Mariastern – Mariannhill – Emaus – CMM – CPS     2026

When Abbot Francis died at Emaus Mission on May 24, 1909, his life had become quiet and lonely. However, he remains unforgotten because his principal foundations, though no longer part of the Trappist Order, have survived him to this day (2026) and do not lack in significance.

• Mariastern Today

Mariastern Monastery in Bosnia has held its own for almost 150 years of a history which was at times more than turbulent. From the beginning it stood for progress, boasting even under Prior Francis (1869-80), an up-to-date cheese dairy, brewery, and tannery, in addition to a profitable farm. As well, the monastery ran nursing facilities and workshops which were expanded under the founder’s first successor, Bonaventura Baier, who became its first abbot in 1886.

In 1913, Mariastern, with more than 260 monks, was the largest Trappist abbey of all.  Bosnia benefited from its innovative infrastructure, consisting of roads, bridges and hydroelectric power, but also its schools and trade shops. “The cast-iron turbines and transformer wheels with replaceable teeth made of oak wood and installed in 1899, can still be viewed still today,” as can be the sacristy of “the largest Catholic church in Bosnia, … built entirely of wood in the early 1930s.”[1] With its food – meat, pasta, beer, soda water, cheese – and timber manufactures, glue, soap, and textile factories, tannery, and tailor shop, Mariastern was by far “the largest employer in the region and in that way made Banja Luka a prosperous modern city.” Moreover, with its breeding cattle, it improved the country’s unproductive livestock, even while it used the proceeds from that trade to establish a popular ministry for the training of young people. Mariastern’s orphanage was the first to admit children from all of Bosnia. They benefited from its 35 different training opportunities and, after successfully completing their courses, could count on a set of tools as a starting gift. At the same time, a soup kitchen catered to 100 poor every day.

World War I (1914-1918) put an end to the prosperity. The Mariastern Orphanage was confiscated and converted into a military hospital – later to be used as a convalescence home for veterans – while a new foundation, Himmerod, had to be made to accommodate the repatriates of German origin. The new Yugoslavia took over the management of Mariastern’s main industries – sawmill, brewery, textile factory, power plant – and made of them a joint-stock company. Meanwhile, impoverished German youth and craftsmen, some of whom later joined the Trappist order, found a new home at Mariastern.

Hitler invaded Yugoslavia in 1941. The German Wehrmacht [military] occupied Mariastern, but in 1945 it was the Communists who arrested the Trappists. Most of these were able to take refuge in Engelszell (Austria); two eventually became abbots of Mariawald. In 1946, with 32 members left, the monastery itself was confiscated and used as an orthopedic clinic. Only the church remained as it was until in 1969, just one month after it had been completely overhauled, it was severely damaged by a first earthquake, and in 1981 by a second, even more devastating one. In 1972, the local bishop declared “Marija Zvijezda” (Bosnian for Mariastern) a parish church. It had approximately 2,000 parishioners of whom, after the 1992-1995 Bosnian War, only 150 remained.

Owing to the vigorous advertising efforts undertaken by the founder, men from 16 European countries entered Mariastern as Trappists and settlers from Germany and the Austrian Habsburg Monarchy established themselves in its vicinity. The settlers were allowed to make use of Mariastern’s infrastructure – roads, bridges, power plants – and also of the various facilities of the monastery, such as the sawmill, slaughterhouse, fruit dryers, mills, silos and dairies, enabling them not only to build “a prosperous, multilingual, and multi-denominational Mini-Europe in peaceful coexistence with the local Croats, Serbs, and Bosnians but, in 1918, also to survive the collapse of even the Habsburg Monarchy. However, with very few exceptions, World War II and Communism destroyed this peaceful world.”  The Germans fled; in 1945, other settlers were repatriated to their own countries of origin and the rest fell “victim to ethnic cleansing and expulsion from the Republika Srpska [newly founded Republic of Bosnia] during the Bosnian War. Today, only churches and cemeteries remain as a reminder of the 2-3 generations of European colonists in Banja Luka.”

In 2017, the Trappists gave Mariastern to the Diocese of Banja Luka and withdrew. In 2020, the “Mariastern European Center for Peace and Cooperation” was founded, and a year later, the “Friends of Mariastern.” Their stated aim is to preserve and promote the heritage of the former Trappist monastery and implement Christian social teaching in accordance with Mariastern’s standards. By furthering international contacts, especially in Bosnia-Herzegovina, and offering European youth opportunities to meet across borders, they propose to build a united Europe on Christian values.

• Mariannhill Today

Abbot Francis is reported to have said shortly before his death: “Now I know that something great will become of Mariannhill, because it cost so much.” He spoke prophetically and from great suffering.

Mariannhill survived World War II relatively unscathed, even though its German members were interned and a radicalized Durban mob at one time threatened to ransack the monastery. In 1947, Fr. Alphonse Streit became the first provincial superior and, in 1950, bishop of Mariannhill. Until then, Catholic schools, like all others, were subsidized by the government, but when the grant-in-aid was discontinued, the maintenance of the diocese’s 20,000 pupils or one-fifth of all local children attending Catholic schools in South Africa, became the sole responsibility of the bishop. The “little saint with the big heart” succeeded in winning benefactors, first and foremost Bishop Michael Keller of the Diocese of Münster, Germany. Assisting Streit, and just as fearless, was Fr. Ferdinand Holzner CMM (1906-1972). At first he worked as a school inspector and then from 1957 to 1972, as superior general of the Missionaries of Mariannhill. In the latter role and carried by the spirit of daring of the time, he not only established 6 CMM seminaries, but in 1962, in cooperation with the Missionary Sisters of the Precious Blood, he also initiated the process of beatification for Abbot Francis Pfanner.[2]

Building on the vibrant missionary spirit of its Trappist founding fathers, Mariannhill continued to pioneer the training of local clergy. A fine fruit of its efforts was that in 1954, Fr. Pius Bonaventura Dlamini, a member of Bishop Fleischer’s “Sons of St. Francis,” became the first of a total of 6 local bishops, all of them born in the Diocese of Mariannhill. The diocese also boasted the highest proportion of Catholics in relation to the total population.

Throughout the course of its history, Mariannhill gave rise to a number of very capable men (cf. A.L. Balling CMM, Talented Mariannhillers) to whom, in more recent years, must be added Fr. Dieter Gahlen (1948-2004). As vicar general responsible for the implementation of the program “Development, Justice and Peace,” he advised the South African Bishops’ Conference on issues of land distribution. His work met with singular success, for in 1991 when Apartheid was abolished, more than 5,000 plots of land belonging to Mariannhill had been assigned to new owners in KwaZulu-Natal.

In the 1990s, the Mariannhillers renovated the founder’s home at Emaus. Moreover, jointly with Mariannhill’s daughter-diocese of Mthatha, they opened new missions in Mozambique, Zambia, and Kenya. Currently (2025), they are engaged outside their own diocesean boundaries in the dioceses of Durban, Umzimkhulu, Witbank, and the Vicariate of Ingwavuma. Last but not least, and thanks to overseas support, projects are under way to update the Monastery/Retreat House, the Abbot Francis House in Merrivale and Mariannhill’s busy tailoring department.

At the 2002 General Chapter, Pope St. John Paul II addressed the delegates with the re-assuring words: “[May] your patroness, the Blessed Virgin Mary, …  guide you and Mother Anne, whom you have venerated from the beginning, together with the host of witnesses to the faith from your own institute, protect and encourage you.”

Now in its 143rd year, Mariannhill is prepared to continue doing just that: build the Kingdom of Christ, which, in the founder’s words, “has no boundaries.”

• Emaus today

The last foundation the great missionary pioneer Abbot Francis Pfanner made in 1894 was Emaus. It may be said to have stood, fallen and stood again with him.

During the founder’s lifetime, Emaus was a thriving mission. Later, neglect and decay set in, which neither its affiliation with the mother station, Lourdes, nor with the newly erected diocese of Umzimkulu (1954) could stop. The weeds that grew on the grave where the sisters had buried part of his heart were indicative of the indifference towards him. The last sisters left Emaus in 1961, not to return until 30 years later and then only at the request of their general administration. The people of Emaus wanted their sisters back, while the Church asked all religious to “return to their sources.”

Emaus no longer enjoyed material independence for not only did it lack pastoral care, but also the most basic infrastructure, accessibility and recognition. On account of its historical significance, it demanded to be awakened from hibernation. Awareness of this need began to spread when the personality of the founder and, more so, his beatification came into focus and a few enthusiasts decided on a “joint venture” to restore the mission to its original status. That happened in 2005. “We still have the mandate to find ways to ensure that Mariannhill remains a vibrant and relevant mission center in the new millennium; ways that grow out of our rich heritage. Our Emmaus project is part of this mandate.” (Fr. Christoph Eisentraut CMM, 2007). Steps were taken in quick succession, beginning with Cardinal Napier of Durban who leased the mission to Mariannhill for 99 years; May 24 [Francis Pfanner’s death date] became a red-letter day, marked by an annual pilgrimage to Emaus. A permanent parish priest was installed and a team of Missionary Sisters of the Precious Blood began not only to offer guided tours, spiritual direction and retreats, but also to care for children, young people, families, AIDS-patients and various associations at the mother parish and its 13 outstations. They once again became the heart of a mission which they themselves had built 130 years earlier. By 2008, Emaus boasted 23 Small Christian Communities (SCC) and 56 pastoral venues.

In preparation for the celebration of the first centenary of the founder’s death in 2009, several projects were carried out. In addition to a spiritual renewal program for the benefit of the parish, improvements were made to the infrastructure, water mains and internet connections were installed and a tarred road was constructed between Umzimkulu and Kokstadt. In addition, Emaus became more closely linked to Mariannhill and the local Church, while a growing pilgrim tourism industry was drawn to its historical premises.

The original St. Francis Xavier Church was incorporated into a more spacious parish church and the room in which the founder had died became a much-visited memorial. Among the most noteworthy developments was the team’s commitment to evangelizing the area on the principle: “Whatever happens at Emaus must have a pastoral impact on the Diocese of Umzimkulu.” As a place of spiritual renewal and direction, Emaus became a favourite destination along the so-called “Abbot Francis Pilgrimage Route,” where since the opening of the “Heritage Center” (2008) and the “Langen Center” (2010), visitors have been able to learn about the personality and life of Abbot Francis. People from a wide variety of backgrounds – Christians, Buddhists, and Muslims – undertake long and hazardous journeys to find guidance and spiritual renewal at the place where he died. The greatest attraction, however, is not the founder but Calvary, the steep rock into which – with the most primitive tools – he carved a “Way of the Cross” as soon as he settled at Emaus on April 24, 1894. He walked the Way every morning until his death on May 24, 1909. Reflecting on Calvary, one cannot help but appreciate the strength of character and the grace it took until a man of his caliber could “attain to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.” (Eph 4:13) “Baba Francis” (Zulu for Father), a reliable advisor and helper in times of illness, border disputes, or bad weather during his lifetime, has become an even greater advocate for people in the countless troubles of our times.

• The Missionaries of Mariannhill (CMM) Today

As soon as the end of World War II opened up opportunities for travel and communication, the Missionaries of Mariannhill made a new start which may be attributed, among other factors, to an increased intake of African members. 19 of these are currently (October 2025) serving in the provinces of the northern hemisphere, while the total membership of 316 represents 29 ethnicities, including several confreres from Papua New Guinea and Colombia, as well as single vocations from various African countries (December 31, 2024). The average age of candidates recently admitted is 27, i.e., 40 years less than that of the senior members from countries of the northern hemisphere.

Unfortunately, the Missionaries of Mariannhill, like many other religious communities, have had to abandon several lines of activity, for example, agriculture and printing, and close down houses in order to concentrate remaining resources. In 2025, their 3 German-speaking provinces were merged into 1 “Central European Province.” At present, they are engaged in 13 countries, promoting mission awareness in schools, parishes, among young adults and through specialized pastoral ministry in the western world, while in the young churches, they try to lay a solid foundation for the faith by catechetical instruction, education and training programs.

The most notable event during the last decade was the 2016 beatification of a confrere, Fr. Engelmar Unzeitig, who died a martyr in Nazi Germany. Other men have made significant contributions to Mariannhill’s history, notably Fr. Timotheus Kempf CMM (1901-86), who chronicled the life and work of Abbot Francis in four large volumes. Similarly, Fr. Adalbert L. Balling (1930-2024) distinguished himself not only as the author of several CMM biographies, but also of spiritual writings and travel literature, some of which were translated, among other languages, into Chinese and Zulu.

Though at present prospects for the propagation of the faith seem rather bleak in the north, the Missionaries of Mariannhill are determined to fulfil their mandate by following the example of Abbot Francis who, as Pope Saint John Paul II pointed out to them in 2002: “burned with zeal for the building of the Kingdom and persevered courageously despite obstacles, … moving the Church forward full of hope.” In his closing remarks, the Pope impressed on them that the Church “counts on your commitment and enthusiasm for the mission ad gentes and is convinced that in this way you will contribute in a particularly profound way to the renewal of the world.”

5)    The Missionary Sisters of the Precious Blood (CPS) Today

Abbot Francis Pfanner founded his “Red Sisters” specifically for the missions. Article 10 of this series outlined their development up to World War II.

After 1945, the world witnessed a wave of recovery. The Missionary Sisters of the Precious Blood also engaged in new ministries and, fired by the founder’s vision, settled in different parts of the world, including Papua New Guinea (1948–1953 and again in 1962), Irian Jaya/Indonesia (1948), Canada (1951), Portugal (1958), Switzerland (1964–1970, 1985–1991), Spain (1964–1986), South Korea (1986) and Romania (1993–2013). Moreover, in 1970, following the pope’s invitation to religious communities worldwide, they transferred their general administration to Rome while Heilig Blut, Netherlands remained the motherhouse.

Further developments were prompted by the challenges resulting from a series of rapid changes in the wake of several epochal events. Among these may be named the unprecedented German economic recovery of the 1950s, as well as Vatican Council II and the cultural revolution in education, family life and the Church a decade later.

The upheaval was profound and only gradually did the Church and the congregation initiate a course of renewal. Spiritual direction, a return to CPS spirituality and their charism, no less than a reassessment of the congregational heritage, gained in importance, as did the contribution made by what had become a total of 3 African provinces – South Africa, Zimbabwe, East Africa – and 3 regions – The Democratic Republic of Congo, Mozambique, Eastern Cape.

In retrospect, it may be said that it was the congregation-wide and deep-going reflection of their own charism, centered as it is in the Precious Blood, which gave the sisters the resilience they needed to face the challenges of particularly trying circumstances. Their experiences, for example, in war-torn Mozambique or the Democratic Republic of Congo, read like heroes’ tales. The same holds true for their day-to-day living during the time of Mugabe’s Zimbabwe and during Apartheid in South Africa.  What was asked of them was not only creativity, risk-taking and administrative skills to bring their educational and medical facilities through periods of turmoil, but spiritual resources such as unwavering faith and fortitude. In the process, some of them became builders, farmers and managers, but above all, much appreciated missionaries in remote areas. Only when they were explicitly ordered to do so, did they vacate a mission entrusted to them; all other times they stayed and neither threats nor force could induce them to leave. Their heroism was sometimes highlighted in the media but most often it went unnoticed.

An outstanding feature of the Missionary Sisters of the Precious Blood is their dedication to art: painting, sculpting, mosaic and stained-glass art, as well as artistic pursuits for commercial purposes, such as embroidering and weaving of liturgical vestments, producing pottery, carvings or decorating candles for special occasions. Occasionally, their missionary ambitions have resulted in the training of local talents which, in turn, provided the trainees with employment and income.

The congregation as a whole recognized that internationality, embedded in its charter and facilitated by a vastly improved communications network, was a way out of the impasse of the 1960s. As early as 1997, Sr. Nancy Iampietro of the North American province was elected the first non-German Superior General. Later, in 2017, Sr. Monica Mary Ncube from Zimbabwe was elected. Educational opportunities such as overseas studies were offered, a uniform formation program was adopted and members were transferred from south to north. Priorities – evangelization, sustainability, administrative efficiency, preservation of the environment – were re-emphasized and declared non-negotiables. The congregation engaged predominantly its African members to staff newly established missions in Sudan (2005), Zambia (2006), West Timor and the Philippines (2025). In September 2025, it counted 436 sisters belonging to 11 African nationalities or 62% of a total of 662 members.

Among the sad highlights of the more recent past were the violent deaths of several sisters – victims of terrorism in Zimbabwe and Mozambique and of homicide in Eastern Cape, South Africa. The motherhouse community shrank to 15 members, but, on a more hopeful note, it provides accommodation and assistance to approximately 60 Ukrainian refugees trying to integrate themselves. Occasions of heartfelt gratitude and fresh hope was the celebration in some provinces of their first centenary.

Though the “Red Sisters” of Abbot Francis must admit that they have not fulfilled all his expectations of them, they do continue to trust in his powerful intercession just as they are mindful of his legacy to them:

“When I breathe my last,

I will have only one wish for you:

‘Lont nit lugg!’ and ‘Aqua alle corde!’”[3]

Francis Pfanner

[1] All quotations from Rudolf Baier, The Trappist Abbey Mariastern in Banja Luka. A Guide to the History of a Unique European Establishment. Friedberg. 1st edition, 2022.

[2] The process was discontinued in the early 1980s when it was discovered that it had not been initiated quite in accordance with Roman norms.

[3] “Don’t give up!” and “Water on the ropes!” According to the founder, it was with the latter words that the brave man spoke up when the obelisk in St. Peter’s Square was being raised on September 10, 1586 and everyone had been strictly forbidden to speak. (Quoted in the letter Abbot Francis wrote to his long-time secretary, Sr. Euphrosine Rothacker, on the occasion of her profession of perpetual vows on May 9, 1907.)

The Missionary Sisters of the Precious Blood (CPS) have long since been in Rome, Italy, for the first Sisters arrived in Rome in 1969. Over the past years the Sisters were discerning of having their own Congregational house in Rome. A decision to purchase a suitable house was made during the General Chapter in August/September 2022.

A dream that was dreamt has now come to reality after the Sisters found a house in the Via della Pisana 332, a few metres downhill from the former rented house. It belonged to a Spanish congregation (Cristo Re – Christ the King Sisters) and served as a guest house until 2021.

November 22, 2025, marked a joyful moment as the keys to their newly – almost – completed renovated Generalate House were officially handed over by the contractors in the presence of the Sisters led by Sr Monica Mary Ncube CPS, Superior General, architects and contractors with their staff in a simple yet heartfelt ceremony.

It is a Congregational house accommodating the Generalate and House Community and is open for all the CPS Sisters. It is a house to welcome our Sisters and also other religious who want to have their conferences or recollection days outside their own institutions.

The moving began on 29th November and continued till 2nd December, 2025, with the help of a moving company and the Sisters. By December 13, 2025, the house was almost functional with community prayers. At the beginning, the Sisters went for Holy Mass to the Parish Church of St Bruno, but still during the Advent season, daily Mass took place in the smaller Visitation Chapel. Weeks of preparations for the move were well done by the Sisters. Attention was given to both functionality and simplicity, reflecting the values and charism of the Congregation.

It was a special joy that the Christmas midnight Mass could be celebrated in the newly furnished main chapel together with our CMM brothers, Fr. Michael Maß, CMM, Superior General; Fr Wenceslaus Kwindingwi, CMM (on a visit in Rome); and Brother Hansel Jason, CMM.

On January 17, 2026, the blessing of the House took place with a Eucharistic celebration presided over by Fr. Charles Phukuta CICM, Superior General, in concelebration with Fr. Raphaël Mukendi CICM. Five CPS Sisters from Austria, Germany and Portugal were welcomed to join this day together with other CICM missionaries, Good Shepherd Sisters and CMMs, architects and construction company engineers and workers, friends and collaborators. “In his homily Fr. Charles emphasised that a house becomes holy not because of its architecture but because it’s a dwelling place of grace, a space where the name of God is invoked, and his love is lived. These arrangements reflect the CPS Sisters’ values of stewardship and collaboration, transforming the new Generalate into a vibrant hub for formation, governance, outreach and mission.

Sr. Monica Mary Ncube CPS, Superior General, quoting Matthew 8:20, saying that this house is a gift and a challenge for the Congregation and a sign of commitment to the mission to be grateful. She invited all members to be and make this house life-giving by living our spirituality as CPS because, according to the founder, Abbot Francis Pfanner, our mission is without boundary. This house has to be a welcoming place and a spiritual oasis to all who come here.

With a heart filled with deep gratitude Sr. Monica Mary thanked all who were involved in acquiring the house, designed it, renovated it, served as consultants and the Sisters who actively collaborated in making it a home. She extended her gratitude to Saint. Joseph, Abbot Francis Pfanner, our Father Founder, Mother Paula, our Co-Foundress, and our Pioneers and deceased Sisters. All is done and will be done for the greater honour and glory of God.

This Congregation House and Generalate serves as the global nerve centre (headquarters) for the Congregation’s membership across 20 countries, aiming to support the Sisters spiritually in their missionary services worldwide, accompanying and strengthening the mission of education and service to the poor and marginalised for decades to come.

Today the new CPS Generalate House stands not merely as a physical structure, but as a sign of renewal, unity and mission. It is a place where decisions for the Congregation will be discerned, where communion will be nurtured, and where the precious blood spirituality will continue to inspire the service of the Church and the world.

With hearts full of gratitude, we thank all those who contributed to this journey through planning, labour, support, prayers and generosity. As the Congregation settles into this new home, it does so with renewed commitment to its mission, confident that this house will serve as a space of life, welcome and faithful witness for many years to come.

God alone is holy. A human being is holy only insofar as he shares in God’s holiness. He can do this through Christ, who called himself “The Way.” There is no other way.

Was Francis Pfanner a saint? In other words: How can a saint be recognized? Since the incarnate Son of God is The Way to the Father, the answer must be: By his Christ-likeness. A holy person is like Christ, whom he tries to imitate as much as possible, not by his own efforts alone, but aided by God’s help, i.e., grace. Grace, in turn, builds on nature. No matter how gifted and worthy of emulation a person may be, if he does not seek God and give God the honor, he cannot be a saint by Catholic teaching.

The Church, as the steward of God’s grace on earth and, wise from long experience, lays down certain conditions before she beatifies or canonizes any person. So far, Francis Pfanner’s saintliness has not been established by canon law; only the first step of the Cause of Beatification and Canonization (causa) has been initiated – inquiry into his life and writings. As he was not a martyr, his way of life must provide evidence of the practice – to a heroic degree – of the theological virtues of faith, hope and love, as well as the cardinal or principal virtues of prudence, justice, fortitude and temperance. Since he was a Trappist monk, the heroic practice of the religious vows is also expected of him. (What is new is that according to Pope Francis, Christians who have “voluntarily” offered their lives out of charity can also be beatified (Motu proprio Maiorem hac dilectionem of June 11, 2017).

This article is not the place to go through Francis W. Pfanner’s life for evidence of these virtues. Some, for example, his love of neighbor and enemy have been highlighted in previous articles in this series. Here, the aim is to sharpen the eye for genuine virtue as opposed to its natural equivalent. He himself was well able to differentiate between the two.

Francis Pfanner was not a conventional “saint” and certainly not like the commercial plaster figures depicting saints – if he was a saint at all. A good way to discover the “saint” in him is to ask questions: What was the student Pfanner concerned about? The pastor? The Trappist and missionary? What guided him in his decisions? What was the purpose of his numerous undertakings? What moved him most deeply? It is best to let him answer these questions himself. (Unless otherwise stated, all quotations are taken from his Memoirs).

Where he describes himself, he appears as one who took himself to task and ruthlessly admitted his weaknesses. He wrote: “No one will say that I’m a saint; neither do I claim to be one. What I do know, however, is that I am a favorite of God.” Biblically speaking, God’s favorite is the one “whom God loves [and therefore] chastises.” (Heb 12:6) Now, Francis Pfanner was “chastised,” i.e., misjudged, slandered and rejected all his life and even after his death. For example, three bishops – Vuicic in Bosnia, Ricards and Jolivet in South Africa – took exception to him, accused him to Propaganda Fide and demanded his removal from office. Those cases were shelved, but in 1892, visitator Abbot Strunk did succeed in having him suspended and, a year later, removed from office. Thereupon, the founder withdrew to Emaus and spent the last 15 years of his life there in exile. The first thing he did – even before he built a stable hut for himself – was to erect a 130-meter-high Way of the Cross which he then climbed every morning until he died. With the suffering Lord before his eyes, he reflected on his own crosses and ended each meditation with the words: “Like Jesus, so I” – not an empty phrase but a daily practice, as Sr. Angela Michel, who supported him, testified.

Abbot Francis was aware of his weaknesses and admitted them. “I have thought many times about what St. Francis de Sales, St. Vincent de Paul and so many other saints would have done in such circumstances [his legal disputes in Haselstauden, Bosnia, etc.]. Would they have let themselves be stripped of everything? Would they have parted with their cloak when their shirt was taken? Or would they not have come into conflict in the first place? I assume that I was to blame, for if I had been a saint like Vincent and Francis de Sales, many of my decisions would not have been as precipitous as they were.”

Another time, he described his fearlessness. “The Brixen seminary staff had described me [after his ordination] to [the vicar general at] Feldkirch as someone who did not easily get frightened or run away. Now, let these words not be interpreted as boasting. When I write my own story, I must write it as I myself believe and am convinced. And I do believe that I have never been plagued by fear of man or that I am a coward; neither has anyone accused me of that, including my opponents, of whom I have had and still have many in my life, perhaps precisely because of my fearlessness. Moreover, the direction I had taken in Bosnia and my perseverance there under the most difficult circumstances and in the most dangerous situations cannot make me out to be someone who is easily scared, nor can my decision to go to Africa and my situation there be interpreted that way. But this is not to suggest that my fearlessness or lack of fear of man is a virtue; in fact, it would be very wrong to regard it as such. It is rather my inborn character (inherited from my father) and the way I was brought up. I know quite well that my recklessness has already degenerated into impudence, and even now [1888] it often turns into rudeness. … St. Francis de Sales has often been held up to me as a model for the guidance of souls, but I say: First, I am not Saint Francis, and secondly, I am not a Francis de Sales but Francis of Mariannhill, which means that I am not only the superior of nuns as he was, but also of men, and indeed of penitents in penitential garb, whom one need not handle with God’s kid gloves. On the contrary, the rule tells me: ‘Argue, increpa – rebuke, scold.’ Moreover, de Sales was a Frenchman; the Frenchman is generally more refined than the German and must therefore treat his people more delicately than I treat mine. In fact, the French Trappist is pleased when his abbot couches his order in ‘s’il vous plaît’ [please]. I believe, however, that a superior, be he spiritual or secular, may well forget about the ‘please’; otherwise, he would make himself ridiculous if he wanted to say ‘shut up!’, or ‘keep quiet!’ or ‘go away!’” Self-assessing descriptions like these testify to a gift of discernment. What they do not explain, however, is what counts in the inquiry for beatification: what God’s grace has made of a natural gift like veracity. Has it led the candidate to unwavering perseverance in fellowship with his Master who also was faithful to himself until death?

What may be safely assumed is that despite all misjudgement of his purposes and person, Francis Pfanner’s firm resolution was: “I can, I will, I must become a saint.” This, by itself, demonstrates the cardinal virtue of Christian prudence, which does not confuse the temporal with the eternal, but can renounce the temporal and ennoble it without destroying, by false zeal, that which is good.

In this sense, prudence goes hand in hand with justice, the virtue which consists first and foremost of respect for all people, giving them what they are entitled to and what they need in order to live a dignified life, and ultimately loving one’s neighbor. There is no need to find examples of this in the founder’s biography because his life is one long illustration of this virtue. What ideas and solutions did he not propose and implement so that people in Bosnia and Africa could live a more fully human life?

As far as fortitude (valor) is concerned, may it simply be stated that the valiant person is fully committed to what he has recognized as good and true, even if it means personal sacrifice and disadvantage. Understood in this way, no one will doubt Francis Pfanner’s virtue. Not so, however, when it comes to discretion or maintaining a “healthy balance” in terms of work, asceticism, renunciation, austerity or zeal. Indeed, moderation in these matters (temperance) must have been one of the greatest challenges he faced before being able to bring them under the “sweet yoke of Christ” (Mt 11:29).

In conclusion, the cardinal virtues may be summarized in the words of 1 Cor 16:13. “Let all that you do be done in love!” On this criterion, Francis Pfanner, like everyone else, will be judged by his Maker. Should he fail, “who will be able to stand?” (Ps 130:3)

Francis Wendelin Pfanner – 200 Years

“We can’t run our missions without the help of women,” Abbot Francis said in 1885. He appealed to young and not so young women to come to Mariannhill and introduced the first twelve who arrived as “my helpers” to Bishop Jolivet of Natal.
German women alongside “Silent Monks” in South Africa! “I have caused a revolution,” he explained in a letter to Sr. Paula Emunds, his right hand, “and you are a daughter of that revolution.” (December 2, 1902).

This article explores aspects of the story of the Missionary Sisters of the Precious Blood which were unheard of at the time.
When Zulu children first spied the abbot’s helpers at Mariannhill, they called them “Red Sisters,” because of the flame red skirt they wore as part of a colorful apparel which the abbot himself had designed for them in the style of women of his native Vorarlberg, Austria. Red was to remind them of the Precious Blood of Jesus which they were “to make fruitful” (Mariannhill Convent Chronicle); it would attract color-loving Zulu girls and, last but not least, distinguish them from the dark-clad wives of the Lutheran pastors in nearby New Germany before anyone could think that they, too, were the wives of the Trappists. When in 1908 Propaganda Fide banned the red habit, the founder protested from his exile in Emaus: “Why forbid it? Red is in keeping with/matches the rule I gave them! After all, I didn’t intend to found Carthusian or Trappist nuns. In fact, I did not think of a penitential order at all but a missionary congregation.” (Letter to Cardinal Gotti, September 10, 1908).
“Our mission field is the Kingdom of God and that has no boundaries,” Abbot Francis wrote in the St. Joseph’s Leaflet (No. 1, 1889), and we like to add that his imagination knew no limits either, particularly when it was a matter of carrying out the Great Mandate of the Lord. At the same time, however, he didn’t give too much thought to the requirements the Church laid down for female missionary congregations. His helpers were simply to support the Trappists in the missions and eventually replace them, so that they could return to their regular life in the monastery.

Above all, it was important to the founder that his helpers served people who did not yet know Christ: “You sisters have come here exclusively for the missions.” (Address, October 9, 1887)
What Abbot Francis envisioned was not a congregation of working sisters, as is sometimes alleged, but rather of “sisters who stay with me through thick and thin. They do not only teach school, but also work alongside their pupils in the fields.” (To Propaganda Fide, November 24, 1903) To explain what work was or supervise it was not enough, because people would only become convinced by example of the benefits of efficient work. More importantly, work, along with prayer, was by time-honored Benedictine tradition, the pillar that gave stability to a new local church – a missionary principle which would have been new to any woman engaged in evangelization in the 19th century.
It is likely that, over time, the abbot’s helpers would have formed a sort of secular institute, if the clocks of the Church had run faster and the Lord had not had other plans. For despite all their missionary enthusiasm – or because of it?! – they felt called to follow Jesus more closely. Abbot Francis: “These women came to me and expressed the wish to form a religious community” (To Propaganda Fide, November 24, 1903) and, as if he had sensed it, at the very next clothing ceremony (16 October 1887) he gave them a red habit (instead of their colorful apparel). “I changed the various requirements I had laid down for them into a rule,” even though, as he explains, “I knew absolutely nothing about the many ecclesiastical regulations for women’s congregations until last year (1907) when a relevant book by Augustine Arndt, S.J. fell into my hands.”
Even more astonishing, as early as 1887, Abbot Francis asked his helpers to elect a superior from among their own ranks and appointed Sr. Paula directress of novices. She was 21, and the superior, Sr. Theresia Moser, 22. One pauses and wonders what was more “revolutionary” – his own astounding trust or their humility to allow themselves to be assigned to these positions. The truth is that it was precisely because of his unerring eye for inner greatness that the experiment did not fail. Theresia Moser was the only child of her parents (who also offered their services to the Mariannhill Missions). In 1898, when Bishop Allgeyer of Zanzibar was recruiting Red Sisters and warning them of the deadly coastal fever, she is said to have exclaimed: “Malaria! Express train to heaven!” She was sent to Tanga and fell victim to the epidemic six months later. (Sr. Lecuniana Schweimer suffered a similar fate when she died of a tropical disease around the same time in the Congo.) Sr. Paula (Josephine Emunds), from the village of Schleiden near Aachen, had come to Mariannhill only a year earlier (1886) with no more qualifications than six years of elementary school and a 4-year course in housekeeping. She was just cleaning the stovepipe at the “sisters’ house” when Abbot Francis called for her. He did not know her. But he recognized her leadership talent at first sight and, in 1889, he also appointed her local superior and directress of postulants at the house of admission in Kirchherten, Germany. She did not disappoint him. In 1907, she was unanimously elected superior general and from then on led the congregation for 24 years. She is the co-foundress of the Missionary Sisters of the Precious Blood.
The founder’s recruitment campaigns for volunteers were as original as he was. One of his particularly effective slogans was: “no talent too great and none too small to serve the Lord’s kingdom.” Women from towns and countryside applied through Mariannhill’s contacts in Germany, Austria, and the USA – cooks, seamstresses, nurses, housekeepers, and teachers with professional experience. Maria Treumund (Sr. Philippine) began teaching school under a tree in Mariannhill with no more than five words of Zulu the day after the Feast of the Nativity of Mary (September 8) in 1885, traditionally the birthday of the congregation, and shortly thereafter published the first Zulu dictionary. Others rode on horseback to the sick in their homes or, as in Emaus, erected buildings from bricks they baked themselves. Abbot Francis would have also liked to have women like these as administrators of their own mission farms and workshops. Why not? In 1904, he sought to win over Sr. Paula to his plan: “If women in civilized countries can now become doctors, why can a Red Sister not be a doctor of architecture and mechanics? Women play a major role in social life, why not in the missions? ‘Woman of little faith, why did you doubt?’ [Mt 14:31]” Two years later, he dreamed of a “Day for Missionaries” to give missionaries, including religious brothers, a platform for exchanging experiences and ideas. “And why not also missionary sisters? They, too, have something to offer.” (Dictation, 1906)
As long as their founder was at the helm, the sisters were naturally part of the Mariannhill family, as he had stipulated in his guidelines for them: “They give all their physical and mental strength to the mission, while the Trappists provide for them in days of health and sickness.” Consequently, the Ölenberg Chronicle referred to his helpers as the “Red Trappistines” (in contrast to the “White Trappistines” at Ölenberg Abbey), and the people of Kirchherten welcomed them as Trappistines in 1889. However, in the long run this close familiarity with the Trappists nearly brought an end to them in 1893, when their founder was removed from office and his successor, Abbot Amandus Schölzig affiliated them to the Trappists as a third order (tertiaries), not only to give them stability but also to keep them as cheap labor. And they, feeling very much like orphans, clung to the Trappists as a last resort. They followed their monastic customs, recited grace in Latin, practiced silence and, because they assembled at least five times a day for choral prayer, they worked that much less. Therefore, not everyone was in favor. More critical observers among them saw their missionary purpose as well as their independence at risk, but they could not assert themselves. The fact that the budding community did not fall apart but emerged stronger from its identity crisis (1893-1900) is primarily due to Sr. Paula’s unwavering loyalty to the founder, her courage and her drive, despite the fact that her mediating role between the various superiors in the order and church, not to mention her own sisters in north and south, was anything but enviable.

Meanwhile, the founder’s hands were tied while in exile at Emaus, but when his second successor, Abbot Gerard Wolpert, began to re-organize his helpers according to his own designs and counter to their original purpose, he demanded their independence from the Trappists: “You are not nuns, not choir nuns, you are sisters to help in the missions. Neither are you handmaids of the Trappists, but handmaids of the Lord.” (“At the 11th Hour,” 1901). However, in case they themselves were to aim at something different than what he had intended for them, he “did not wish to be called their founder anymore, for my foundation is not simply an imitation, but something unique.” (To Abbot Obrecht. 1905) By God’s grace, Abbot Francis lived to witness the church’s approbation of the sisters’ constitutions in 1906 and their recognition as Missionary Sisters of the Precious Blood (independent at least by canon law) in 1907, before he died in 1909.
Shortly after the outbreak of World War I in 1914, the congregation faced an existential crisis, caused by a lack of vocations and rising costs. The procurator general recorded: “Our assets are still worth a pair of shoes,” and a day later: “They’re still worth one shoe.” The sisters barely escaped bankruptcy, because who wanted to support sisters whose cradle stood in South Africa but who were virtually unknown in their homeland? In this crucial hour again their close ties with Mariannhill proved near-fatal. So, it was with great relief when in 1929, after almost twenty years of tough negotiations, Mother Paula finally succeeded in concluding a contract that secured their financial independence from Mariannhill, though in the eyes of some sisters, it was to the detriment of the congregation. But Mother Paula defended the separation: “Better poor but free.” The Mariannhillers themselves experienced a missionary renewal, and the sisters resumed their missionary calling with renewed vigor – despite or because of? – their dire poverty.