote: “They (ie the orphans) are dependent on the help of others. You have the kindness to help them further. In the situation they are in, we must have no doubt about making some extra expenses to save what can be saved ... " And he added: " I think it would be better to sell the horses. "

When the Bishop of Yanzhou , Augustin Henninghaus , had to travel to Europe again, Josef Freinademetz was given the administration of the diocese. During this time there was a typhoid epidemic . Freinademetz was infected by it itself.

He returned to Taikia (now Daizhuang in the district Rencheng the prefecture-level city of Jining ), the bishop's seat, back and died there on January 28, 1908. He was buried under the 12th Station of the Cross . His tomb quickly became a place of worship and pilgrimage for Christians.

Canonization of Josef Freinademetz

His motto was: "The only language that everyone understands is love."

Beatification and Canonization

Joseph Freinademetz was born on October 19, 1975 beatified and on October 5, 2003 together with the Divine Word Founder Arnold Janssen by Pope John Paul II. Canonized . His feast day is January 29th.

Commemoration

Josef Freinademetz is the title character of the musical film St. Joseph Freinademetz: The First Saint to Ever Serve in Hong Kong, which was produced in Chinese in Hong Kong in 2018 . The screenplay was written and directed by the choreographer Lai Nor Ngan.

Fonts

  • Sanctissimum Novae Legis Sacrificium. Catholic Mission Publishing House, Yenchowfu (China) 1915.
  • Reports from the China Mission. (Internal order as Analecta SVD , Vol. 27, 1973). Collegium Verbi Divini, Romae 1974.
  • Relatos de la Mission in China. Editorial Verbo Divino, Estella (Navarra) 1976, ISBN 84-7151-199-1 .
  • About the spirit of the Societas Verbi Divini. (= Analecta SVD , vol. 40). Collegium Verbi Divini, Romae 1977.
  • The Most Holy Sacrifice of the New Covenant. Translated by Stan Plutz SVD, Tagaytay 1980.
  • Letters to the home. Edited by P. Lothar Janek SVD. Secretariat Josef Freinademetz, Abtei (BZ) 2009.

literature

  • Augustin Henninghaus SVD, Apostol. Vicar of Süd-Schantung: Fr. Josef Freinademetz SVD. His life and work. At the same time contributions to the history of the South Shantung Mission . Catholic Mission Publishing House, Yenchowfu (China) 1920.
  • Hermann Fischer, P. Joseph Freinademetz. Divine Word Missionary in China 1879-1908. A picture of life , Missionsdruckerei Steyl - Verlag des Apostolic See, Post Kaldenkirchen, Rhld. 1936.
  • Heinrich Kroes SVD:  Freinademetz, Joseph. In: New German Biography (NDB). Volume 5, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 1961, ISBN 3-428-00186-9 , p. 398 f. ( Digitized version ).
  • Freinademetz P. Joseph. In: Austrian Biographical Lexicon 1815–1950 (ÖBL). Volume 1, Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, Vienna 1957, p. 356.
  • Friedrich Wilhelm Bautz :  Josef Freinademetz. In: Biographisch-Bibliographisches Kirchenlexikon (BBKL). Volume 2, Bautz, Hamm 1990, ISBN 3-88309-032-8 , Sp. 117-118.  ( Article / beginning of article in Internet archive )
  • Johannes Baur: Father Joseph Freinademetz SVD. Steyler Verlag, 1956, DNB 450278093 .
  • Jakob Reuter: Joseph Freinademetz's sermons before he left for China. Apud Collegium Verbi Divini, Romae 1970.
  • Fritz Bornemann (Ed.): Memories of P. Josef Freinademetz. Verlag St. Gabriel, Mödling 1974, ISBN 3-85264-070-9 . (also: Steyler Verlag, St. Augustin 1974, ISBN 3-8050-0039-1 )
  • J. Fleckner: Freinademetz 'requirements for a missionary . In: Steyler Mission Chronicle. 1976, pp. 77-82.
  • Fritz Bornemann: The blessed PJ Freinademetz 1852-1908. A Steyler China missionary. Freinademetz House, Bozen 1976.
  • R. Hartwich (Ed.): Index to Freinademetz-Vita. Freinademetz House, Bozen, South Tyrol 1976.
  • Richard Hartwich (eds.): P. Arnold Janssen and P. Josef Freinademetz. Correspondence 1904–1907. (Studia Instituti Missiologici SVD 23). Steyler Verlag, Nettetal 1978, ISBN 3-87787-109-7 .
  • Sepp Hollweck SVD : Kills the foreign devil. Josef Freinademetz 1852-1908. Fu Shen-fu from the Val Badia. 1978, ISBN 3-87787-106-2 .
  • Sepp Hollweck: The Chinese from Tyrol. Josef Freinademetz. Athesia publishing house, Bozen 2003. ISBN 88-8266-257-8 .
  • Jakob Reuter: Josef Freinademetz: Herald of the Faith in the Far East. Steyler Verlag, Nettetal 1985, ISBN 3-87787-191-7 .
  • Richard Hartwich SVD: Divine Word Missionaries in China I. Missionary development of Südshantung 1879-1903. Contributions to a story . (Studia Instituti Missiologici SVD 32) Steyler Verlag, St. Augustin 1983, ISBN 3-87787-166-6 .
  • R. Hartwich: Steyler missionaries in China II. Bishop A. Henninghaus calls Steyler sisters 1904-1910 . (Studia Instituti Missiologici SVD 36). Steyler Verlag, Nettetal 1985, ISBN 3-87787-189-5 .
  • Karl Müller: Freinademetz, Joseph. In: Gerald H. Anderson (Ed.): Biographical Dictionary of Christian Missions. Simon & Schuster Macmillian, New York 1998, ISBN 0-02-864604-5 , p. 226. (online)
  • Josef Alt, SVD (ed.): Arnold Janssen SVD, letters to China . Volume I: 1879-1897. (Studia Instituti Missiologici SVD 73). Steyler Verlag, Nettetal 2000, ISBN 3-8050-0446-X .
  • Josef Alt (Ed.): Arnold Janssen SVD, Letters to China . Vol. II: 1897-1904. (Studia Instituti Missiologici SVD 74). Steyler Verlag, Nettetal 2001, ISBN 3-8050-0447-8 .
  • Josef Alt (Ed.): Arnold Janssen SVD, Letters to China . Vol. III: 1904-1908. (Studia Instituti Missiologici SVD 75). Steyler Verlag, Nettetal 2002, ISBN 3-8050-0448-6 .
  • Josef Alt (Ed.): Arnold Janssen SVD, Letters to China . Vol 1: 1879-1897. (Studia Instituti Missiologici SVD 80). Steyler Verlag, Nettetal 2003, ISBN 3-8050-0490-7 .
  • Josef Hollweck: Josef Freinademetz, A life in the service of the people of China. Steyler Verl., Nettetal 2003, ISBN 3-8050-0499-0 .
  • Wilhelm Egger: "Mystery of Faith": a short explanation of the Holy Mass with meditation impulses from the Mass explanation by Father Josef Freinademetz SVD. Verlag A. Weger, Brixen 2004, ISBN 88-88910-05-0 .
  • Richard Hartwich (eds.): Arnold Janssen and Joseph Freinademetz. Correspondence between two Saints (1904-1907). (Analecta SVD - 91). Apud Collegium Verbi Divini. Romae 2008.
  • Karl Josef Rivinius: An exemplary missionary . In: Steyler Mission Chronicle 2004, 135–144.
  • Paul B. Steffen : Witness and Holiness, the Heart of the Life of Saint Joseph Freinademetz of Shandong. In: Studia Missionalia. 61 (Roma 2012), ISBN 978-88-7839-225-0 , pp. 257-392.
  • Maximilian Paulin: Fu Schenfu and his little dragon. Saint Joseph Freinademetz in China , With pictures by Claudia Paulin, Innsbruck 2012, ISBN 978-3-7022-2905-4 .

Web links

Commons : Josef Freinademetz  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Footnotes

  1. ↑ Josef Freinademetz in the Internet Movie Database (English)
  2. ↑ St. Joseph Freinademetz: The First Saint to Ever Serve in Hong Kong , accessed July 2, 2019.
personal data
SURNAME Freinademetz, Josef
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Shèngfú Ruòsè (Chinese name); Freinademetz, Ujöp
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Catholic religious, missionary to China, saint
DATE OF BIRTH April 15, 1852
PLACE OF BIRTH Oies, abbey
DATE OF DEATH January 28, 1908
Place of death Taikia , Chinese Empire