Arnold Janssen, S.V.D. (5 November 1837 – 15 January 1909), was a German-Dutch

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in partic ...

and

missionary A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Tho ...

who is venerated as a

saint In religious belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and denomination. In Catholic, Eastern Or ...

. He founded the

Society of the Divine Word The Society of the Divine Word ( la, Societas Verbi Divini), abbreviated SVD and popularly called the Verbites or the Divine Word Missionaries, and sometimes the Steyler Missionaries, is a Catholic Church, Catholic clerical religious congregation ...

, a Catholic missionary religious

congregation A congregation is a large gathering of people, often for the purpose of worship. Congregation may also refer to: *Church (congregation), a Christian organization meeting in a particular place for worship *Congregation (Roman Curia), an administra ...

, also known as the ''Divine Word Missionaries'', as well as two congregations for women. In 1889 he founded in Steyl,

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

, the

Missionary Sisters Servants of the Holy Spirit The Missionary Sisters Servants of the Holy Spirit, also known as Holy Spirit Missionary Sisters, or simply Holy Spirit Sisters (Latin: ''Congregatio Missionalis Servarum Spiritus Sancti'', SSpS) is a religious congregation within the Catholic C ...

and in 1896 at the same place the

Holy Spirit Adoration Sisters The Holy Spirit Adoration Sisters ( la, Servarum Spiritus Sancti de Adoratione Perpetua, SSpSAP) are a Roman Catholic religious institute. The nuns live a contemplative life, focused on perpetual adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, offering in ...

. He was canonized on 5 October 2003, by

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

Life and work

Janssen was born 5 November 1837 in Goch in the

Rhineland The Rhineland (german: Rheinland; french: Rhénanie; nl, Rijnland; ksh, Rhingland; Latinised name: ''Rhenania'') is a loosely defined area of Western Germany along the Rhine, chiefly its middle section. Term Historically, the Rhinelands ...

, Germany, not far from the Dutch border, one of eleven siblings. He developed a deep, simple faith. His first school was the Catholic Augustinianum High School in Gaesdonck, which is near his birthplace. He took up the study of philosophy at the Academy of Muenster, and then entered the University of Bonn. As a student in the university, Janssen entered a mathematics contest; he used the prize money to treat his father to a trip to the university and down the Rhine River; (his mother was too ill to make the trip). Janssen was ordained to the priesthood for the diocese of Muenster on 15 August 1861. For a while he worked as a high school teacher in

Bocholt, Germany Bocholt () is a city in the north-west of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, part of the district Borken. It is situated 4 km (2½ miles) south of the border with the Netherlands. Suderwick is part of Bocholt and is situated at the border ...

, teaching physics and catechism. He devoted some years to pastoral work and the teaching of Christian doctrine, in 1873 becoming chaplain and director at the Ursuline convent of Kempen.Richarz, Herman. "Arnold Janssen." The Catholic Encyclopedia
Vol. 16 (Index). New York: The Encyclopedia Press, 1914. 10 April 2020 In 1867 he became the diocesan director of the

Apostleship of Prayer The Pope's Worldwide Prayer Network is a Pontifical Society of the Catholic Church, which encourages Catholics to prayer and action as part of the church's universal mission. The Network provides monthly prayer intentions determined by the Pope. I ...

. This led to the founding in 1874 of the German-language journal ''Kleiner Herz-Jesu Bote'' (Little Messenger of the Sacred Heart), which looked to enlist the faithful in prayer and support for the mission. The

Kulturkampf (, 'culture struggle') was the conflict that took place from 1872 to 1878 between the Catholic Church in Germany, Catholic Church led by Pope Pius IX and the government of Kingdom of Prussia, Prussia led by Otto von Bismarck. The main issues wer ...

, however, hampered his efforts, and Janssen purchased land in Steyl, the

, to begin his

seminary A seminary, school of theology, theological seminary, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called ''seminarians'') in scripture, theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as clergy ...

, dedicated in 1875 as the "St. Michael the Archangel Mission House". Within a few years, many seminarians, priests and brothers were preparing there for missionary service, and the first two missionaries, Joseph Freinademetz and John Anzer, were sent to Hong Kong at the request of Bishop Giovanni T. Raimondi. The Society of the Divine Word received canonical approbation in 1901. From the very beginning, a group of women, including Maria Helena Stollenwerk, served the community. Janssen also founded two congregations of religious

sisters A sister is a woman or a girl who shares one or more parents with another individual; a female sibling. The male counterpart is a brother. Although the term typically refers to a familial relationship, it is sometimes used endearingly to refer to ...

: The Holy Spirit Missionary Sisters (members known as "Sister Servants of the Holy Spirit") on 8 December 1889, and the

("Sister Servants of the Holy Spirit of Perpetual Adoration") on 8 September 1896. Arnold Janssen died at Steyl, Holland, on January 15, 1909.

Veneration

Janssen and Joseph Freinademetz, along with

Daniele Comboni Daniele Comboni (15 March 1831 – 10 October 1881) was an Italian Roman Catholic bishop who served in the missions in Africa and was the founder of both the Comboni Missionaries of the Heart of Jesus and the Comboni Missionary Sisters. Comboni ...

(an important missionary in

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

) were

canonised Canonization is the declaration of a deceased person as an officially recognized saint, specifically, the official act of a Christian communion declaring a person worthy of public veneration and entering their name in the canon catalogue of ...

on 5 October 2003 by

. Janssen was elevated to sainthood after the healing of Pamela Avellanosa, a

Filipina Filipinos ( tl, Mga Pilipino) are the people who are citizens of or native to the Philippines. The majority of Filipinos today come from various Austronesian ethnolinguistic groups, all typically speaking either Filipino, English and/or other ...

teenager living in

Baguio Baguio ( , ), officially the City of Baguio ( ilo, Siudad ti Baguio; fil, Lungsod ng Baguio), is a 1st class highly urbanized city in the Cordillera Administrative Region, Philippines. It is known as the "Summer Capital of the Philippines", ...

who fell from a bike and was not expected to recover from the resulting

head injury A head injury is any injury that results in trauma to the skull or brain. The terms ''traumatic brain injury'' and ''head injury'' are often used interchangeably in the medical literature. Because head injuries cover such a broad scope of inju ...

. According to her relatives and the Catholic Church, she was healed miraculously following prayers to Janssen. In his hometown of Goch, the Arnold-Janssen-Church and the Arnold-Janssen-Community are named after Janssen. His birthplace can be visited in the Arnold-Janssen-Street. The St. Arnold neighborhood in Neuenkirchen, Westphalia, has an Arnold-Janssen High School. It was founded 1929 by his religious community, but since 1996 it has been administered by the

Diocese of Münster In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associat ...

. The Arnold-Janssen High School in Sankt Wendel,

Saarland The Saarland (, ; french: Sarre ) is a state of Germany in the south west of the country. With an area of and population of 990,509 in 2018, it is the smallest German state in area apart from the city-states of Berlin, Bremen, and Hamburg, a ...

, is also named for him, as is the Arnold-Janssen-Hauptschule in Bocholt.

References

External links

Biography - Society of the Divine Word
* ''Bibliography concerning St. Arnold Janssen and St. Joseph Freinademetz'', compiled by Fr. Manfred Müller SVD, Romae 200

{{DEFAULTSORT:Janssen, Arnold 1837 births 1909 deaths Divine Word Missionaries Order Dutch Roman Catholic saints Founders of Catholic religious communities German Roman Catholic saints People from Goch People from Venlo Canonizations by Pope John Paul II African-American Roman Catholicism

Life and work

Veneration

See also

References

External links