Simon Sänderl

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Simon Sänderl (born September 30, 1800 in Malgersdorf , Lower Bavaria , † February 22, 1879 in New Haven , Kentucky ) was a German missionary. He is known as an Indian apostle.

Life

Sänderl was born on September 30, 1800 as the son of the shoemaker an der Bruck in Malgersdorf in Lower Bavaria and was ordained a Catholic priest on June 2, 1825 in Passau . After a few years of pastoral work in the Passau diocese, he joined the Redemptorist Order, which was founded in Vienna in 1820 by Klemens Hofbauer . After the novitiate in Vienna, Sänderl took his religious vows on July 8, 1829 .

Trip to North America

Around this time, the apostolic vicar of Cincinnati , Friedrich Rese , of German descent , came to Europe to raise money for the newly established dioceses in North America. He asked the Redemptorist Order for some missionaries for the American Catholics. In addition to Sänderl, Franz Hätscher, formerly a missionary in Turkey, Franz Xaver Tschenhens, a Wuerttemberg native and three lay brothers were selected . On March 6, 1832, they traveled from Vienna via Trieste, the Mediterranean and the Atlantic Ocean to New York , where they landed on June 20. After a short stay in New York, they continued their journey to Cincinnati and began their missionary work in the Michigan Territory .

Missionary activity

Rese, now Bishop of Detroit , sent Sänderl to Arbre Croch (now Cross Village (Michigan)) in Emmet County to the Ottawa Indians , who settled not far from Lake Michigan . Sänderl had learned English and French in a short time and also acquired the languages ​​of the Ottawas and the Chippewas . He was so proficient in the languages ​​that he later published his own catechism and a lexicon for missionaries. In order to win over the Indians, Sänderl adopted a lot of their customs and their way of life, so that they gave him their trust, listened to his stories and gave him shares in the hunted prey.

In order to better care for the spiritual well-being of the Indians, Sänderl founded three villages in which only Catholic Indians were allowed to live. The Indians accepted the Catholic customs and gathered in the church in the morning and in the evening for common prayer. Many Indians came to mass from far away, even when it was very cold. For about two years, from 1833 to 1835, Sänderl worked for the Indians until he was replaced by Franz Pierz.

Sänderl's next stop was Canton in Ohio , where he helped out the pastor there. For three more years he lived among the Indians in Grenbay , Norwalk , together with his brother Vitus. Until 1847 Sänderl also worked in Rochester , Pittsburg , Baltimore and Monroe .

Journey to the holy land, conversion to the Trappist order and death

For various reasons Sänderl left the Redemptorist Order in 1847. He traveled to the Holy Land , pledging a vow for salvation from mortal danger. In 1850, again in North America, he entered the Trappist order and became a novice master a few years later . He lived in this order for 29 years and died on February 22, 1879 in the Trappist Abbey of Gethsemani in New Haven, Kentucky .

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personal data
SURNAME Sänderl, Simon
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German missionary
DATE OF BIRTH September 30, 1800
PLACE OF BIRTH Malgersdorf , Lower Bavaria
DATE OF DEATH February 22, 1879
Place of death New Haven , Kentucky