Conrad of Parzham, O.F.M. Cap. (22 December 181821 April 1894), was a

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Franciscan , image = FrancescoCoA PioM.svg , image_size = 200px , caption = A cross, Christ's arm and Saint Francis's arm, a universal symbol of the Franciscans , abbreviation = OFM , predecessor = , ...

lay brother Lay brother is a largely extinct term referring to religious brothers, particularly in the Catholic Church, who focused upon manual service and secular matters, and were distinguished from choir monks or friars in that they did not pray in choir, ...

. He served for over 40 years in the post of

porter Porter may refer to: Companies * Porter Airlines, Canadian regional airline based in Toronto * Porter Chemical Company, a defunct U.S. toy manufacturer of chemistry sets * Porter Motor Company, defunct U.S. car manufacturer * H.K. Porter, Inc., ...

of the Capuchin friary in

Altötting Altötting (, Bavarian: ; ''Oidäding'') is a town in Bavaria, capital of the district Altötting of Germany. For 500 years it has been the scene of religious pilgrimages by Catholics in honor of Mary, including a visit by Pope John Paul II i ...

, through which work he gained a widespread reputation for his wisdom and holiness. He has been declared a saint by the

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Life

Early life

Born 22 December 1818, he was baptized with the name of John, the son of Bartholomäus Birndorfer and Gertrude Niedermayer, and was born on the family farm in

Parzham Bad Griesbach im Rottal ( bar, label=Central Bavarian, Bad Griasboch im Rottoi), or just Bad Griesbach, is a town in the district of Passau in Bavaria in Germany. History "Burg Griesbach" is first mentioned in a document from around 1076. The ...

, now a part of the town of Bad Griesbach, then in the

Kingdom of Bavaria The Kingdom of Bavaria (german: Königreich Bayern; ; spelled ''Baiern'' until 1825) was a German state that succeeded the former Electorate of Bavaria in 1805 and continued to exist until 1918. With the unification of Germany into the German ...

, now part of Germany."Saint Conrad of Parzham", Franciscan Media
/ref> Baptized Johann Evangelist, he was the second youngest of 12 children, five of whom died in infancy.Cargnoni, O.F.M.Cap., Costanzo. ''The Capuchin Way: Lives of Capuchins'', v. 1, pt. 2, North American Capuchin Conference, 1996, pp. 180-206 At the age of six, he started elementary school in nearby

Weng Weng may refer to: * Weng (surname), a Chinese surname * Weng, Germany, a town in the district of Landshut, Bavaria, Germany * Weng im Innkreis, a town in the district of Braunau am Inn, Upper Austria, Austria * Weng im Gesäuse, a town in the d ...

. Young John's devotion was noticeable especially when he prayed in church, the distant location of which was no hindrance to his visiting it frequently even in inclement weather. He had a great devotion to the Blessed Virgin, and each day fervently recited the rosary. On feast days he frequently made a journey to some remote

shrine A shrine ( la, scrinium "case or chest for books or papers"; Old French: ''escrin'' "box or case") is a sacred or holy space dedicated to a specific deity, ancestor, hero, martyr, saint, daemon, or similar figure of respect, wherein they ...

of the

Blessed Mother Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother of ...

. During such

pilgrimage A pilgrimage is a journey, often into an unknown or foreign place, where a person goes in search of new or expanded meaning about their self, others, nature, or a higher good, through the experience. It can lead to a personal transformation, aft ...

s, always made on foot, he was engaged in prayer, and when he returned in the evening, he was usually still fasting. John spent his early years on the family farm. His mother died when he was 14; his father two years later. After attending a parish mission in 1838, he decided to enter the religious life. The following year, at the age of 31, and after distributing his inheritance, he was admitted as a

among the Capuchin Franciscan friars.

Brother Porter

Immediately after his

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in 1842 he was sent to the Friary of St. Ann, in the city of

."St. Conrad of Parzham", Capuchins, Mid-America Province
/ref> The friary served the Shrine of

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, the national shrine of Bavaria to the Blessed Mother. Conrad was given the task of assisting the

at this shrine. In March 1851, he had to leave Altötting to go to Burghausen to care for a dying priest. The following September, he entered the novitiate at Laufen, where he was given the name Conrad in honor of Conrad of Piacenza. He then returned to Altötting as porter. Because it was a large and busy city, the duty of the friary porter was a very difficult one. Conrad was known to be diligent at his work, sparing in words, bountiful to the poor, eager and ready to receive and help strangers."Saint Conrad of Parzham", Capuchin Franciscans, Province of St. Mary
/ref> Brother Conrad fulfilled the task of porter for more than 40 years, assisting the inhabitants of the town in their needs of body and soul. Conrad loved silence in a special way. His spare moments during the day were spent in a nook near the door where it was possible for him to see and adore the

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. During the night he would deprive himself of several hours of sleep to devote the time to prayer either in the oratory of the

friar A friar is a member of one of the mendicant orders founded in the twelfth or thirteenth century; the term distinguishes the mendicants' itinerant apostolic character, exercised broadly under the jurisdiction of a superior general, from the ...

s or in the church. It was generally believed that he never took any rest, but continually occupied himself in work and exercises of devotion. On the 21 April 1894, Conrad died in the friary where he had served for 41 years.

Canonization

During his lifetime, Conrad was reputed to have been able to read the hearts of those he met, and he was attributed with the gift of prophecy. His

heroic virtue Heroic virtue is a phrase coined by Augustine of Hippo to describe the virtue of early Christian martyrs and used by the Catholic Church. The Greek pagan term hero described a person with possibly superhuman abilities and great goodness, and "it ...

s and the miracles he performed won for him the distinction to be ranked among the

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by Pope

Pius XI Pope Pius XI ( it, Pio XI), born Ambrogio Damiano Achille Ratti (; 31 May 1857 – 10 February 1939), was head of the Catholic Church from 6 February 1922 to his death in February 1939. He was the first sovereign of Vatican City f ...

in 1930. Four years later, the same pope, approving additional miracles which had been performed, solemnly inscribed his name in the list of saints. He is the patron saint of the Mid-America Province of Capuchin Friars.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Conrad Of Parzham 1818 births 1894 deaths German Roman Catholic saints 19th-century Christian saints Canonizations by Pope Pius XI Franciscan saints Capuchin saints Canonized Roman Catholic religious brothers Miracle workers People from Bad Griesbach (Rottal)