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BISHOP PAUL-WERNER SCHEELE,WÜRzBURg (gERmANy):
mISSION IN tHE SPIRItOf ABBOt fRANCIS PfANNER
“I want to tell you right at the beginning that I cannot offer you
anything which you don’t know already.” These words were said
more than fifty years ago here in the Pius Seminary. No less a person
than Fr. Bernard Huss spoke them to his confreres when he returned
for the first time from South Africa to Europe in 1930. He, no doubt,
belongs to those whose life and work was influenced most by Abbot
Pfanner’s spirit. But what about one who dares to speak about
“mission in the spirit of Abbot Pfanner” before such a distinguished
audience, and does not belong to Mariannhill? Certainly only
someone who is presumptuous can do that, unless he can rely on
the assistance of some “special helper.”
I want to say two things to this. In spite of my red sash, I do not
belong to the community of those who, “in the spirit of their founder,
Abbot Francis Pfanner, …commit themselves to the service of the
mission mandate of the Church.” On the other hand, as bishop of
Würburg I can say that the Mariannhillers belong to us and we to
them. After all, the oldest Mariannhill Mission Office in Germany was
established in our diocese in the 19th century. Members of
Mariannhill Monastery found their first living quarters in the diocese
at 10 Reibeltsgasse, Würzburg, back in 1891. Since then many
Mariannhillers have prepared themselves among us for their mission
work. Others have actively supported the missions. Besides that,
many Mariannhillers have worked in our diocese as missionaries. For
that I say a hearty “May God reward you” in the name of innumerable
people. Please accept this my contribution to your feast as a modest
gesture of thanks. On the other hand, I frankly admit that I can,
indeed, rely upon a helper of a special class, namely Abbot Francis
Pfanner himself! His spirit has been kept alive, thanks to the effort of
many. We can grasp this spirit in his words and works and, what is
more, we can and should let ourselves be inspired by it, for mission
in the spirit of Pfanner is not only for members of Mariannhill. All
members of the Church are missionaries by their baptism. Rightly
did the Second Vatican Council state “The pilgrim Church is
missionary by her very nature (i.e. sent as herald on the way.) Every
Christian must ask himself/herself: “How have I fulfilled so far my
missionary obligation? How will I fulfill it in the future? What am I to
do, Lord? (Acts 22:10)” Abbot Francis can help us with this
examination of conscience, this necessary orientation and this new
start.
His impulses are the more important as many have never understood
their missionary charge or have forgotten it long ago, if they have not
betrayed it outright. Even many of those who have committed
themselves to missionary service full-time, run the risk of losing sight
of it. Some are beset by the question whether in today’s world other
activities are not more important than the specific service of the
missionary. It is in the spirit of your founder, no doubt, to look at
things as they are, see what must be done and to draw the proper
consequences. In saying this, we have put our finger on Abbot
Francis’ first characteristic:
1. tHE SPIRIt Of KNOWLEdgE
Mission work in the spirit of Abbot Pfanner demands, above all, an
intensive effort to gain comprehensive knowledge. It is worth
considering that in the prophecy of Isaiah, among the various gifts of
the spirit, mostly those are mentioned which belong to the proper
understanding of reality. The prophet speaks of the “spirit of wisdom
and insight,” as well as of the “spirit of counsel and knowledge”
(Is 11:2). Only after these gifts have become effective in us, can we
help others effectively. Typical of the way Abbot Francis permitted
himself to be led by the spirit of knowledge is the first sermon to his
confreres shortly after their arrival in Africa (31 July 1880 in
Dunbrody). It shows that he knew his confreres, their worries, their
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needs, and their hope. At the same time, it clearly shows how sober-
mindedly he judged the situation. He did not silently pass over the
fact that together they had literally come into a “land of thorns.” He
knew how much trouble and even pain thorns can cause. They
penetrate the skin and get into the shoes, so one “could go mad.”
Yet, Abbot Francis considers even the thorns in the light of God. He
dares to tell his confreres, “The thorny cacti too and the thorn
bushes are works of God …and he takes delight in his works.” What
is to others a cause of despair, is for him a help to the knowledge of
God. He said, that cacti are “the most eloquent proof against the
view of those who think that creatures are first and foremost for the
benefit of man. In the case of the hairy and gnarled cacti even the
most daring gourmet must admit, that they are hardly for eating,
but… God delights in them and may his glory be forever.”
In this perspective, a first answer to the question “why mission?” is:
“Primarily for the glorification of God!” Whatever one may think of
the usefulness and success of its individual activities, mission is first
of all for the greater glory of God. His word is proclaimed, his will is
done, his kingdom is spread. Its motto is, according to Abbot
Pfanner: ‘Sit gloria Domini in aeternum’ (Glory be to the Lord forever),
He will delight in his works, in our plantations and in the black
children who, even after we ennoble them, remain his work.” Even if,
in a certain situation, the eye beholds only a “land of thorns” as the
fruit of missionary effort, this still has its meaning and blessing.
That is anything but pious, empty promises. It is an appeal for
energetic commitment. Abbot Francis proved that a hundred times.
Perhaps the most striking thing about him is the boundless energy
with which he set to work.
2. tHE SPIRIt Of StRENgtH
There is no end to our amazement when we call to mind what Fr.
Francis accomplished in his home country, in the Balkans and in
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South Africa. Healthy in body and soul, he worked full steam all his
life. He knew no leisurely pace. He was a “runner in God’s stadium.”
His motto was the Apostle’s stirring call: “Run so as to win the prize”
(1 Cor 9:24). it corresponds to the Greek word “euthys” (“at once”) in
St. Mark. Mark uses it forty-nine times in the shortest of the four
Gospels, while it occurs only once in St. Luke. This happens “at
once,” that “at once”. The whole South African Mission of the
Mariannhillers was due to a sudden decision. In 1879, when, at the
Trappists’ General Chapter in Septfons, there was a cry for help from
South Africa and none of the Abbots present was ready to comply
with it, Prior Pfanner said without hesitation, “If nobody will go, I will!
So it happened. He went, no, he ran! At once! He acted; as he
formulated it on another occasion, “Fast like the wind. Quick as a
flash of lightning. Faster than steam!” It is not by chance that the
metaphor of steam appears repeatedly in his writings. Even to the
Cardinal Prefect in Rome he writes: “When everything is done by
steam, should we missionaries do everything leisurely?” Among his
personal belongings there was a paper in which Pfanner speaks
about the drawbacks of his fast actions. He says, “I was often too
fiery and so energetic that, if I had to create the world, I would
certainly have wanted to do it in one day instead of seven, and thus
would have had an argument with God himself.” True, his
doubtfulness about his fast pace doesn’t last long. As if in the same
breath he continues, “but now steam has in the meantime become
important in the world. People travel by steam and work with steam.
Why shouldn’t monasteries be built like steam, and mission work
done like steam. – Yes, I think now is the time that one should think
in terms of steam and even sleep like steam.” That’s him all over: a
hotspur, a torch bearer, a firebrand. He describes himself when he
literally fires his companions on. “Each one of us and every sister
must be a good torch or good fuel so that the fire may blaze up and
the flames spread fast and forcefully”.
Abbot Pfanner was not spared the experience that fire is also painful.
He was willing to accept that. He was courageous from his early
youth. He was resolutely determined to pursue the recognized goal,
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even if the road leads through darkness and danger. Let us recall
once more his talk in Dunbrody, the “land of thorns.” His unshakable
and unchangeable resolution was: “I shall never leave this piece of
land, shall never leave South Africa. I will live and die here.” To
exclude any misunderstanding, he added, “This my clearly and
unreservedly stated intention is the bridge, as it were, which I tear
down or burn behind me, so that I will never be able to turn back.”
Uncompromisingly he confronts his companions with the decision
he demands of each and every one of them, “Whoever does not
have the courage to stay here for the rest of his life, whoever feels
that this land has too many thorns and the cacti too many spines
should say so, and we will put him on the train tomorrow so that he
may return to the fleshpots of Egypt, or at least to the onions of
Bosnia.” The way an extremely difficult alternative is presented here
with a subtle smile, brings to mind a further characteristic of Abbot
Pfanner’s spirituality.
3. SPIRIt Of HOPE
Like all great missionaries, Pfanner was a genius of hope. “As to
hope, I declare…, that it is great, even invincible.” He trusts in the
Lord, the beginning and goal of all mission. He trusts in his help and
that of the saints. In view of one of his daring plans he can frankly
write: “It is almost insolence. I permit myself to be called insolent,
but after many years of experience I have come to the practice of
asking everything of St. Joseph and of expecting everything from
him. For 19 years I have been doing the greatest business with the
carpenter of Nazareth.” Again that joy and deep sense of humour
come to the fore, which make Abbot Francis so likable. He is indeed
a joyful messenger of the Good News. He is convinced that a
Christian owes to God and to men the gift of joy. “We must joyfully
and courageously work ourselves through all difficulties because
God loves a cheerful giver.” Regarding the indigenous population he
writes: “Nothing can be accomplished with the Africans by gloom,
harshness and a sad and surly attitude. The spirit which I want my
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sisters to have is friendliness and joyfulness. Africans love joy.”
Abbot Francis knows that such joy cannot be “put on” or practiced.
One can only receive it. Ultimately it grows from an inner relationship
with Christ. Therefore he encourages his followers, “to grieve with
Christ is good, but it is not all. Christ himself said to the women:
‘Weep not for me!’ To be joyful with Jesus, however, means to have
conquered with him over his enemies, means to believe and hope
firmly in him and love him deeply.” This conviction corresponds with
the observation of a sister who experienced him in his old age. Sr.
Angela wrote: “He was never sad and always had a good sense of
humour. Our Venerable Father drew this strength from meditating the
Stations of the Cross.” A joy of this kind is not a matter of sunny
nature. It is, like love, a fruit of the Holy Spirit according to the word
of the Apostle, “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience,
kindness, goodness (Gal 5:22).” The living centre of Pfanner’s
spirituality comes to the fore in this word of St. Paul. It is the spirit of
love.
4. tHE SPIRIt Of LOvE
Pfanner was moved, from beginning to end, by the love of God,
which must be received and passed on. “The kindness and love of
God (Titus 3:4)” which appeared in Christ wants to become visible
and effective anew in his own. That is accomplished not in mystical
exuberance, but in keen and constant service. “Let us love God, my
brothers, with all our strength and in the sweat of our brow!” This
appeal of St. Vincent de Paul signifies Abbot Pfanner’s spirit. He
makes a sincere effort to acquire love “that is real and active.”
(1 John 3:18). This love is above all for the poor and needy. “After the
example of Christ, the Gospel must first be preached to the poor.”
Abbot Pfanner sees in this a “mark of the true Church of God.”
“Where the Church takes good care of the poor, there is Catholic
life.” It is natural for Pfanner that the Gospel of Jesus is not only to
be preached by words. The Good News of the mercy of God aims at
incarnation in deeds of mercy. Preaching and active help must go
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hand in hand. Just as the Gospel it is a matter of the salvation of the
world and not only of the application of grace to this or that elect
person, so must love not be confined to individual charitable help. It
must do justice to the community character and the universality of
the New Testament message as well as to the manifold needs and
the variety of positive human possibilities. In harmony with this
categorical imperative of Christian love, Abbot Francis and his
companions had a truly comprehensive apostolate in mind. As
Thomas Merton put it, it was “an apostolate of work, prayer, the
liturgy and the plow.” “Laborem exercens,” the encyclical
commemorating the 90th anniversary of “Rerum novarum” of Pope
Leo XIII, characterizes the personal life style of Pfanner as well as his
specific social programme. It would be worthwhile to show in detail
how much of what Pope John Paul II writes about the dignity and
meaning of human work, is found in the life and work of Abbot
Pfanner. It caused astonishment in the Balkans that the “great
gospodin” himself was constantly active. He wrote, “Often some
Turk comes out to us from the city and, surprised, his first question
is, ‘I ti radis?’ (You too work?) He thinks that a master of such a
beautiful house should only sit in its grand rooms and give audience
like a great pasha. That gives me a fine chance and a good starting-
point to explain to him the dignity of work”. At that time already he
had formulated the principle which marked his engagement in South
Africa. “If we make these people industrious, we will have educated
them and thoroughly changed them for the better.” Through work not
only is something produced, but man himself learns new things and
acquires another quality of life. To say it in the words of our Holy
Father, “Work is good for man, for his being human – because by
work he not only changes nature and adapts it to his needs, but,
being realized himself as man, he becomes, ‘more human’ so to
speak.” Analogously, work is for the monks and the sisters
absolutely essential to life. Therefore Abbot Francis, in his
regulations for the mission stations, lays down the following: “No
missionary, no priest, not even a superior should consider manual
work as too unimportant and low, or even degrading for him. In this
regard, a Catholic priest is literally a follower of Christ who first
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worked… To become all things to all men, with St. Paul, we must
even become workmen.”
Besides good example, it is part of missionary help to transmit
“know-how” by work. “The apostolate of work” and the “apostolate
of the plow” are necessary. Fr. Bernard Huss acted in the spirit of
Pfanner when he proclaimed the motto “Better fields, better homes,
better hearts.” The same holds for his four W’s and the four H’s
“Willing workers work wonders.” The four H’s that are important are:
“Head, hand, health and heart.”
The apostolate that challenges and at the same time advances the
whole person decisively, that tries to do justice to the whole reality
and its aspirations, indicates to us another fundamental structure of
Pfanner’s missionary spirituality.
5. tHE SPIRIt Of CAtHOLICIty
Missionwork must be done “wholistically.” The whole Gospel must
be handed on with the whole Church to the whole world and the
whole person. This demands much from the missionary. The more
versatile he is, the better. “There are institutes of formation in which
only spiritual things are taught. Little attention is given to physical
and material things. If such a, ‘theologian’ comes to the missions, he
can do nothing with his theology until some uneducated person
builds him a hut. That delays mission work. The learned man cannot
cut down a tree, provide the cook with firewood, or even milk a cow.
I wish he had stayed another year in the European house of studies
and had studied how to use an axe and milk a cow. In short, versatile
people are the most useful”. Beyond the visible advantages,
apostolic mandate demands of one to become all things to all
people. Whatever the talents and limitations of the individual person
may be, a total commitment is required of everyone. Mission means
totality. Abbot Pfanner made this clear at an investiture ceremony on
the feast of St. Francis. Since Mariannhill was founded exactly 700
years after the birth of the “Poverello,” and we celebrate a double
jubilee in this year 1982, we have two reasons to consider the
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references of the founder. He says, “St. Francis converted many
more by the sermon of his conduct and good example than by his
preaching. There were many preachers of the word, even good and
forceful ones, before and after St. Francis, but they did not convert
anybody. The example of St. Francis, however, has changed the
whole world. God has sent us too to preach by our example here in
Africa.”
Abbot Francis, like St. Francis, was Catholic through and through.
The sufferings which the Church caused him lessened in no way his
unreserved loyalty to the Church. He bows to the decisions of the
ecclesial authority, even when it becomes extremely difficult.
However, he is not afraid to voice his conviction. He freely speaks it,
just as freely as he puts himself totally at the service of the Church.
Even if he speaks hard of Protestants and Orthodox people
occasionally, neither his way of thinking nor his actions limit
themselves to the Catholic Church. He opens the cultural and social
facilities of Mariannhill to everybody. “We make no distinction as to
colour or religion. All boys in our institutions get room, board and
education without any distinction, whether they be pagan,
Protestant of Mohammedan.” He was not out proselytizing. He made
it expressly a rule that “Whoever does not want to come to Catholic
instructions or divine service, will be given something else to do
during that time if he is of another denomination.” What seems
obvious to us was criticized at the time from within and from without.
Yet Pfanner stuck to this programme, which was at the same time
Catholic, ecumenical and humane. The Anglican Bishop of Zululand,
visiting Mariannhill, said when he left, “If only we were united.”
Pfanner agreed, saying: “That would be very good.” Particularly the
situation in the mission can bring home to us how much the scandal
of division hinders the credible proclamation of the Gospel. The
mission mandate especially demands of us a definite ecumenical
commitment. With Vatican II we must stress that “through the
necessity of the missions all faithful are called to be united in one
flock, and thus be able to bear a common witness to Christ, their
Lord, before all the people.”
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It was indisputable for Abbot Francis that Christ’s mission concerns
the whole Church. Concisely and clearly he declares: “Our mission
territory is part of the Kingdom of Christ, and that has no limits.” To
the argument whether it was prudent to aspire to something that
could not be reached, he answered. “We should have a very
generous desire, although we can never fulfill it. It must be our
greatest wish to convert the whole world, although we will never
have the strength to do so.” Thus speaks a faith that relies
completely upon the will of the Lord. Here we touch upon the root of
Pfanner’s spirituality.
6. tHE SPIRIt Of fAItH
Whoever takes a look at the striking head of Pfanner, is reminded of
the patriarchs of the Old Testament. This is no mere coincidence.
Abbot Francis is intellectually and spiritually in a special way “of
Abraham’s race” (Acts 13:26). As Abraham followed God’s call to
distant lands, so did Pfanner. He said his “Yes” of faith and lived it.
In faith he entrusted himself to the incomprehensibly great, distant
and at the same time near God. In the “ninth lesson” for overly pious
sisters, he summarizes the experience of his life as follows: “Here on
earth we are not made to contemplate God, but to serve him.
Contemplation of God will follow in heaven after we have served him
enough here. Therefore, sisters, don’t try to fly before you have
sprouted wings!” His fundamental advice, therefore is, “One must
abandon oneself to the will of God, must wish only what he expects
of us at the moment. One must entrust oneself to the Saviour out of
love, in order to please him.” Jesus Christ “leads us in our faith and
brings it to perfection” (Hebr 12:2). From him comes “the spirit of
faith” (2 Cor 4:13), to him it is and remains indebted. Pfanner, who
usually passes over the greatest mysteries in silence, once, in a
Sacred-Heart-sermon, very forcefully stated how concretely faith is
union with Christ for him. “Our whole duty is to enter the Heart of
Jesus, and, through it, enter heaven.” This is the source of his faith
and life, and of his missionary work. He continues: “We run after the
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black people for the same reason, i.e. to show them the way to the
Sacred Heart, and, through it, bring them to heaven. For the same
reason we endure so much, work hard, suffer all sorts of hardship,
get rid of all created things; all in order to find surer access to the
Sacred Heart.” Like the Apostle of the Gentiles, Abbot Francis is not
only familiar with the following of Christ, but also with life “in Christ.”
Through this living in Christ he receives the strength that is nothing
less than the spirit of sanctity. As much as this spirit surpasses the
possibility of normal human existence, so much does it belong to the
mission mandate and its fulfillment.
7. tHE SPIRIt Of SANCtIty
The humble and simple piety of Abbot Francis must not blind us to
the fact of its depth and extent. Its roots not only reach down to an
abyss; they come from the ultimate source of all being and transmit
tremendous energies. In faith, Abbot Francis is seized by the mystery
of the everpresent God, and in prayer he contemplates it. It is a short
formula of his spirituality and at the same time a solid and practical
rule of life which he gives us when he says: “Let us place ourselves
in the presence of God and say: My God, I believe that you are really
here present. You hear me, you see me. Speak, Lord, your servant is
listening!” The Christian, when praying, should know that “we need
not, like the servants of idols, cry loud or travel far. He is not only to
be found in Jerusalem or on Mount Gerazin, as some thought, but
he is always with us. He is in us and we in him.” These words remind
us of the great mission sermon of Paul in Athens: “In him we live, and
move, and exist (Acts 17:28).” The real man of prayer enters this
reality on his knees, lives by it, draws from it grace upon grace for
passing on to others. The word is true: “As much as you grow in the
spirit of prayer, so much do you grow in the love of God.”
How much Abbot Francis’ love increased, is seen by his willingness
to make sacrifices. He knows what he is talking about when he says:
“If we had more faith, hope and love, we would rejoice in the bitter
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things of life.” His suspension from service and the last years at
Emaus were extremely severe trials. Fr. Francis had the strength to
write to Bro. Nivard, his close collaborator: “Today is the Feast of the
Finding of the True Cross, and I too have found a precious particle of
the cross. I will embrace and kiss it and let myself be drawn up to
the Father in heaven by it.” It is like a summary of his conviction and
also of his missionary commitment when, at Emaus, he erects the
Stations of the Cross on a neighboring rocky slope. With great effort,
being 68 years old now, he cuts step after step into the hard rock.
Day after day, as long as he can, he climbs these steps. In the school
of the Cross he learns to make sacrifices as an individual. He is ready
to make the total sacrifice. Thus he goes to meet death. Fr. Alois
Becker wrote: “Abbot Francis never complained during his illness
and died peacefully. ‘Light’ was his last word.” We owe to him a lot
of light. We have just considered some of it. It illuminates the mission
mandate which we have all received.
To work in the spirit of Abbot Pfanner means:
to be open for the spirit of knowledge,
to work in the spirit of fortitude,
to be happy in the spirit of hope,
to be animated by the spirit of love,
to be big-hearted in the spirit of Catholicity,
to be loyal in the spirit of faith,
to be willing to make sacrifices in the spirit of sanctity.
Let us neither fail to see, nor forget that all this is not reserved for
some mission experts or particularly pious people. It concerns all of
us, every single one of us, everyone personally, everyone totally. Let
us ask the Lord that he may give us and our world a truly new
Pentecost, a missionary renewal in the Holy Spirit.
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ARCHBISHOP dENIS HURLEy, dURBAN:
ABBOt fRANCIS PfANNER ANd tHE “BIgBANg” Of mISSIONARy ExPANSION
One of the extraordinary aspects of the personality of the founder of
Mariannhill, Abbot Franz Pfanner, is that from the moment he
accepted to come to South Africa to make a Trappist missionary
foundation he seems to have known precisely what he wanted to do.
He seems to have had no need to investigate, to study and to
experiment. His missionary policy was clear from the start. In one
way this was an advantage. On the other hand, he missed the fun of
the meetings we have today: the consultations, the workshops and
the seminars.
It had been the idea of Bishop Ricards, Vicar Apostolic of the Eastern
Districts of the Cape Province, now the Diocese of Port Elizabeth,
that the Trappist approach might be the answer, or at least one of the
answers, to the question of how to set about planting the Catholic
Church among the black people of South Africa. The Trappist
approach combines an intense spiritual life of prayer, silence and
self-denial with the realistic approach to material self-sufficiency
based on hard work: cultivation of the soil and exercise of all other
appropriate arts and crafts.
The Trappists owe the basics of their tradition to the spiritual genius
of Benedict of Nursia who, at the beginning of the 6th century in the
midst of a crumbling Roman civilisation, laid the foundation of a new
culture inspired by Christian values when he established a monastic
tradition based on “ora et labora,” pray and work. It was Europe’s
good fortune to be evangelised by men who believed that work and
prayer were equally important in the service of God and his people.
That tradition was brought to South Africa by the clear-headed,
strongminded, dynamic, impulsive, decisive, no-nonsense apostolic
monk, a born leader and organiser, Franz Pfanner.
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At the invitation of Bishop Ricards, the first foundation was made at
Dunbrody in August 1880 but things did not work out too well and
by agreement between all the parties concerned the Trappists
moved to Natal two years later and settled at Mariannhill in
December 1882. Father Franz Pfanner at this time was 57 years of
age.
For the next ten years until his resignation in 1892 Father Franz, who
became Abbot in 1885, led his Trappist priests and brothers in what
must have been one of the most explosively creative missionary
beginnings in all the history of the Church. Scientists have a theory
that an important episode in the early stages of the universe was a
cosmic explosion that blew billions of galaxies into an ever-
extending occupation of space. This explosion is known as the “Big
Bang.” As far as creativity goes Abbot Franz seems to have
anticipated the theory of the Big Bang by about 50 years.
The Dunbrody Trappists were already in Natal when Father Franz got
back from a trip in Europe. They were waiting on the Bluff. Within
days of his return he had arranged matters with Bishop Jolivet,
bought the land that was to become Mariannhill and lodged his
community there. In the next four years buildings went up,
agriculture was established and a variety of trades and activities
promoted. By 1886 Abbot Franz was probably thinking that things
were going too slow and that he was spending far too much time in
one place. In the next four years he opened nine new missions:
Reichenau, Einsiedeln, Mariathal, Oetting, a place called Loretto
near Pinetown, Kevelaer, Lourdes, Maria Ratschitz. He also took
over St. Michael’s from the Oblates of Mary Immaculate. It was an
incredible rate of expansion.
It was made possible by Abbot Franz’s genius for leadership and
organisation. Joy Brain writes of him: “Perhaps there has never been
in modern times a Christian leader who in so short a time could
attract so many followers willing to leave well established
monasteries and parishes in Europe to work in the African missions.”
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As regards personnel, the original community of Trappist priests and
brothers who came to Mariannhill in 1882 numbered 30. It was
already no mean achievement for Father Franz to have mobilised 30
monks for the South African mission from the time he had responded
in 1879 to Bishop Ricards’ appeal. Seven years later in 1889 the
number of monks was 182 and there were well over 100 Sisters and
because the Big Bang went on reverberating after Abbot Franz’s
resignation the number of monks had reached 285 in 1898 and
Mariannhill had become the largest abbey in the world both in
numbers and extension. By the time Abbot Franz died in 1909 the
extension included ten further major missions stretching from
Himmelberg in Natal down to Mariazell in what was then known as
East Griqualand.
This dramatic expansion in monastic personnel and missionary
centers was matched by an almost ferociousness of energy on other
aspects of Abbot Franz’s work: the raising of funds, the promotion of
publicity, the concern for literature, research and culture generally,
the founding of the Precious Blood Sisters, the recruiting of lay
mission helpers, the establishment of schools, the elaboration of an
educational policy with proportionate emphasis on the academic
and the practical and equal regard for Black and White, the fostering
of local vocations to the priesthood and the religious life, not to
mention the enjoyment (and I say enjoyment deliberately) of
ceaseless polemic in the columns of newspapers over the Abbot’s
missionary and educational policies. As Abbot Franz has anticipated
the theory of the Big Bang he was also far in advance of the rest of
his Church and, for that matter, the rest of the Christianity of his time
in his missionary vision.
As I mentioned in the opening sentence of this talk, one of the extra-
ordinary aspects of his personality is that from the time he accepted
to come to South Africa he seems to have known precisely what he
wanted to do. It was a case of instant missiology, an intuition of
genius, the sudden illumination of a mind totally and utterly
dedicated to Christ and his Church and the people for whom Christ
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died. The monk who has dedicated his life to contemplation but who
had given ample evidence of his electrifying creativity at Maria Wald
in Germany, at Tre Fontane in Rome and at Maria Stern in Bosnia,
now gave full vent to this electrifying creativity in setting up
Mariannhill and its network of daughter missions.
Totally absorbed in tasks that must have given enormous fulfillment
to his dynamic nature and deep love of Christ, he seems to have
overlooked one thing. Perhaps he did not. Perhaps he had this thing
fully under consideration, intending to relate it as soon as possible to
what was developing in the first ten years of Mariannhill. Those
better acquainted with the story of Abbot Franz would know. But to
those less knowledgeable it would appear that the thing he
overlooked was how to reconcile his missionary vision with the
Trappist rule of life – two splendid values, two great and magnificent
ideals, but basically incompatible.
So the disaster of 1892 came: The suspension of Abbot Franz from
abbatial functions, followed by his resignation – in one sense a
disaster like Calvary, in another sense a triumph like Easter Sunday,
the triumph of a great Christian soul who accepted his removal from
office and dynamically creative work with exemplary obedience and
humility and retired to Emaus to live out seventeen years of prayer,
self-denial and humble service of God and his people. Why such
things happen in the history of God’s people is an eternal puzzle. It
has long been my contention that after the Last Judgment, time
should be allowed for questions from the floor.
But let us not anticipate the Last Judgment. We are here to celebrate
the centenary of the foundation of Mariannhill, the establishment of
one of the most enlightened missionary traditions of the Church of
the last century and one of the greatest enrichments of the Church
in Southern Africa.
Dear Fathers and Brothers of Mariannhill and dear Sisters of the
Precious Blood, as my reverend predecessor welcomed your great
– 16 –
founder to Natal, let me as Archbishop of Durban and President of
the Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference welcome you
into the second century of your work, determined as you are to be
wise stewards of your tradition, to be prudent and generous
householders drawing out of your treasure things old and new: old
because they belong to the vision of your founder, new because they
relate to the changing circumstances of our times and contribute to
the building up of the faith and the promotion of a Christ-inspired
social vision and culture in Southern Africa.
– 17 –
PAUL tHEmBA mNgOmA, BISHOP Of mARIANNHILL:
PAStORAL LEttER ON tHE CENtENARyOf mARIANNHILL
(slightly abridged)
PREAmBLE
This pastoral letter has been written just a few days before
Christmas (1982). As is usual at Christmas, people send each other
Christmas cards with all kinds of wishes. From the many cards that
I have received, I would like to single out two. The reason for doing
so is very simple, namely, the message therein has struck me very
much. … Let me hasten to quote from these cards which were
handwritten: “May He, the Light of the People, help you to
strengthen the people in hope for a new future, a new Centenary of
Mariannhill.” The other card read: “May the Light who came into the
world for all, help you in a special way to be fruitful in implementing
the motto of your important service.” … These cards filled my
thoughts as I started writing this Pastoral Letter. I have no doubt that
you will immediately see the implications of these cards since they
speak for themselves.
INtROdUCtION
Let me first of all explain why I chose this motto: Lumen gentibus –
Light for the People. The reason is quite simple. The founder of
Mariannhill, Abbot Francis Pfanner, died with a burning candle in his
hand and that was on Monday the 24th of May, 1909 at two o’clock
in the morning. But above all, the last word he uttered before he died
was “Light”. … To me, the last word of the Abbot, was a summary of
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what he had achieved in implanting faith amongst the people and I
do not hesitate to say that he was “Light for the People”. This will be
better elaborated in the paragraphs that will follow in this Pastoral
Letter.
HIStORICAL BACKgROUNd
… The year 1879 proved to be a remarkable year for the history of
Mariannhill. It was the year for the General Chapter of the Trappists.
Bishop Ricards had heard of the Trappists’ performance especially
with regard to teaching crafts and agriculture in Algeria… He
therefore invited them to do similar work at Dunbrody, forty miles
north of Port Elizabeth. This created a tension within the Trappists
who were attending the General Chapter. The courageous Prior
Francis, in that dead silence, immediately burst out and said: “If no
one else will go, I will”. Bishop Ricards had reason to ask for
Trappists. Firstly, he was dissatisfied with the method of the
Protestants who attempted to combine literacy with conversion, as
a condition for Bible reading, and which seemed to him to detribalize
the person without giving him any new social background. Secondly,
he felt that some separation from the tribal life with its rigid customs,
apparently impossible to combine with Christianity (polygamy,
initiations, ancestor cult through chiefs etc), was needed. … Finally,
some negotiations were made.
Bishop Ricards admired Abbot Francis’ initiative tremendously.
“I believe that Francis is a man in a million. He needs no architects,
he knows every kind of work, he is a man of iron, the toughest of all
and as simple as a child”. So, the Trappists sailed on the 1st of July,
1880, and reached Port Elizabeth on the 28th of July, 1880. As time
went on, Dunbrody proved unsatisfactory and Bishop Ricards and
the Abbot did not agree. So, the monks moved on to a property
about sixteen miles north of Durban with the permission of Bishop
Jolivet of Natal, and arrived at their destination on Christmas in 1882.
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NAmE Of tHE NEW PLACE
Discussions were held about the name of the new foundation. After
a long silence, Abbot Francis declared: „Mary Anne Hill shall be its
name.“ He thought, all monasteries should be built to the glory of the
Mother of God. He added St. Anne, who as the grandmother of the
Lord should be greatly honoured. The word ‘Hill’ indicated that the
new Monastery should originally stand on a lofty height. … The
number of monks increased rapidly, from thirty to nearly three
hundred. … Right from the start Abbot Francis realised the need for
schools for the Africans. He established such as early as 1884 at
Mariannhill. In all this, let us keep the word “Light” in mind, as I
mentioned it at the beginning of this Pastoral Letter. Abbot Francis,
as a man ahead of his time, wanted to meet the demands of the local
people. Therefore, he established contact with them and the pagans,
who came for services. This shows us how deeply imbued he was
with true missionary spirit.
mISSIONARy ExPANSION
In 1886 the Trappists founded a second mission which they called
Reichenau, in the Pholela district. The Abbot compared it to the
ancient Reichenau on the Rhine River where the barbarous
Alemanians and Bavarians lived and were converted by the monks
of that Monastery in times long ago…
It was near Reichenau that St. Peter’s Seminary was later
established. This Seminary produced more than a hundred priests
coming from all corners of South Africa. … From the Mariannhill
families have come Bishops, Priests, Brothers and Sisters,
Catechists and committed Lay People. This affirms my statement
made earlier on that Abbot Francis was “Light for the People”.
Many other mission stations were founded in the early days, e.g.
Einsiedeln, Mariathal, Oetting, Kevelaer, Loretto, Lourdes, Rankweil
and Ratschitz. That is why I have entitled this subheading
“Missionary Expansion”. I am not here referring to the buildings so
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much, but to the implantation of the faith among the people. This
was Evangelisation in the true sense of the word.
In 1885 Abbot Francis Pfanner founded the Precious Blood Sisters
to help in the work of the missions. By 1900 there were already three
hundred of them at work among the people; and 285 Trappists, over
two hundred of them were Brothers.
A striking feature in the Abbot’s life was that he always managed to
get the laity involved in the work of his mission, a breakthrough in
those days, whereas it has taken the Church a long time to come to
grips with it. It was only after the Second Vatican Council that people
started seriously to think of the importance of the layman in the work
of the Church.
By 1892 great difficulties were encountered relating to monastic life
which obliged the monks to spend long hours of prayer and observe
strict austerities in community life. These things were incompatible
with mission work spread over large distances. The solution to these
problems was not easy for the Abbot; he had to endure quite a
number of difficulties, but he followed the saying: “Perseverance is
the mother of success.”
dEvELOPmENt
Abbot Francis resigned from his office and withdrew to Emaus
Mission… He was succeeded by Fr. Amandus Schölzig who was
consecrated as the second Abbot of Mariannhill by Bishop Jolivet on
25 April 1894. Abbot Amandus also founded several mission
stations, like Maria Trost, Clairvaux, Citeaux, St. Bernard and
Maryhelp, but he died already in January 1900. His successor as
third Abbot of Mariannhill was Fr. Gerard Wolpert whose
consecration took place on 2 October of the same year. Two days
later, Abbot Francis Pfanner celebrated his Golden Jubilee as a
priest.
– 21 –
In 1909, shortly before the death of its founder, a decision was made
for Mariannhill to cease being a Trappist Monastery and to become
a Missionary Congregation with an adapted rule. Hence they were
called the “Congregation of the Missionaries of Mariannhill”. These
are the missionaries who have kept the Diocese of Mariannhill going
up to now and are still active… They have dedicated their whole life
time to the growth and development of the Church among us.
Hence, Mariannhill has grown immensely during the last hundred
years. These missionaries have kept the spirit of their Founder. They
deserve their due, and it would be a grave oversight on my side if I
were to ignore their missionary zeal. They ought to be thanked
tremendously, those who have passed away and those who are still
active in the Missions. I am not thanking the priests only, but also the
Brothers and the Sisters who have contributed such a great deal to
this diocese by their various skills.
ImPORtANt CONtRIBUtIONS Of mARIANNHILL
The basic idea of the missionary method of the early Trappists was
the formation of mission stations. Each station had a large farm
which made the mission self-supporting through the work of the
Brothers. From the early beginnings each station ran schools, and
later some of them had also High Schools. The best of these were at
Mariannhill itself and also at Mariazell. Their men, trained in
agriculture and the crafts, were everywhere sought for as officials
and demonstrators.
It is good to note that before the turn of the century, four secular
African priests, brought up on the Mariannhill mission stations, were
trained in Rome. Among the first black children who came to school
at Mariannhill itself, was Eduard Mnganga. He was sent to Rome by
Abbot Francis Pfanner and ordained priest already in the 19th cent.
i.e. in 1898. In 1894 two other students for the priesthood were sent
to Rome by Abbot Amandus; those were Alois Mncwadi and Charles
Mbengane. Fr. Alois was ordained in 1903, but Mbengane got ill
whilst he was still a student and died in Würzburg. The next to be
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ordained in Rome were Fr. Julius Mbhele and Fr. Andreas Ngidi, in
1907.
Then there was a gap in training Africans for the priesthood… Bishop
Fleischer founded St. Mary’s Seminary and also two religious
Congregations. All the African priests who were to work in the
Mariannhill missions, were at first to be members of the F.F.J. Only
two out of ten of the first group of priests coming from St. Mary’s
Seminary were Diocesan. It was only after some years, when the
Major Seminary moved from St. Mary’s to become St. Peter’s that
more Diocesan priests were trained.
To appreciate the pioneering work of Mariannhill in the training of
priests, it is interesting to note that until 1928 there was no Seminary
in South Africa for the whites, except for the Mariannhillers.
Vocations were sent overseas for their training…
We are still on the contributions Mariannhill made to the Church and
to South Africa. Two Mariannhill Scholars, Fr. A.T. Bryant and Fr. W.
Wanger wrote the most exhaustive dictionary and grammer of the
Zulu language, and Fr. Bryant the best early history of the Zulu
people. St. Francis College at Mariannhill was one of the most
successful schools in South Africa and produced men and women of
great calibre. The first African University lecturer and poet, Dr. B.W.
Vilakazi, is one of its sons. Fr. Bernard Huss will ever be remembered
for organising the African people into the C.A.O. and his books on
Agriculture and Psychology and other social subjects had a great
influence. I cannot go on enumerating all kinds of people Mariannhill
has produced. Historical facts speak for themselves.
CONCLUSION
… Our Founder never gave up, but was persistent in prayer – hence
today we see the fruits of his perseverance. Even in a world that is
baffled by political struggles, he spoke his mind. May I just quote the
Abbot: “I cannot bear discrimination between races of men, as if
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God valued them according to the colour of their skin. I believe I
learned to become sensitive about his when I was a child”. He was
saying this because his schoolmates used to tease him about his red
hair. “I should like to get rid of these differences completely”. This
was a very strong statement from a man of that time.
Our basic question should be: “What is the future going to be in our
Diocese?” We have seen the past, now we must look to the future
and this is the whole exercise of the centenary. For me it is not a
question so much of saying we have produced so many priests and
nuns or bishops. That is secondary, but here and now, the question
is: How are we preparing for the future and how do we do this? This
is my basic worry every day and it should be your worry too, either
as religious or laymen.
… Lastly, I wish you all God’s blessings, also those who spent time
in making research about Francis Pfanner’s work. May Christ keep
us united in love, prayer and in faith. But above all, may this
centenary be a time of penance, renewal and dedication to our
Blessed Lady and to St. Anne.
– 24 –
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