Reflections for the Centennial of the Death of St. Joseph Freinademetz SVD

From
St Joseph Freinademetz SVD
http://www.arnold-joseph-100.net/reflection/page_eng/fre_eng_13.html

Prepared by Fr. Pietro Irsara, SVD
Director of the Ancestral Home and Shrine of St. J. Freinademetz, at Oies, Badia, Italy

Reflection 13

St Joseph Freinademetz SVD

“In the odor of sanctity“

P. Freinademetz died “in the odor of sanctity”, a phrase used for centuries to describe heroic holiness. Many of his contemporaries considered him a saintly man, a “just man”, as the Bible calls such persons. The Chinese Christians revered him as a ‘father figure’ during his life time. But many of his confreres likewise held him in high esteem. Fr. Georg Froewis, for instance, calls him a “model missionary” in his diary. On November 4/5, 1907 he writes about him: “the holiness of the man shines forth in everything”

In the eyes of many Chinese Christians Fr. Freinademetz could have immediately been canonized, or “raised to the honors of the altar” as the traditional phrase goes. They were absolutely convinced that after his death they had him as an intercessor with the eternal Father. Thus immediately after his death, as Fr. Johannes Düster reports, people “not only prayed for him, but also immediately began to pray to him”. In the funeral sermon which he delivered, Fr. Theodor Bücker called him an “heroic apostle” and a “holy religious”.

The memorial ‘holy card’ printed in his native Tyrol at the time of his death said that he had died in the “odor of sanctity”. This was most likely based on the obituaries which had been written. But it certainly also reflected what was known from his own letters as well as from reports of others about him, about his life full of privations and self-sacrifice. People’s admiration for his deep piety, his ascetical life-style, and his generous spirit of sacrifice was now transformed into veneration for a countryman whom they knew to be with God.

In his native South Tyrol, under the regime of Italian fascism, everything German and “Ladin” was suppressed and people were confronted with the heart wrenching choice of staying on and publicly identifying themselves as Italians or of emigrating to Germany. During this time of difficult decisions many turned to him for refuge as one of their own who had left home in obedience to God’s call, but who had never denied or hidden his origins and was, in fact, proud of being from his beloved ‘Tyrol’. There was scarcely a home in South Tyrol in which the „Servant of God“, was not called upon for help during that difficult time. At present there is an image or a statue of the Saint in practically every church and chapel in South Tyrol.

The house in which he was born in the small hamlet of Oies in the upper Garda Valley (Alta Badia) has become a favorite place of prayer. Pilgrims and casual visitors, tourists and local people, stop over for a while, for a time of inner and exterior rest, and recollection. In silence they formulate their petitions, desires and aspirations. In the visitors’ book one comes across, above all, petitions for blessings on the family, for health, for help in suffering and sorrow. But there are also requests for success in upcoming exams and in finding employment. For every petition, there are frequent expressions of gratitude.

For many people Oies has become “holy ground” where they find what they really need. According to Saint Joseph Freinademetz: “Just as the tree needs the earth in order to find sap and nourishment so the soul needs prayer!”

For 30 years now, every second Sunday in September a big group of pilgrims, some thousand persons, organized by the Catholic Family Association of the diocese of Innsbruck has been coming to Oies. Processions arrive from many parishes of South Tyrol but also from the neighboring provinces of Belluno and Trento. For some years now young people have been making the eleven hour trek from Oies to Brixen – the very same journey made by Joseph Freinademetz at the age of ten when he left home for the first time to go “to study”.

The correspondence of the Secretariat shows just how many people turn with confidence to Joseph Freinademetz as their intercessor. Nor should we overlook the numerous images and statues of him, done professionally or in popular style, which are to be found in every corner of his native region,

Chapels and churches in his honor have been built not only in his native Tyrol but also in other countries and continents, showing how Joseph Freinademetz, local patron saint of the people of South Tyrol, has also found many devotees in other parts of the world. No doubt this is due in part to the fact that he belonged to the Society of the Divine Word, which has meanwhile grown into a worldwide missionary religious congregation.

For reflection:

The veneration of a saint like St. Josef Freinademetz is an expression of the confident conviction that in the life and work of this person God makes visible something of his own saving action. And this means that we may trust and hope that with God’s help our life, too, can find fulfillment.
Furthermore, veneration leads to imitation: “If anyone loves me he will keep my word “, the gospel of John says (14,23).
To which extent is the veneration of St. Joseph Freinademetz an encouragement for me and an incentive to live a life that “pleases God”?