福若瑟逝世百年

圣言会庆典开幕礼纪念会祖一百周年
作者：邓来源：公教报 2008 年 02 月 04 日点击数： 338 次【大中
小】
　
圣言会一月二十七日举行庆典开幕典礼暨感恩祭，纪念会祖圣杨生神父及会士圣福若瑟神父逝世一
百周年。会士随后一年亦会举办其它庆祝活动。
庆典假蓝田的圣言中学举行，近一千名本地及外籍信徒参礼，当中不少来自外籍信徒团体，由汤汉
辅理主教主礼、圣言会中华会省会长叶德华神父（S. Edwards）、圣言会香港区会长麦安华神父
（O. G. Meltz），以及二十多位神父共祭。
讲道中，汤汉辅理主教指在港服务的圣言会士来自不同国家，体现了教会的大公幅度，他们既服务
华裔信徒，亦服务不同族裔，包括菲律宾信徒团体等。
右一为该会中华省省会长叶德华神父，持火炬者为香港区会长麦安华神父。来自不同团体的信徒一
起祈祷
圣言会展开纪念会祖百周年的庆典，邀请汤汉主教主礼
“近年圣言会愈来愈多神父来港服务，他们平均年龄低于四十岁，令本地神职人员平均年龄降得更
低。”他说：“圣言会服务涵盖『海陆空』，兼顾机场和海员的牧养。”弥撒开始时，他又指福若
瑟神父是唯一到过香港的圣人。
麦安华神父说，生于德国的杨生神父关心文化课题，邀请神父研究其它地方的文化，为往外传教作
准备：“正如今天的感恩祭，见证了不同文化。”
“福若瑟神父把自己的生命交托予天主，他先后到西贡盐田梓及山东传教。”麦神父指福神父热爱中
国人：“他说过：我愿意在天堂仍是中国人。”稍后，叶德华神父介绍了杨生和福若瑟的生平。
事实上，弥撒里面不同族裔信徒的参与，见证了圣言会对不同族裔信徒的牧养。主礼和共祭神父进
台前，多位外籍信徒献上民族舞蹈；本地青年以及不同族裔的信徒，亦分别负责信友祷文。
奉献礼上，信徒献上杨生及福若瑟的圣像、印有“圣经”和“福传大家庭”字样的小屋模型以及一
座地球仪。弥撒结束前，麦安华神父燃点起火炬，象征庆典正式揭幕。
弥撒后，从台北来港参与庆典的叶德华神父对本报说，圣言会本年一月二十九日至明年一月十五日，
各地的会士都会举办庆祝活动。
谈到在香港传教，叶神父指香港对圣言会具备三重意义：“第一，会祖在香港的高主教鼓励下，一
八七五年成立圣言会。第二，福若瑟到中国的首个传教点是香港。第三，二十年前只有五位神父在
港服务，目前增加至约二十位神父，香港对我们是个重要的地方。”
圣福若瑟神父（J. Freinademetz）一九○八年一月二十九在山东逝世，圣杨生神父（A. Janssen）
一九○九年一月十五日逝世。
弥撒前，圣家堂信徒崔黄绮华说，福若瑟神父到中国传教，见证天主的爱没有地域限制：“传教士
没有介意地域远近……我作为中国人，亦感谢外地来的传教士，让中国人得以分享福音的喜讯。”
Saint of the day: Joseph Freinademetz was born in 1852, the fourth
child of Giovanmattia and Anna Maria Freinademetz in Oies a section
of the town of Badia in the southern Dolomites, which was then part
of Austria and now part of Italy. He studied theology in the diocesan
seminary of Brixen and was ordained priest on July 25, 1875. He was
assigned to the community of San Martino di Badia, not far from his
own home.
During his studies and
the three years in San Martino, Freinademetz continually felt a
calling to be a missionary. He contacted Arnold Janssen, founder of
the mission house Society of the Divine Word in Steyl, a village in
the south-east of the Netherlands. With the permission of his parents
and his bishop, he moved to Steyl in August 1878, where he received
training as a missionary.
In March 1879 he and his confrere John Baptist Anzer boarded a ship
to Hong Kong, where they arrived five weeks later. They stayed there
for two years. Freinademetz was based in Sai Kung until 1880 and set
up a chapel on the island of Yim Tin Tsai in 1879. In 1881 they moved
to the province South Shantung that they were assigned to. At the
time of their arrival, there were 12 million people living in this
province, of which 158 had been baptized.
Freinademetz was very active in the education of Chinese laymen and

priests. He wrote a catechetical manual in Chinese, which he
considered a crucial part of their missionary effort. In 1898, he was
sick with laryngitis and tuberculosis, so Anzer, who had become
bishop, and other priests convinced him to go to Japan to recuperate.
He returned but was not fully cured. When his bishop had to leave
China for a journey to Europe in 1907, the administration of the
diocese was assigned to Freinademetz.
There was an outbreak of typhus in this time, and he helped wherever

he could, until he himself became infected. He returned to Taikia,
South Shandong, where he died on January 28, 1908. He was buried in
Taikia, at the twelfth station on the Way of the Cross.
Spiritual reading: Love is the only language

everyone understands. (Joseph Freinademetz)
On 5 October 2003 Pope John Paul II canonized the Divine Word Missionary, Fr.
Joseph Freinademetz, SVD, as "an exemplary model of Gospel inculturation" -- a
model for missionaries. The Superior General of the Society of the Divine Word
(Societas Verbi Divini or SVD), Fr. Antonio Pernia, SVD., acclaimed St. Joseph
Freinademetz “a personification of peace”. For this reason, Instruments of Peace has
named St. Joseph their "Man of Peace" for the months of April and May.
Joseph Feinademetz was born on 15 April 1852 in Oies, a small village in the
Dolomite, which now is part of northern Italy, but at Joseph’s time it was within the
Austrian border. Ujop, as the baby was nicknamed, was baptized on the day of his
birth and grew up in a truly Catholic family with a deep spiritual life. His desire as a
young boy to become a priest was a natural consequence of his consistently faith-full
upbringing and was welcomed by his family and the bigger community. On 25 July
1875 he was ordained.
Already in the Major Seminary the young Joseph showed special interest in the
missions, an interest which he kept alive as a young priest in a parish not far from his
home. About two years after his ordination, he read about the newly founded mission
house of the Divine Word Missionaries. He then wrote to the founder, Fr. Arnold
Janssen, SVD, to be accepted. With the permission of his Bishop, the young priest
went to Steyl, in Holland where the Mission Order was founded, to prepare himself for
the missions.
Seven months later, he and his companion, Fr. John Baptist Anzer, SVD, left
Steyl for their long journey to China. They were the very first overseas missionaries of
the newly founded mission order. Joseph left with a great missionary zeal, but also
with a heavy heart, because he felt that he would not see his homeland again. When
they arrived in Hongkong after five weeks of rough boat journey, they were given
some preparatory time before they began the new mission in South Shantung, a
region with 12 million people, but only 158 Catholics.
The following years were difficult, Joseph had to make long and difficult trips,
was attacked by robbers and had to work hard to found small Christian communities.
Often, when he had succeeded to start a viable community, he was recalled by his
bishop to start somewhere else. Joseph realized very early the importance of the lay
people, especially the catechists, as primary evangelizers. He spent a lot of time with
them and wrote a catechetical handbook in Chinese. With his bishop he also was
strongly involved in the formation of the Chinese clergy. He maintained deep interest
in his fellow missionaries, especially the newcomers to whom he offered great care
and support.
Whenever the bishop had to go to Europe Joseph became the administrator of

the diocese. In addition, he had several other responsibilities: rector of the seminary,
spiritual director of the first Chinese priests, and provincial superior ... to mention the
more official ones. He was known as somebody who exercized his responsibility like
an “elder brother.” Towards the end of his life he was even called the “mother of the
mission.” His exemplary mission work had a deep impact on the Chinese, but it also
transformed him personally. In the course of the years he became more and more like
a Chinese. His letters of the first and later years show this transformation. At the
beginning he had a rather negative opinion of the Chinese and their culture – e.g. he
considered their feasts as “festivals of the devil” - but later he wrote to his family: “I
love China and the Chinese, I want to die among them, and bruied between them
also;” and in another letter he stated that in heaven he would like to be Chinese
among the Chinese. This love and respect for the Chinese nurtured in him a critical
attitude towards some activities of the colonial powers in China, which in fact made
his life even more difficult.
In 1898 the Bishop and the confreres convinced him to go to Japan for
recuperation since his health was getting very critical. The time in Japan did him some
good but it did not fully cure him. After this short break he returned to Shantung to
resume his work. He asked to remain in China when he was invited to travel to
Europe for a jubilee celebration. When typhoid broke out, he took great care of the
sick till he himself fell sick. On 28 January 1908 he died. He remained in the memory
of the Chinese Christians as one of their great missionary friends. They were grateful
for his beatification and made a special appeal to the Pope to canonize him. Pope John
Paul II declared him a Saint on 5 October 2003.
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Saint Josef Freinademetz

Chinese with the Chinese
Like great works of sculpture made by the Creator, the mountains around his
birthplace soar between earth and sky. Joseph Freinademetz grew up amid
the magnificent scenery of the Tyrolean Dolomites. His whole life long he
remained united with his home country and its people, even when he set off
as a young, 27-year-old missionary to China, never to see his home again.
Joseph dedicated his entire life to the Chinese. The people of Tyrol made him
their very own saint and his parental home in Oies/Pedraces in Val Gadena
became a place of pilgrimage.
Joseph was born in 1852, ordained priest in Bressanone, Italian Tyrol at the
age of 23, and went to Steyl in 1878. The "Society of the Divine Word" was a
mere three years old. Just one year later he set out with John Baptist Anzer
for China. They were the first two missionaries to be sent out from Steyl.
Joseph dedicated the rest of his life to the people of China, where he died
aged 56.
"Love is the only language everyone understands."

Those words of Joseph Freinademetz deeply characterised his life as a
missionary.
29 years in China and the man from Tyrol himself became Chinese. The vast
and strange land with its many people became his new home country in spite
of everything. The initial foreignness and lack of contact gave way to a deep,
inner attachment. In letters he wrote, "I love China and its people and would
gladly die a thousand deaths for them. It is here among the Chinese that I
wish to be buried and in heaven I want to be Chinese."
Labouring under great difficulties and personal privations, together with John
Baptist Anzer he built up the mission in the south of Shantung. Neither
rejection nor ill treatment deterred him from becoming all things to the
Chinese people. Joseph regarded it as his mission to make known to the
people the love of their Creator. He was a travelling missionary - administrator
of the mission - religious superior. In the words of one of his contemporaries
in the mission: "His kindly goodness was of the kind that never ceases and
thus conquers hearts, his patience was inexhaustible and his love of
neighbour so great that he totally forgot himself..."
In Joseph Freinademetz the people of Tyrol and in China were given a great
example. For the Steyl missionaries all over the world he became a shining
example of a kind and inculturated missionary.
Joseph Freinademetz (1852-1908)
Photo

Joseph Freinademetz was born on April 15, 1852, in Oies, a small

hamlet of five houses situated in the Dolomite Alps of northern
Italy. The region, known as South Tyrol, was then part of the Austro-
Hungarian empire. He was baptised on the day he was born, and he
inherited from his family a simple but tenacious faith.
While Joseph was studying theology in the diocesan seminary of

Bressanone (Brixen), he began to think seriously of the foreign
missions as a way of life. He was ordained a priest on July 25, 1875,
and assigned to the community of Saint Martin very near his own home,
where he soon won the hearts of the people. However, the call to
missionary service did not go away. Just two years after ordination
he contacted Fr. Arnold Janssen, the founder of a mission house which
quickly developed into the Society of the Divine Word.
With his bishop's permission, Joseph entered the mission house in

Steyl, Netherlands, in August 1878. On March 2, 1879, he received his
mission cross and departed for China with Fr. John Baptist Anzer,
another Divine Word Missionary. Five weeks later they arrived in Hong
Kong, where they remained for two years, preparing themselves for the
next step. In 1881 they travelled to their new mission in South
Shantung, a province with 12 million inhabitants and only 158
Christians.
Those were hard years, marked by long, arduous journeys, assaults by
bandits, and the difficult work of forming the first Christian
communities. As soon as a community was just barely developed an
instruction from the Bishop would arrive, telling him to leave
everything and start anew.
Soon Joseph came to appreciate the importance of a committed laity,

especially catechists, for first evangelisation. He dedicated much
energy to their formation and prepared a catechetical manual in
Chinese. At the same time, together with Anzer (who had become
bishop) he put great effort into the preparation, spiritual formation
and ongoing education of Chinese priests and other missionaries. His
whole life was marked by an effort to become a Chinese among the
Chinese, so much so that he wrote to his family: “I love China and
the Chinese. I want to die among them and be laid to rest among
them.”
In 1898, Freinademetz was sick with laryngitis and had the beginnings
of tuberculosis as a result of his heavy workload and many other
hardships. So at the insistence of the bishop and the other priests
he was sent for a rest to Japan, with the hope that he could regain
his health. He returned to China somewhat recuperated, but not fully
cured.
When the bishop had to travel outside of China in 1907, Freinademetz

took on the added burden of the administration of the diocese. During
this time there was a severe outbreak of typhus. Joseph, like a good
shepherd, offered untiring assistance and visited many communities
until he himself became infected. He returned to Taikia, the seat of
the diocese, where he died on January 28, 1908. He was buried at the
twelfth station on the Way of the Cross, and his grave soon became a
pilgrimage site for Christians.
Freinademetz learned how to discover the greatness and beauty of

Chinese culture and to love deeply the people to whom he had been
sent. He dedicated his life to proclaiming the gospel message of
God's love for all peoples, and to embodying this love in the
formation of Chinese Christian communities. He animated these
communities to open themselves in solidarity with the surrounding
inhabitants. And he encouraged many of the Chinese Christians to be
missionaries to their own people as catechists, religious, nuns and
priests. His life was an expression of his motto: “The language that
all people understand is that of love.”(Homily of John Paul II)
Born into a pious farm family, the fourth of twelve children. Joseph
was a polymath who knew seven languages. Ordained in Bressanone,
Italian Tyrol on 25 July 1875. Joined the Divine Word Missionaries
when the congregation was only three years old. Missionary to China
in 1879; he spent the rest of his life there, and did all he could to
be Chinese in order to convert the Chinese.
He worked initially with Franciscan missionaries so he and his group

could get acclimated. The bishop of Hong Kong planned to put Father
Joseph in charge of the group, and later to ordain him as bishop;
Joseph refused to leave the bishop’s office until his superior had
changed his mind and given the honor to some one else.
It was a time of persecution of Christians in China; many in

authority resented foreigners of any sort, and others were openly
anti-Christian no matter if the faithful were native or foreign.
Father Joseph, his co-workers and his flock were chased from place to
place, arrested, routinely beaten. Joseph is reported to have
preached to his attackers while they were beating him; they were so
moved and impressed, they left.
The abuse of the missionaries led to some foreign governments to

dispatch armed forces to China to protect them. The Chinese
government reacted by expelling all foreigners. Father Joseph stayed
to minister covertly to the converts, finally resuming his work
openly after the deportation orders were lifted. On the roads and
from the mission, he worked to teach and convert up to the very end
of his life
Joseph Freinademetz
1852 ~ 1908
 Story
 Sources
 Attribution
Freinademetz was born in Abtei, near Badia, South Tyrol, Austria
(area ceded to Italy in 1919). He was ordained in 1875 and entered
the Steyl mission house of the Society of the Divine Word (SVD) in
1878. Zeal for souls moved him to abandon his beloved Tyrol, his
family, and his position as assistant priest and go off to China in
1879. He and J. B. von Anzer were the first SVD missionaries. After
working in Hong Kong for some time in 1881 he moved to South Shantung
(Shandong), which had been assigned to the SVD. At that time there
were only 158 Catholics among a population of 12 million.
Freinademetz devoted himself wholeheartedly to his people and

mission. His tenderness counterbalanced the rather hotheaded
personality of Anzer. From 1886 to 1900 and again from 1903 to 1908
Freinademetz was the provicar of the mission. Good catechesis and the
training of catechists was a top priority, and for this purpose he
prepared catechetical material in Chinese. He also availed himself of
every opportunity to promote the cause of a Chinese clergy. Another
of his great concerns was the spiritual care of missionaries; as
provincial from 1900 to 1908, he established a central house in
Taikia near Tsining (Jining) to foster renewal. He was also convinced
of the crucial importance of prayer for the success of the Chinese
mission and was himself a man of prayer. When the missionaries left
the danger zones during the Boxer Rebellion, he remained with his
people. He reacted calmly to ill-treatment, even death threats.
Chinese Christians said of him "He is like Kungdse [Confucius],
everything about him is good, everything perfect: he is always
friendly, modest, humble." In 1907 he was made administrator of the
mission for the sixth time. While caring for typhoid victims during
this period, he contracted the illness that led to his death. When he
died, the South Shantung SVD mission reported 45,000 Catholics and
almost as many aspirants for baptism. In 1975 he was beatified by
Pope Paul VI (By Karl Muller)
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Saint Joseph Freinademetz (Chinese name: 若瑟聖福 / 若瑟圣福, pinyin:

Shèngfú Ruòsè) (April 15, 1852 - January 28, 1908) as a member of the
Society of the Divine Word, was a missionary in China.
Contents:
1. Early life
2. Missionary work
3. Death
4. Legacy
5. Saint Joseph Freinademetz Congregation in Beijing
6. Literature
7. References
8. External links
Saint Joseph Freinademetz
Josef Freinademetz, China missionary

Born April 15, 1852
Oies, Badia, Dolomites
Died January 28, 1908 (aged 55)
Taikia, South Shandong
Venerated Roman Catholic Church
in
Beatified 19 October 1975 by Pope Paul VI
Canonized October 5, 2003 by Pope John Paul II
Feast January 28
1. Early life
Freinademetz was born the fourth child of Giovanmattia and Anna Maria
Freinademetz [1] in Oies a section of the town of Badia in the
southern Dolomites, which was then part of Austria and now part of
Italy. He studied theology in the diocesan seminary of Brixen and was
ordained priest on July 25, 1875. He was assigned to the community of
San Martino di Badia, not far from his own home.
During his studies and the three years in San Martino, Freinademetz
always felt a calling to be a missionary. He contacted Arnold
Janssen, founder of the mission house Society of the Divine Word in
Steyl, Netherlands. With the permission of his parents and his
bishop, he moved to Steyl in August 1878, where he received training
as a missionary.
2. Missionary work
Statue of Joseph Freinademetz in St Joseph's Chapel of Yim Tin Tsai, Hong Kong.
Portrait in stained glass, Church Liesing
In March 1879 he and his confrere Johann Baptist von Anzer boarded a
ship to Hong Kong, where they arrived five weeks later. They stayed
there for two years. Freinademetz was based in Sai Kung until 1880 [1]
[2]
and set up a chapel on the island of Yim Tin Tsai in 1879 [3] . In
1881 they moved to the province South Shantung that they were
assigned to. At the time of their arrival, there were 12 million
people living in this province, of which 158 had been baptized.
Freinademetz was very active in the education of Chinese laymen and

priests. He wrote a catechetical manual in Chinese, which he
considered a crucial part of their missionary effort. In 1898, he was
sick with laryngitis and tuberculosis, so Anzer, who had become
bishop, and other priests convinced him to go to Japan to recuperate.
He returned, but was not fully cured. When his bishop had to leave
China for a journey to Europe in 1907, the administration of the
diocese was assigned to Freinademetz.
3. Death
There was an outbreak of typhus in this time, and he helped wherever

he could, until he himself became infected. He returned to Taikia,
South Shandong, where he died. He was buried in Taikia, at the
twelfth station on the Way of the Cross.
4. Legacy
Freinademetz and Arnold Janssen were canonized on October 5, 2003 by

Pope John Paul II, as was Daniele Comboni, an important missionary in
Africa.
5. Saint Joseph Freinademetz Congregation in Beijing
The Saint Joseph Freinademetz congregation in Beijing is a German

speaking catholic church-congregation for people staying in Beijing
and being linked with Europe (for example foreign passport holders).
5. 1. History of German fellowship in Beijing
During the early 1980 there are holy masses celebrated in German
language by Jesuit-padre Prof. Franz-Anton Neyer. He was head for
German studies at Sophia University in Tokyo in the 1980s and 1990s
and traveled for each holy mass to Beijing. After 1987 a German
speaking priest lived in Beijing area and offered church services in
German language regularly. The German ambassador Hanspeter Hellbeck
and his administration team welcomed all German speaking Catholics
warmly in the embassy. In the following year the congregation
developed and growth. First highlights in those early days:
 1988 eldest recorded "first holy communion" with 8 children.

 1988 establishment of a bibl study group.
 1990 First holy communion was celebrated in St. Michael’s church with 10 children.
 1992 eldest recorded baptism and confirmation.
 1996 Dr. Hubert Luthe (bishop of Essen/Germany) visited Beijing and confirmed 8 young
Christians. [4]
At the end of the 1990s the German priest left Beijing and the
congregation was served by the German father Birtel (and later father
Rotermann) in Manila (Philippines). In this heard times it was even
possible to celebrate a first holy communion and offer church
services in Beijing frequently.
In 2001 a working group ‘congregation council’ was found and

ecumenical collaboration with the German speaking Protestant
Congregation in Beijing (EGDS) and its father Heinke became stronger
and stronger. Both congregations set up an ecumenical bible study
group, an ecumenical choir and an ecumenical Taize-fellowing group.
Several ecumenical church services during a year and organizing an
ecumenical bible’s day became usual events in Beijing.
The congregation attended also the annual conference of German

speaking fathers in Asia and organized these for about 10
participants in spring 2010 in Beijing. Further highlight during the
history:
 2006 visit of prelate Prassel in Beijing. He announced that the congregation get Saint
Joseph Freinademetz as patron.
 2009 visit of archbishop Dr. Ludwig Schick from Bamberg/Germany with a delegation of
Germany’s bishop council. He confirmed 11 young Christians while he stayed in Beijing.
 2009 father Michael-Heinrich Bauer moved to Beijing and serves both German speaking
congregations in China (Shanghai and Beijing).
 2010 father Michael-Heinrich Bauer donated first holy communion to 16 children and
confirmed 7 young Christians. In the same year 2 persons became baptized.
5. 2. Recent activities of the congregation
Being a religious home for German speaking Christians in Beijing and

establish a bit of German culture in China were the major goals for
founding St. Joseph Freinademetz congregation. It is a bridge head
and contact point for all foreigners visiting Beijing or living or
working in the municipal’s area.
First of all, the congregation offers every second Saturday evening a

holy mass in the German embassy. But also the other catholic
sacraments are offend to German speaking foreigners. Every autumn
groups with candidates for first holy communion and confirmation were
formed. Baptism, wedding, confession and extreme unction are offered
on demand after contact with our father Michael-Heinrich Bauer.
Furthermore the congregation participates at the cultural life in
Beijing’s German community.
The congregation’s patron Joseph Freinademetz came in 19th century
as missioner to China and beared witness for Jesus Christ in
particularly in Shandong Province. [5] The congregation commits to his
tradition and peaceful guide and intends to stay together in harmony
with other Christian congregations in China and Beijing and follow up
ecumenism. Therefore there are good and strong relations to the
German speaking protestant church in Beijing [6] , to the local arch
bishop of Beijing, to several catholic congregations of foreigners in
Beijing and other Christian congregations in China [7] .
Finally St. Joseph Freinademetz congregation matches the recent

religious situation within Peoples’ Republic of China.
6. Literature
 Philip Clart: Die Religionen Chinas. Stuttgart 2009. ISBN 978-3-8252-3260-3 (in German
language)
 Josef Rivinus: Anfänge der Missionstätigkeit der Steyler Missionare (SVD) in China unter
der Berücksichtigung des politischen und sozialen Umfeldes des P. Josef Freinademetz (in
German language)[1]
 Johannes Baur: P. Joseph Freinademetz SVD. Steyler Verlag 1956. ISBN B0000BG7A0 (in
German language)
 Jakob Reuter: Josef Freinademetz: Künder des Glaubens im Fernen Osten. 1985. ISBN 3-
87787-191-7 (in German language)
7. References
1. ^ Joseph Freinademetz - Serving the People of China

2. Humble Beginnings on Yim Tin Tsai
3. Yim Tin Tsai Village and St. Joseph's Chapel
4. archive of St. Joseph Freinademetz congregation in Beijing (contact:
kgds.peking@gmail.com)
5. http://www.vatican.va/news_services/liturgy/saints/ns_lit_doc_20031005_freinademetz
_en.html
6. EGDS: Homepage German Speaking Protestant Congregation in Beijing
7. DCGS: Homepage of German Speaking Christian Congregation in Shanghai
8. External links
 Biography - Vatican News Service

 Biography - Society of the Divine Word
 Biography - Biographical Dictionary of Chinese Christianity
 KAS = Catholic secretary for foreign congregation of Germany's bishop council (webpage
in German language only)
 German speaking Christian congregation Shanghai (webpage in German language only)
 German speaking Protestant congregation in Beijing (webpage in German language only)
 German embassy in Beijing (webpage in German and Chinese language only)
Categories: Articles with unsourced statements from November 2007, All articles with unsourced
statements, 1852 births, 1908 deaths, People from Badia (BZ), Austrian saints, Austrian Roman
Catholic saints, Roman Catholic missionaries, Roman Catholic Church in China, 20th-century
Christian saints
Joseph Freinademetz
1852-2002

Two factors make this year’s celebration of the feast of Blessed Joseph
Freinademetz more than just an annual recurrence in the Society’s
liturgical calendar.
First of all, this year marks the 150th anniversary of his birth which took
place on15 April 1852 in Oies in Val Badia, South Tyrol.
[Biographies of Blessed Joseph describe that day thus:
... in the morning of Thursday, at 10:00, Joseph was born. That same
day, the midwife, accompanied by the godfathers, took the child to the
beautiful parish church of San Leonardo di Badia where the assistant
parish priest, Giovanni Battista Festil, administered the sacrament of
baptism. In the parish registry he wrote: “... male, catholic, legitimate.
Father: Giovanni Mattia Freinademetz. Mother: Anna Maria Sottvalgiarei.
Godfather: Antonio Sottvalgiarei”.]
To mark this special event, on April 15th this year the diocese of Bolzano
in Italy, to which Oies nows belongs, is planning a special Eucharistic
celebration during which the Bishop will launch a program of mission
animation throughout the entire diocese. It will be a significant moment,
for it will be like Blessed Joseph returning to evangelize his own people. It
will be like the homecoming of a son who left but never again returned.
There will be no greater tribute to Blessed Joseph on the part of the
people of Val Badia and the local Church of Bolzano than to become truly
aware of their missionary vocation.
Secondly, on 28 January 2002, a day before Blessed Joseph’s feast this

year, our procurator general, Fr. Giancarlo Girardi, presented to me a
copy of the “Positio super miraculo” made public by the Congregation for
the Causes of Saints a few days earlier. As you know, the “Position super
miraculo” contains the documentation related to the examination by the
Medical Commission of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints of the
miracle attributed to a Blessed in the process of his or her canonization. In
the case of Blessed Joseph the miracle involved the cure of a young
Japanese man from acute leukemia. Jun Yamada, belonging to the
Menonite Church, was 24 when the cure occurred in 1987 in Nagoya,
Japan. The “positio super miraculo” reports an affirmative voting of 5 out
5 members of the Medical Commission in all categories. The last category
(“Mode of cure”), which also carries an affirmative vote of 5/5, states:
“quick, complete and lasting, not scientifically explainable”.
I must quickly add that this is not yet a declaration of the canonization of
Blessed Joseph. The process of the cause of his canonization is not yet
over. The matter still needs to go through a commission of theologians
and finally a consistory of cardinals and bishops. But the judgement of the
Medical Commission is now public and thus I can write about it here. Still
we cannot – and must not – yet speak of the canonization of Blessed
Joseph. Parenthetically, I have to say that the process of Blessed Arnold’s
canonization is also nearing the point where that of Blessed Joseph is
now. Fr. Girardi hopes that the “positio super miraculo” in the case of
Blessed Arnold will also be made public soon.
The figure of Blessed Joseph makes us reflect on the challenge of

“inculturation” in mission. This is the aspect of Blessed Joseph’s
missionary life which Paul VI’s apostolic letter on the occasion of his
beatification singled out. Of course, Blessed Joseph did not write or
theorize about inculturation. No great books or essays about inculturation
originate from Blessed Joseph. But he certainly lived inculturation and
lived it to the full, and this will be Blessed Joseph’s lasting contribution to
mission.
Crescenzio Cardinal Sepe, the new Prefect of the Congregation for the
Evangelization of Peoples, came to our Roman college to celebrate with us
the feast of Blessed Joseph this year. In his homily he narrated the story
of having had the opportunity, while vacationing in Bolzano last summer,
of being asked to celebrate mass at the sanctuary of the Holy Cross, just
a hill away from the home of Blessed Joseph in Oies. After mass, he was
invited by his hosts to visit the house of a “great missionary”. He
confessed that he had not known before about Blessed Joseph nor had he
any idea that he was our first missionary to China. Looking at the pictures
in the house, the Cardinal said that he was not too sure whether this great
missionary was a Tyrolese who had gone to evangelize the Chinese or a
Chinese who had come to evangelize the Tyrolese.
The cardinal’s perplexity is like a fulfillment of a wish of Blessed Joseph.

We all know the famous words he wrote to Mr. Thaler in February 1892:
“... I love my dear Chinese and I desire nothing else but to live and die
with them ... I am by now more Chinese than Tyrolese, and I want to
remain a Chinese even in heaven”. These words express the depths of
inculturation that Blessed Joseph achieved in his life as a missionary. But
it is an achievement that did not come without a struggle. We know that
two years after his arrival in China, Blessed Joseph still had a rather
negative, almost contemptuous, opinion of the Chinese: “The Chinese
have not been given by the Creator the same characteristics as the
Europeans ... they buy and sell children as if they were irrational
animals ... no mother would ever shed a tear in exchanging her child with
just about anything ... China, indeed, is an empire of the devil”.
The depths of inculturation that Blessed Joseph achieved is even more

amazing when one remembers that even in China he remained ever a
child of Oies and Val Badia. Somehow he preserved a special place in his
heart for his family and his village. He wrote numerous letters to his
family and often thought of his beautiful village and its majestic
mountains. One can even say that he nurtured a certain longing to return
one day to his village and see his family again. But he never clang to this
unshakeable love for his family and village, and succeeded to integrate it
into his effort to become one among the people he was sent to. And
perhaps this is where the secret of the success of his efforts at
inculturation lies – that his desire to assume another culture, learn its
language and love its people was undertaken without doing violence to his
love for his original culture, language and people. Indeed he learned to
love China and the Chinese because he knew how to love Oies and his
family.
His success in making himself a Chinese among the Chinese evokes the
words of the Prologue of the Gospel of St. John: “the Word became flesh
and dwelt among us”. And, as many Fathers of the Church would observe,
the Divine Word, without losing anything of his divinity, assumed
everything of our human nature, except sin. Indeed, true inculturation
follows the logic of the incarnation. Blessed Joseph is a prime evidence of
this. Only the one who is at ease with his/her own culture will become at
home in another culture. Only the one who has learned to accept his/her
own culture will learn to embrace another culture. As Divine Word
Missionaries, may we all learn from Blessed Joseph to follow the Divine
Word in the path of genuine inculturation.
Fraternally in the Divine Word,

Antonio M. Pernia, SVD
Superior General
February 2002
Prayer to St. Joseph Freinademetz - I (January 29)
Heavenly Father, you have given us your graces and blessings through the
saints. We thank you for choosing St. Joseph Freinademetz, a zealous
missionary to China, to be our model. He was a man of prayer who prayed
without growing weary. Prayer was the air he breathed and the joy of his life.
Prayer nourished his missionary vocation, his love of neighbor, his
enthusiasm and readiness for sacrifice as well as his profound religiosity.
Through the intercession of St. Joseph we implore you to shower your graces
on all missionaries so that we become persons of prayer and adopt the
culture of the people we are sent to. Enlighten us to discover the road you
want us to travel and the plan you have mapped out for us. May we have the
courage like St. Joseph to keep going, inspite of many odds and hardships in
our mission work and to live out our vocation faithfully. We ask this through
Christ our Lord. Amen.
Canonizzazione Arnold Janssen
Roma 5 Ottobre 2003
Arnold Janssen was born on November 5,

1837 in Goch, a small city of the Low
Renania (Germany). Second of ten
brothers, he learned from his father to be
man of deep religiousness. He was orderly
Priest on 15 August, 1861 for the diocese
of M 黱 ster and received the assignment to
teach natural sciences and mathematics in
the secondary school of Bocholt, where the
fame of demanding however correct
teacher was earned.
Few to few in him went growing the worry for the spiritual necessities of the
people over the confinements of his diocese, thin to reach a worry for the
universal mission of the Church. He decided to devote his life to increase in the
German Church the conscience of its own missionary responsibility. With this
project in the heart, in 1873 he abdicated the teaching and soon he founded 玊 he
small messenger of the Heart of Jesus? With this monthly magazine he offered
news from the missions and animated the Catholics of German language to offer
more themselves for the missions.
With the support of various Bishops, Arnold inaugurated on September 8, 1875 in
Steyl (Holland, because of the anticattoliche laws (Kulturkampf)) the missionary
house, and the 玈 ociety of the Divine Verb?began. Already on March 2, 1879 the
first two missionaries departed for China.
The volunteers that helped in the missionary house were not only men. Already
from the beginning a group of women put to the service of the community. Their
desire was to serve the mission as religious. This desire, years of loyal service and
the conscience of the importance of the woman in the mission, brought Arnold to
found the congregation of the 玈 erves of the Holy Spirit? It was December 8,
1889. The first nuns departed for Argentina in 1895. In 1896, Father Arnold chose
some nuns to form a congregation of seclusion, the 玈 erves of the Holy Spirit of
the Perpetual Adoration?
Arnold died on January 15, 1909. His life was a permanent search of the wish of
God, of trust in the divine providence and hard job. What his work has been
blessed from the Lord, the same development testifies it: more than 6.000
missionaries of the Divine Verb working in 63 Countries, the missionaries Serves
of the Holy Spirit are more than 3.800, and more than 400 the Serves of the Holy
Spirit of the Perpetual Adoration are.
Pope John Paul II canonized him on October 5, 2003 in Saint Peter Square in
Rome.
Canonizzazione Josef Freinademetz (1852-
1908)
Roma 5 Ottobre 2003
Joseph Freinademetz was born on April 15, 1852 in

Oies, a small village of five houses in the alpis
dolomitiche of the north Italy, in Alto Adige. The
same day of the birth he was baptized, and from
his family learned a simple faith, however at the
same time strong.
Already during the studies of theology in the Seminar of Bressanone he began to

think seriously to the foreign missions as possibility for his life. Ordered priest on
25 July, 1875 he was destined to the community of St. Martin of Abbey, very next
to his native house, where well soon the respect and the affection of the people he
was earned. In this whole time however he didn't abandon his restlessness for the
missions. After only two years from his ordination, he put in contact with Father
Arnold Janssen, founder of a missionary congregation that little time later would
have become officially 揝 ociety of the Divine Verb?
With the permission of his Bishop, Joseph entered in the missionary house of Steyl
on August, 1878. He received the missionary cross on March 2, 1879 and together
to another verbita missionary, Father Giovanni Battista Anzer, departed for China.
Five weeks later they disembarked to Hong Kong where remained for two years
preparing themself to the mission to theirs assigned, that was found in the
Shantung of the South, a Chinese province with 12 million of habitants and with
only 158 baptized.
In 1898 the continuous job and the lot deprivations presented the check. Gotten
sick to the larynx and with a principle of tuberculosis, behind insistence of the
Bishop and the brothers, he has to spend one period in Japan in the hope to
recover the health. He returned in China better, but not recovered.
When the Bishop in 1907 has to take a trip to Europe, Father Freinademetz has to
assume the administration of the diocese. During this period an epidemic of
typhus bursted. Joseph as good shepherd, lent his untiring assistance, up to when
himself got sick. He immediately returned to Taikia, center of the diocese, where
died on January 28, 1908.
He came buried under the twelfth station of the Via Crucis, and his grave soon
became point of reference and pilgrimage of the Christians. Pope John Paul II has
canonized him October 5 th 2003, in S. Peter Square in Rome
Rev. FREINADEMETZ, Joseph SVD
福若瑟神父
*Birth: [15 April 1852]

*Ordination: [25 July 1875]
*Death in Taikiachwang, Shantung: [28 January 1908]
*Pet Tam Chung, Sai Kung: [1879]

*Shan Tung: [1881]
　
Divine Word missionary to become 121st China Saint
A Divine Word missionary who helped develop the church in eastern China almost
from scratch is scheduled to be canonized this year.
With his canonization, Blessed Joseph Freinademetz, one of the two earliest Divine
Word missionaries to China, would become the 122nd saint in China and the first who
is not a martyr, according to Bishop Joseph Wang Yu-jung of Taichung, central
Taiwan. Such a non-martyr saint is often called a confessor.
The existing 121 saints in China include the 120 martyrs canonized in 2000, and
Joannes Gabriel Perboyre, canonized in 1996, Bishop Wang said on 9 January. In
2000, the bishop was head of the Taiwan bishops’ Commission for Canonization of
Saints and Martyrs of China.
Blessed Freinademetz (1852-1908) came from the Tyrolean Alps in central Europe
and earned himself the title “Mother of the Church in South Shandong” because of his
nurturing apostolic work among the Chinese.
Bishop Zhao Fengchang of Yanggu and Linqing, Shandong province, said on 8

January that Blessed Freinademetz, whose Chinese name is Fu Ruoshi and who is
known as Blessed Joseph of Shandong, was a man “well respected by the Chinese a
century ago inside and outside the church for his missionary works”.
Yanggu, 440 kilometres south of Beijing, was where Blessed Freinademetz’s

missionary zeal turned the church from a group of just 158 Catholics in the 1890s to a
community of 106,000 Catholics and 44,000 catechumens by 1924, according to a
report prepared by the Divine Word Society.
Father Paulino Suo Pao-lun, former head of the society’s Chinese province, said that
Blessed Freinademetz baptized his grandparents in 1890.
Yanggu is also the native diocese of the first Chinese cardinal, Thomas Tien Keng-
hsin (Tian Gengxin), who was bishop of Yanggu from 1934-1939. Father Suo pointed
out that “Cardinal Tien was certainly influenced by Blessed Joseph, who was
seminary rector when Tien was a seminarian.”
Father Suo does not think Blessed Freinademetz’s canonization may spark the kind of
Beijing-Vatican row that erupted in 2000 because the blessed “is not a martyr” and his
canonization “does not touch the nerve of Beijing”.
Bishop Zhao, 69, agrees the Chinese government will not react negatively since
Blessed Freinademetz was highly respected by the Chinese people. Still, he admits
that today’s young and new Catholics know little about the missionary, even if the
diocese continues to commemorate him.
Pope John Paul recognized a miracle attributed of Blessed Freinademetz on 20
December at a ceremony in the Clementine Hall of the Apostolic Palace in the
Vatican. That act of recognition opened the door to his canonization.
Pope Paul VI beatified him in 1975, togeth with Father Arnold Janssen (1837-1909),
founder of the Divine Word Society. The two are scheduled to be canonized together
in 2003.
Blessed Freinademetz was bron in 1852 and ordained a priest in 1875. He was sent in
1879 to Hong Kong, where he worked for two years before moving to Shandong. He
and his confrere John Baptist Anzer became the earliest Divine Word missionaries in
the China mainland.
In 1882, upon arriving in the extreme western part of Shandong province, they faced
local resisitance because anyone having anything to do with “foreign devils or their
foreign sect” in those days was subject to severe punishment. In time, the missionaries
set up a Divine Word province, a language centre for new missionaries and a laity
formation centre in southern Shandong, ancestral home of Chinese sage Confucius
and his disciple Mencius.
Cardinal Jose Saraiva Martins, prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of the
Saints, told the pope while presenting the miracle attributed to the intercession of
Blessed Freinademetz that the missionary had “passionately loved the Chinese”. The
cardinal quoted the priest as writing, “I love China and the Chinese, I wish to die
among them and to be buried in their midst.’
Blessed Freinademetz died in a Shandong village in 1909 at the age of 56, after
contracting typhus while attending to plague victims.
He once wrote “I want to be a Chinese in heaven’ and asserted that Chinese moral
values, especially filial piety, diligence and moderation. Deserve deep respect and
appreciation.
9 February 2003
Divine Word missionary who will be canonised is known for his love of
China
A Divine Word missionary who will be canonised this autumn earned himself the title
“Mother of the Church is South Shandong” because of his nurturing apostolate work
among the Chinese.
Blessed Joseph Freinademetz, known as Blessed Joseph of Shangdong, once wrote, “I

want to be a Chinese in heaven,” reported UCA News, the Asian church news agency.
Pope John Paul II will canonise Blessed Joseph and two others on 5 October in Rome.
With his canonisation. Blessed Joseph, one of the two earliest Divine Word
missionaries to China, will become the 122nd Chinese saint and the first who is not a
martyr, said Bishop Joseph Wang Yu-jung of Taichung, Taiwan.
The existing 121 saints in China include the 120 martyrs canonised in 2000 and
Joannes Gabriel Perboyre, canonised in 1996, said Bishop Wang, former head of the
Taiwanese bishops’ Commission for the Caonoisation of Saints and Martrys of China.
Bishop Zhao Fengchang of Yanggu and Linqing, China, said Blessed Joseph was
“well respected by the Chinese… inside and outside the church for his missionary
works.”
Yanggu was where Blessed Joseph’s missionary zeal turned the church from a group
of just 158 Catholics in the 1890s to a community of 106,000 Catholics and 44,000
catechuments by 1924, according to a report prepared by the Divine Word Society.
Father Paulino Suo Pao-lun, former head of the society’s Chinese province, said
Yanggu is also the diocese of the first Chinese cardinal, Thomas Tien Keng-hsin
(Tian Gengxin), who was bishop of Yanggu from 1934 to 1939. Father Suo said
“Cardinal Tien was certainly influenced by Blessed Joseph, who was seminary rector
when Tien was a seminarian.”
In an article on Divine Word missions in China, Father Suo said that Blessed Joseph
identified himself with Chinese culture to show his love of China. The missionary
wrote to his parents in Europe, “I wore a tip of beard, a small tip of beard just like the
joker in playing card. I have my head bald, exactly (like) a Chinese, tied with a plait.”
Blessed Joseph wrote elsewhere, “Love is the only language everyone understands”
and said that Chinese moral valises, especially filial piety, diligence and moderation,
deserve deep respect and appreciation.
Joseph Freinademetz was born in 1852 in the village of Oics in the northern Italian
Alps; he was the fourth of 16 children.
In 1875 he was ordained a Divine Word priest and in 1879 he was sent to Hong Kong,
where he worked for two years before moving to Shandong province in eastern China.
He and his confrere, Divine Word Father John Anzer, became the earliest Divine
Word missionaries on the Chinese mainland.
In 1882, upon arriving in the extreme western part of Shandong province, they faced
local resistance because anyone having anything to do with “foreign devils or their
foreign sect” in those days was subject to severe punishment.
In time, Blessed Joseph and other missionaries set up a Divine Word province, a
language centre for new missionaries and a laity formation centre in southern
Shandong.
When Blessed Joseph was rector, Chinese seminarians had to study Chinese literature
to appreciate their own culture, Father Suo said.
Cardinal Jose Saraiva Martins, prefect of the Congregation for Saints’ Causes, said
the missionary “passionately loved the Chinese.” The cardinal quoted the priest as
writing, “I love China and the Chinese. I wish to die among them and to be buried in
their midst.”
“It happened exactly as the wished,” Cardinal Martins said, referring to the fact that
Blessed Joseph died in a Shandong village in 1909 at the age of 56, after contracting
typhus while attending to plague victims.
Pope Paul VI beatified him in 1975 together with Blessed Arnold Janssen, founder of
the Divine Word Society. The two and Blessed Daniele Comboni, and Italian, are
scheduled to be canonised together.
31 August 2003
Freinademetz and Anzer:

Two Missionaries, Two Styles
Gianni Criveller, PIME

Translated by Betty Ann Maheu, MM
On October 5, 2003, Pope John Paul II proclaimed Joseph Freinademetz

(1852-1908), Divine Word missionary in China, a saint. Before
founding the Divine Word Fathers' mission in Southern Shandong
(1881), Father Freinademetz worked for two years in Hong Kong, under
Bishop Raimondi from 1879 to 1881. In Hong Kong he studied the
Chinese language and first experienced the missionary apostolate with
the Fathers of the Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions of
Milan. Freinademetz collaborated with Father Piazzoli in Saikung and
was also sent to Lantau.
Joseph Freinademetz was born in 1852 in Southern Tyrol in the small

village of Oies in Upper Val Badia, where people speak the Ladin
language. Besides Ladin, Freinademetz spoke German and Italian. In
Freinademetz’s time, Southern Tyrol belonged to the Austrian-
Hungarian empire; therefore, he is justly considered an Austrian. His
homeland is now part of Italy's national territory.
In 1875, he was ordained a priest for the Bressanone diocese and

served in the Parish of San Martino in Badia. In 1879 he met Arnold
Janssen, founder of the Society of the Divine Word, (the two were
canonized together) and Freinademetz decided to enter the new
missionary society. At Steyl in Holland, the first Divine Word
Center, he met the young German priest John Baptist Anzer (1851-
1903), and their destiny was linked forever, for good or for bad. The
unusual missionary and human events that took place in the lives of
these two missionaries seem to me to be a kind of parable of the
China mission itself. I think their story merits telling.
The most painful part of the life and mission of Joseph Freinademetz
was, without doubt, his very heartbreaking relationship with John
Baptist Anzer, his religious superior and his bishop in the Shandong
China mission. Very few scholars seem to be aware of this fact.
Biographies, such as that of Jakob Reuter (1975), pass over this
embarrassingly painful situation. Freinademetz and Anzer were among
the first students of the Society of the Divine Word, and the first
to be sent to the missions. They were friends and companions at
Steyl, the Divine Word Center, and were deeply fond of each other.
"Anzer," wrote Freinademetz from Steyl in 1879, "is a young,
energetic and courageous priest. I am sure that he will be a
wonderful life companion." They left Steyl together. They said good-
bye at a moving departure ceremony, the first in the new Divine Word
Society. Together they made the long voyage to China, which also took
them to Hong Kong, and together they arrived in Shandong Province,
where they set up the first Divine Word mission.
Although the two friends always lived close to one another, they took
very different paths. Anzer became superior and bishop while
Freinademetz resolutely refused such appointments. Anzer's lack of
self-discipline brought him to ruin. Furthermore, puffed up with
national pride, he developed a superiority complex; he was arrogant
and even violent in some of his dealings with the Chinese people.
Bishop Anzer represents a tragic example, though isolated, of
missionary imperialism. Freinademetz, on the other hand, for whom
"love is the only language that all can understand," esteemed the
Chinese and their culture deeply. He adopted a missionary attitude of
profound respect for and solidarity with the Chinese people, going so
far as to declare that "in heaven I want to be Chinese." In his will
he had also asked to be buried in a Chinese cemetery, a wish that was
not respected.
The story of the relationship between these two missionaries -

friends and adversaries - illustrates the two missionary attitudes in
China, and reads like an exciting mystery novel, that can here only
be depicted along broad lines.
Anzer took on provocative and controversial initiatives that were

not, in fact, shared by his missionary confreres, especially
Freinademetz. Anzer himself said, "My one aim, and the end of all my
struggles and tribulations, was to lift high the standard of Christ
in Qufu, Confucius' birthplace." Once this "place of superstitions"
had fallen, Christianity, according to Anzer, would triumph
everywhere. Anzer's missionary strategy was based totally on
confrontation and a triumphal attitude, which from the very beginning
provoked a reaction from the Chinese. It resulted in anti-Christian
riots and persecutions. On November 3, 1897, two Divine Word
missionaries were killed. Anzer, who was in Berlin at the time,
according to popular opinion, contributed to Kaiser Wilhelm II's
decision to occupy Jiaozhou militarily. The purpose was to increase
German influence throughout the whole of Shandong. This episode,
along with other factors and events, fuelled the crisis which led to
the Boxer Rebellion of 1900. As indemnity for the killings,
Freinademetz sought instead only a small monetary settlement needed
for the construction of a small chapel, and the transfer of those in
authority who had covered up the homicides. Freinademetz did not want
the Chinese authorities to lose face, but he wanted them to take
responsibility for the protection of Christians and missionaries.
Freinademetz looked upon the bishop's decisions and his pastoral

style with increasing alarm, and soon found himself in a terrible
dilemma. On the one hand, he realized that the Divine Word mission
was on the road to ruin because of his bishop and superior. Moreover,
his confreres, who did not have the courage to confront the irascible
bishop, begged Freinademetz, who was Anzer's pro-vicar ad-ministrator
and number two in the mission, to admonish the bishop. On the other
hand, Freinademetz was tied to Anzer by fraternal bonds, and had
profound respect for his superior, to whom he also owed religious
obedience.
The Clash
Freinademetz spoke and wrote to the bishop frankly, and did so on
various occasions. Anzer refused to accept Freinademetz's
admonitions, and threatened him with canonical sanctions. Their
relationship became impossible. In his long, touching and tragic
letter of February 26, 1894, Freinademetz seemed to write with his
heart in his hands. We read the following:
The real reason for the lamentable situation of our mission is the
lack of proper relations between the bishop on the one hand and the
whole of the mission on the other. … The missionaries stay as far
away as they can from the bishop’s house. … What Your Excellency
says is a mixture of lies, distortions, contradictions, and
defamations. No one can any longer believe what Your Excellency says.
The Bishop’s way of often using extremely offensive language in
dealing with persons in public has shut the mouths of the
missionaries. … Because you drink too much, you are no longer able
to control your tongue or your legs, … and everyone is laughing at
you. It is extremely painful for me to mention these things and I
weep as I write. Curse the wine that transforms into a stupor even
the wisest of men. … Your pastoral visits do not meet your purpose.
Your Excellency is only interested in big numbers, and not in the
quality of converts. … Individual missionaries do not tell you these
things. They tell you only what you want to hear. I want to say to
you: enough of these pompous spectacles!
Excellency, I have written here what I have held hidden within my

heart for many years. With only two exceptions, I have remained
silent for 15 years, committing, in fact, a serious wrong to our
mission in Southern Shandong and saddening my own conscience with the
weight of a grave responsibility. But I can no longer remain silent.
The consequences of this situation are too grave and my confreres beg
me to intervene; it is my duty to do so. It is a matter of life and
death for our mission. Some years back I wrote a letter to our
superior general, but then, through my grievous fault, I tore up the
letter before sending it. Many confreres urged me to do my duty, and
my conscience also made itself heard, but I always silenced it,
citing specious pretexts that were nothing but egoism. If there is
something offensive in the words I have chosen or in my explanation,
this is not my intention, and on my knees I beg your forgiveness. Not
speaking about this with you directly, up to now, I have not had the
courage to be the friend (forgive me the word): true, sincere and
open with Your Excellency, which I ought to have been. If Your
Excellency so permits, I would want to be your true friend from now
on.
Anzer's reaction was not, in fact, positive. He forbade Freinademetz,

under obedience, to speak any more about him. He dismissed all the
catechists working for Freinademetz. As a punishment, Freinademetz
was sent to the eastern, most remote part of the Vicariat. Moreover,
when in the fall of 1894, Anzer took leave to go to Europe,
Freinademetz was not nominated as interim head of the mission, as
custom would have dictated.
The situation went from bad to worse. The young Divine Word
missionaries in Shandong were on the point of refusing to make their
final profession at the hands of Anzer, their superior. The
missionaries saw in Freinademetz the salvation of the mission, and
continued to beg for his intervention. Freinademetz must have found
himself at life's crossroads to request his superior general for a
dispensation from the obligation of religious obedience, something
that he temporarily obtained. A group of missionaries, Freinademetz
among them, wrote a letter to the superior general, to explain the
tension-filled state of the mission. Janssen, superior and founder of
the Divine Word Society, had profound respect for and faith in
Freinademetz. He petitioned the Holy See to have Anzer relieved of
his administration.
In a scathing letter of September 28, 1894, Anzer accused

Freinademetz of various offenses: being his mortal enemy, secretly
plotting against him and seeking his downfall. He accused him of
boasting about his missionary achievements, and suspended him from
participating in the provincial chapter that he [the bishop] had
convoked. He ended the letter by saying, “ I am leaving for Europe.
I do not know if I will see you again. But my memories of you will
always be bittersweet.”
Freinademetz answered him immediately on October 6, 1894. He refuted

the accusations, and proclaimed his innocence. He affirmed that at
this point he desired nothing more than to remain in the remote
corner of Shandong to which the bishop had relegated him, and to be
dispensed of all the rest. He concluded with these words:
I beg you a thousand times to forgive all the problems that
consciously or unconsciously I have caused you. May the good God have
mercy on me a poor sinner, for having rendered the already heavy
cross of my superior even heavier. With total reverence, your
unworthy servant begs your apostolic and pastoral benediction. Joseph
Freinademetz.
Momentary Reconciliation
During the following year (1895) Anzer tried to correct his excesses.
On his knees he begged Freinademetz’s pardon, and the two began to
collaborate once again, so much so that Freinademetz was named
interim superior during Anzer's frequent absences. Under pressure
from Anzer, Freinademetz even wrote a letter to Rome—where in the
meantime reports of Anzer's unworthy behavior had arrived—asserting
that the bishop was making heroic efforts to correct himself.
Freinademetz's letter in Anzer's defense momentarily disappointed
Janssen, the Superior General, because he feared that Anzer's
"conversion" would be short lived.
Anzer Called to Rome

In fact, the bishop, taking a turn for the worse, soon lapsed back
into his old vices. Freinademetz continued faithfully to admonish his
bishop who seemed to be beyond recovery. In 1901, the Prefect of
Propaganda Fide, Cardinal Ledochowski, badly advised and irritated by
Janssen's request [to have Anzer removed], considered this as
interference in the prerogatives of Propaganda. Incredibly, he
exonerated Anzer. Moreover, Ledochowski maintained that Anzer, as
bishop, answered only to Propaganda, and no longer to his Society.
Therefore, he should be left in peace. The confusion in the Society
of the Divine Word and in the mission was great. There no longer was
any way to stop the bishop. Freinademetz wrote:
I never would have thought that anything like this was possible, and
that even at the highest ecclesiastical levels these questions of
life and death could be treated so superficially. We almost feel
obligated to scream: the world is governed with so little
intelligence! … We are completely at peace with our conscience with
whatever Rome has decided! But we are very saddened by such a lack of
good sense.
In 1902, Cardinal Gotti, Ledochowski’s successor, was compelled to

reopen the case. This time Anzer could not manipulate powerful
friends to come to his defense. He asked Freinademetz to go to Rome
with him to defend him. Freinademetz refused. However, Anzer
acknowledged that Freinademetz was faithful in always telling him the
truth.
Once in Rome, Anzer had to confront the following accusations: 1)

Alcoholism to the point of losing the use of his reason; 2) Grave
scandal regarding the sixth commandment; 3) Construction of three
large and costly personal residences, and the construction of other
costly buildings for the mission, which were registered in his name;
4) His rare pastoral visits undertaken only to receive honors and to
enjoy feasts; 5) Losing control of himself to the point of physically
abusing missionaries, Christians and servants, so much so that no one
wanted to work under him; 6) Only high-level politics and prestige
interested him; 7) He took away the faculty of confession from
missionaries without good reason, and gave contradictory orders, such
as naming two persons for the same office; 8) Claimed the prerogative
of administering baptism to new Christians, and wanting the number to
be as high as possible, by including persons who were ill prepared,
or unknown to anyone. He also had the names of non-existent persons
added to the baptismal registry; 9) The missionaries in the mission
regretted being tied to him by vows of obedience, and some wanted to
leave the mission. These accusations were based substantially on
reports that Freinademetz wrote under oath. In 1900 he had been
elected superior of the Divine Word missionaries in Shandong
Province. Other missionaries, as well as two Propaganda inspectors
and the Superior General, Janssen, confirmed these reports. Poor
Anzer had no way to defend himself. He died suddenly from a heart
attack shortly after he arrived in Rome, on November 25, 1903.
Freinademetz, who was already provincial superior, was the natural

candidate to succeed Anzer as bishop. The Superior General and his
confreres proposed him for the post. But the German Chancery vetoed
the proposal saying that Freinademetz was Austrian and not German,
and was considered Anzer's adversary. Anzer enjoyed Kaiser Wilhelm's
friendship. The compromise choice was the worthy Father Augustine
Henninghaus, who succeeded Anzer as Vicar Apostolic, while
Freinademetz remained as the religious superior of the Divine Word
Missionaries.
Imperialism and Humility

There is certainly a tragic human and affective dimension to
Freinademetz and Anzer's story. They were both friends and
adversaries. The human figure of Anzer arouses more sadness and pain
than scandal. Freinademetz, who died on January 28, 1908, had the
misfortune to see his friend, superior and bishop sink deeper and
deeper into the abyss, without being able to save him. Furthermore,
he had to spend much time dealing with the fallout and the scandals
provoked by his superior. Freinademetz's zeal and missionary genius
that everyone, including Anzer, recognized, was not able to express
itself however in all its potential. Freinademetz did not die a
martyr. However, I dare say that it is highly probable that the
antics of his unfortunate missionary companion must have caused him
great personal, constant and most painful anguish. Perhaps it can be
called a special kind of martyrdom.
In my readings and studies on the Catholic mission in China, Anzer is

perhaps the only missionary figure that I find to be quite
reprehensible. He had a political and nationalistic agenda aside from
the interests of the mission. His religious and political attitude
was imperialistic. We must say, however, that Anzer was not without
some merit, especially at the beginning of his missionary career. His
misfortunes were deeply affected by alcoholism, which seems to be a
medically pathological, as well as a moral, weakness.
Anzer's imperialism and abuses were an exception, the only one that I
know about with certainty. His actions do not represent the general
attitude of Catholic missionaries. On the contrary, his confreres,
his Superior General, and also Rome (who intervened too late) were
against many of Anzer's political and pastoral choices. Missionaries
and Christians were both victims of his policies.
Freinademetz represents the other face of mission: respect,

solidarity, sobriety, inculturation, absence of political agendas and
nationalistic interests. By their own admission, Freinademetz was
superior to all the other Divine Word Fathers in his knowledge of the
Chinese language and culture, in his talents and missionary zeal, and
by the sanctity of his life. The words of Bishop Henninghaus are
perhaps the most meaningful and exceptional.
Freinademetz never received any praise from the Chinese, no

decorations, no imperial commendation, no honors such as those that
the Chinese government of the time was so generous in bestowing. Not
even an inscription, such as other missionaries had received, was
made for him. This is, for those that know the circumstances of his
life, all the more extraordinary. Father Freinademetz knew how to
stay far away from every external tribute. He never wanted to leave
the ranks of the milites gregarii [humble servants] to join the ranks
of ‘political soldiers,’ but only to do his duty with modesty and
faithfulness.
Tripod VOl. XXIII-No. 131 (Winter 2003)
　
聖言會傳教士福若瑟
可望為中國首位精修
一位使華東山東教會蓬勃發展的聖言會傳教士將於年
內獲冊封為聖人。
據台灣台中教區王愈榮主教指出，聖言會最早到中國
的兩位傳教士之一真福福若瑟神父（ Joseph Freinademetz），
將會成為第一百二十二位中華聖人，並且是首位中華
精修聖人。
王主教一月九日對天亞社說，目前的一百二十一位中
華聖人是於九六年冊封聖人的殉道聖人董文學神父
（Joannes Gabriel Perboyre）及二０００年封聖的一百二十位
殉道者。
真福福若瑟（1852-1908）神父是歐洲提洛人。他在山東
南部努力繁衍教會，在教會中贏得「魯南之母」的美
譽。
山東省陽谷暨臨清教區趙鳳昌主教一月八日向天亞社
說，福若瑟一世紀前在當地傳教，受教內外人士敬重。
陽谷距北京以南四百四十公里。
福若瑟一八九０年到達時，當地只有一百五十八名教
友，直至一九二四年教友數目已增至十萬六千人，慕
道者達四萬四千人。
聖言會中華省前省長薛保綸神父一月九日對天亞社說，
他不認為封聖福若瑟會再度引起二千禧年的中梵爭議
，因為這位真福不是殉道者，他的祝聖「不會觸動北
京的神經」。
六十九歲的趙主教也認為真福極受當地人尊敬，北京
政府不會有負面反應。但他承認即使教會仍紀念他，
新的教友和年青的教友對他所知甚少。
教宗若望保祿二世於去年十二月廿日在梵蒂岡宗座宮
室的格萊孟廳舉行的儀式上，確認透過福若瑟轉求達
成的一個奇跡，從而打開真福獲封聖之門。
教宗保祿六世一九七五年將他與聖言會會祖愛諾德神
父（Arnold Janssen, 1837-1909）同列真福。兩人將於今年一起
封聖。
福若瑟生於一八五二年，一八七五年晉鐸。他於一八
七九年抵達香港，兩年後才與同會的安治泰神父（John
Baptist Anzer）進入山東傳教，成為最早進入中國的聖言
會士。
他們在一八八二年到達山東西端時，受到本地人抵制，
因為當年任何國人與「外國邪派或外國邪靈」有關連
會受到嚴重刑罰。
其後福若瑟與其他會士在魯南設立聖言會省，為新來
的傳教士成立言語中心及教友培育中心。
聖人部主管瑪爾定樞機（J. S. Martins）向教宗陳述由真福
轉求的奇跡時說，引述真福的書信說：「我愛中國及
中國人。我願為他們再死一千次，我願同他們埋在一
起。」
薛神父對天亞社說，真福封聖日期還未定，但台灣聖
言會定會盛大慶祝及舉行一些傳教活動。
2003 年 1 月 26 日
中國第 122 位聖人福若瑟神父
李西滿
今年三八婦女節當天晚上聖言會前任省會長柯神父來電說：「
好消息，我們的會祖和真福福若瑟神父將於今年十月五日封為
聖人，空前的大好新聞，他將是中國第一位精修聖人。」不久
前被宣聖的全是致命聖人，希望不久之後會有第二位雷永明神
父，第三位雷鳴遠神父，早已有足夠的奇蹟。
一九００年代在山東興起了義和團，民間俗稱大刀會，自以為
槍炮不入，喊著扶清滅洋的口號，排斥外國人，時值清朝光緒
二十六年，俗稱庚子之役，英德法等八國聯軍政進北京城，太
后挾帝逃奔西安，該年七月四日福瑟神父出任代理主教職位，
忽然間接到青島德國領事 Dr. Lenz 先生的電報，命令所有的德國
神父修士立刻離開工作崗位，逃往青島避難。七月五日半夜，
神父們起身舉行彌撒完畢，用過簡單的早餐後摸黑乘坐四輛馬
車上路往兗州府逃，大概走了一個多小時的路程，福若瑟神父
忽然停下來對神父們說：「我寧願死在坡里莊，不再往青島逃
避了。」他同時得到輔理修士 Ulrich 的同意一同回坡里莊，同時
四位神父含淚下跪求代理主教福若瑟神父的降福，他們二位轉
回坡里莊的路途，天明之後教友和一位中國神父看到福神父和
修士回來了，全體都高興的不得了。如果大刀會知道坡里教堂
內有兩位洋鬼子，立刻有可能用大刀活活地把他們砍死。當年
韓寧鎬神父（不久後成了兗州教區主教）聽到福神父回坡里莊
的消息後說：「那是英雄豪傑的行為，面對最大的危險甚至於
可能遇到殉道的命運！」
中國人不是在開現笑，在河南他們用大刀和斧頭劈死一位主教
和一位神父，福神父回到坡里莊後，於一九００年七月八日主
日在全體教友和一千多難民面前隆重許下：如果坡里教堂能在
天主和聖母的保佑之下，逃過這次大教難，以後的五年之內，
每年聖母月將隆重慶祝「聖母進教之佑節」，並明供聖體十三
小時，結果真的得到天主的保佑，平安度過了這次不幸大災禍！
聖福若瑟神父小檔案
一八五二年生於奧國沃野村
一八七五年晉鐸出任兩年助理神父
一八七八年入聖言會
一八七九年和安治泰到達香港
一八八一年到魯西陽穀縣的北坡里莊
一八八九年坡里興建了主教座堂
一九０八年一月二十八日病故，享年五十六歲
一九七五年傳教節列真福品
二００三年十月五日封聖宣為聖人
益世評論　2003 年 4 月 1 日
　
來華傳教士
聖言會福若瑟封聖
教宗若望保祿二世十月五日在梵蒂岡聖伯多祿廣場主
持宣聖大典，獲冊封為聖人的包括意大利籍的達尼埃
萊．金邦尼主教（Daniel Comboni, 1831-1881），他創立了專
門為非洲地區傳教的修會。另外的是聖言會會祖、德
國籍的楊生神父（Arnold Janssen, 1837-1909），以及該會一
位到中國傳教、亦在中國境內安息主懷的奧地利南提
羅爾（今意大利北部）神父福若瑟（Josef Freinademetz,
1852-1908）。
當日的參禮者約三萬人，教宗重申，「所有基督徒都
有傳教的使命，但要恒常地尋求神聖，才是真正的見
證基督」。
2003 年 10 月 12 日
千人出席聖言會彌撒
慶祝楊生福若瑟封聖
聖言會香港區會十月十二日為其會祖楊生神父和首位
來華傳教士福若瑟神父封聖舉行感恩聖祭。
教宗十月五日冊封楊生神父和福若瑟神父為教會聖人，
聖言會香港區會十月十二日假聖言中學舉行感恩祭，
由教區主教陳日君主禮，湯漢輔理主教和三十多名神
父共祭，出席信眾近一千人。
感恩祭極具備普世幅度，以多國語言的歌詠進行，包
括菲律賓語、印尼語、西班牙語、印度語、英語和普
通話等，顯示出聖言會國際性的幅度。
講道時，陳主教指出兩位聖人能「急天主所急」，努
力向外傳教，尤其是聖福若瑟到中國傳教時，正值清
末動盪時期，傳教士要有殉道的準備。隨後，聖言會
中華區會長葉德華神父（Edwards）以英語講道，他解釋
封聖的意義時說︰「不是天主需要聖人，而是人需要
聖人。因為聖人和人較『接近』 …… 我們要成為聖人
固然是困難，但卻非不可能的事。」葉德華神父藉此
勉勵眾人努力跟隨基督的教訓。
典禮於六時許結束，賓客教友繼續留校觀看展板和享
用茶點，聖言會也送出印有兩位聖人肖像的紀念品。
楊生是德國的神父，因著他虔誠的態度，一八七五年
建立了一個以神父和修士為主的國際傳教修會 —— 聖
言會。及至一八八九年，楊生神父創立了聖神傳教修
女會；及後於一八九六年，他也創立了聖神永禱修女
會。
聖楊生沒有到海外作一位傳教士，但他對傳教的工作
不遺餘力。目前聖言會在不同地方的會士人數達六千
多人，遍布歐、亞、美、非洲六十多個國家。
聖福若瑟是聖言會的第一位傳教士，他生於提羅爾的
南部，前屬奧地利，現為意大利的屬土。他與安治泰
神父一起，成為首批被派遣到中國的傳教士，那時正
值清朝年間。在往中國途中，他的首站就是香港。到
達香港後，他在西貢工作並首次嘗到中國的文化與學
習中國的語言。
在一年半之後，他到山東以南地區繼續展開繁盛而富
有成果的中國傳教之旅，從此他再也沒有回到家鄉。
2003 年 11 月 2 日
福若瑟神父封聖
山東信徒倍感高興
曾在華東山東省傳教的聖言會士封聖，當地教友感到
十分高興。
真福福若瑟（Joseph Freinademetz）生於今日意大利北部的
奧匈帝國，他率先到中國山東省傳教，於一九０八年
死在山東，被譽為「魯南之母」。
他與聖言會創辦人真福楊生（Arnold Janssen）於十月五日
在梵蒂岡獲封聖。
山東的教友一般稱福若瑟為「福神父」，當地一些主
教神父仍然記得福神父的事蹟。
濟南教區趙子平主教於九月廿九日對天亞社說，他和
很多教友聽到福神父封聖的消息都很興奮。
八十二歲的趙主教說，仍然記得上一輩的人談論福神
父，特別是他在山東興建了不少教堂。
他說：「我們都會向他祈禱，希望他幫助我們山東教
會和各方面都發展得更好。」
聖福若瑟是中國第一百廿二位聖人，也是首位中華精
修聖人。
其餘的是一百二十位在二０００年封聖的中華殉道聖
人和一九九六年宣聖的聖董文學（Joannes Gabriel
Perboyre）。
聖福若瑟於一八七八年加入聖言會，翌年與同會的安
治泰神父（John Baptist Anzer）到香港，停留了兩年，作
進入中國大陸的準備。安神父被稱為「魯南之父」。
聖福若瑟和安治泰是到中國傳教的首兩位聖言會士，
他們最初抵達山東南部時，當地人口有一千二百萬，
但只有一百五十八名教友。
據趙主教說，山東省內仍然有幾位國籍聖言會士。外
籍傳教士早在五十年代已被逐出中國。
在二０００年一百廿位中華聖人祝聖時，中國猛烈抨
擊教廷，但趙主教說，今次福神父封聖，政府沒有說
過一句話。不過他的教區沒有計劃慶祝，但他自己會
寫信向德國的聖言會道賀。
據袞州教區牛善良神父說，福神父在濟寧市郊戴莊的
墓穴在文革時遭紅衛兵破壞，屍體被掘出來焚燒。
牛神父說：「當福神父的棺木被打開時，紅衛兵看到
他的屍體仍然保持完整，我們這裡一名當時在場的紅
衛兵可以作證。」
後來教會在墓地原址建了一座陵園和紀念碑。陵園要
穿過一間醫院進入，該醫院以前屬聖言會所有。
牛神父說，若本地教友想進入陵園，人數不多的話，
問題不大，但外面的人則不允許進內。
有袞州的教友在十月二日對天亞社說，當地教堂原有
一幅福神父的畫像，但數日前政府下令除下。
在山東省東部青島教區陳天浩神父九月卅日對天亞社
說，他在當天才聽到有關福神父宣聖的消息。
四十三歲的陳神父說，青島教區不少教友從以前的聖
言會士或台灣教會人士帶來的書認識到福神父，十分
尊重他，但教區沒有甚麼慶祝計劃。
他說，可惜教區最後一位聖言會士郭殿修神父去年去
世，否則若他聽到這個消息，一定十分高興。
在濟南以西的荷澤教區，三十三歲的韋立根神父九月
廿九日對天亞社說，他從其他教區的神父口中知道這
個消息，他會在彌撒中向教友宣布這件大事。
臨沂教區房興耀主教十月二日說，他會為福神父的宣
聖舉行彌撒。
福神父生前在山東多處致力培育教友傳道員、本地神
父和傳教士。他於一九０八年一月廿八日因照顧傷寒
病人染上傷寒病死。一九七五年，教宗保祿六世將他
列品真福。
2003 年 11 月 2 日
聖福若瑟——天上的「中國人」（上）
聖言會供稿
你願意做一個傳教士嗎？你願意為了基督和福音的緣
故而甘願離開你可愛的祖國、家庭、兄弟姐妹所帶給
你的舒適和安全並放棄擁有自己的家庭甚或賺錢的職
業與生活方式嗎！？這就是福若瑟神父在一八七九年
離開歐洲去中國展開聖言會的福傳工作時所做的。正
因為是這樣，聖言會士懷特 ‧ 照埃斯神父（Walter Joyce）
用《基督的傻子》一書來描繪了福若瑟（Joseph
Freinademetz）的一生。
福若瑟出生在提洛爾的南部。該地過去是奧地利的一
部份，但現在屬於義大利。他最初是被祝聖為一位教
區的神父，但卻感受到了想做一個傳教士的召叫。為
了承行天主的旨意，他加入了由楊生神父剛剛創立的
聖言會，並且急切地企盼著去他心愛的傳教區 —— 中
國。同安治泰一道，福若瑟成了第一個被派到傳教區
的聖言會傳教士。在往中國的路上，他先到了香港，
開始第一次品嘗到了中國的語言和文化並同時也在西
貢的堂區工作。一年半以後，他離開香港而開始了碩
果纍纍的中國山東南部的福傳事業。自始至終，他從
未回過他深深眷戀著的祖國家鄉。
貧窮的生活
在荷蘭史泰爾的愛諾德靈修中心的聖神會修女雅耐可
（L. Janek）曾寫說福若瑟神父生活出了真福的精神 ——
貧窮、慕義如饑似渴、忍受迫害。在中國時，他不但
是出於環境所迫，而且也是滿心喜悅地接受了貧窮的
生活。他能滿足於最簡單的食物、破舊的住宿和最低
等的馬車。他對自己毫無所求，只要是自己有的東西，
他都願意與他人分享而且總是將自己多餘的東西送給
窮人。即使他已經將自己所有的精力都投入到了福傳
的工作中去，甚至到了筋疲力盡的地步，他還是不相
信他有什麼特殊之處；相反，他總是擔心做的不夠。
他也不相信他自我棄絕的生活和孜孜不倦的工作會在
天主的眼裡有什麼價值；相反，他認為是天主白白地
賜給了他很多禮物。
正如他曾寫說：「我不認為做一個傳教士是我獻給天
主的一件禮物，而是天主賜給我的最大的恩寵。」
曾經和福若瑟一道工作多年的韓甯鎬主教常常提到有
一次他在給會友們講避靜時，看到這位聖人就坐在他
的對面，於是這樣的想法便不止一次地出現在他的腦
海裡：「福神父是把我所說的這一起都付諸行動的人，
而我只是在講論他罷了。」許多人都是這樣看待福神
父的，但他自己卻不以為然，而是常常請求別人為他
祈禱，「這樣好使我也回頭改過」。這樣的態度正好
反映出了耶穌的教訓：「當你們已經做了吩咐你們要
做的一切事情後，也應當這樣說，『我們是無用的僕
人，我們不過做了我們應做的事！』」（路十七：10
）。這是福若瑟很自然的態度，而且也使他很高興。
2003 年 11 月 2 日
聖福若瑟——天上的「中國人」（下）
聖言會供稿
當福若瑟看到由他而接受了信仰的人們在經受被隔離、
搶奪、監禁和謀殺的迫害時，他覺著實在無法接受。
好多次，他都置個人安危於不顧而與那些強加在中國
教友們身上的非正義的事情作堅決的鬥爭，並多次找
政府的官員為教友辯護。
所受的苦難
當福若瑟動身去中國時，他已經意識到他必須要跟迫
害甚至流血致命打交道。儘管常常被稱作是「洋鬼子
」聽起來並不是那麼可怕，但它卻刻劃了當時的那種
氣氛。雖然福若瑟發現對付這些侮辱時並不好受，但
他卻沒有被它們所嚇倒也沒有讓它們阻撓自己的工作，
甚至也沒有逃避死亡的威脅。好幾次，有人想要了他
的命。
只要是為了羊群的緣故，即使自投虎穴，善牧也會在
所不惜。在這方面，從一個廣為人知的事件上就可以
略見一斑：有一次，福若瑟要求一位官員釋放他的一
個傳教員，但後來在一家旅店裡卻受到了一夥人的攻
擊。他們搶奪了他所有的東西並差點把他打死。當義
和團起義爆發後，中國和西方的政府都命令所有的外
國人搬到沿海一帶的安全區去，福若瑟卻為了不把他
的中國教友們撇下不管而徑自回到了他最初的傳教站
坡裡莊，即使是捨身致命也在所不辭。事實上，正如
他自己所寫的那樣，他會滿心喜悅地做一個殉道者，
也會滿心喜悅地將自己的生命交給那位為他和我們大
家付出了生命的那一位。
充滿愛情的傳教士靈修精神
福若瑟的生活和心靈都凝聚在了福傳工作上。他的心
已被聖神所佔據，所以他也被福傳的熱火所焚燒。他
曾給他的會友們這樣寫說：「聖神是愛。愛和熱情對
一個傳教士來說是至關重要的，沒有其他更重要的東
西。福傳工作是一個愛的工作：一個傳教士愈是充滿
了愛，他就愈是一個傳教士 …… 福傳必須是一個發自
內心的活動。只有當天主的愛傾注在我們心中後，福
傳才會發自內心。『願你的名受顯揚，願你的國來臨
』這句禱文應當讓我們心中的熱火持續不滅 …… 我應
當時時刻刻號召你們去祈禱、刻苦、奉獻和犧牲，多
多益善、堅持不懈，因為這樣是為了靈魂的好處，為
了天國和天主。」在另外的一個場合，他這樣說：「
愛的語言是人人都能明白的獨一無二的語言。」
不光是他的會友們和中國教友們，甚至連反對他的人
們也都對福若瑟的聖善、謙遜和獻身精神讚不絕口。
作為一個祈禱從不間斷的人，他曾這樣說：「你花在
祈禱上的時間不應該多於花在不祈禱上的時間。如果
你有時間呼吸，你就應當有時間祈禱。為甚麼呢？為
天主的光榮呼吸就是祈禱；好好地去生活就是祈禱，
帶著超性的念頭工作就是祈禱；吃吃喝喝、睡覺、玩
樂都可以是祈禱的形式。祈禱的意義不在其他，就在
於居心向上、仰望天主。」
福神父從來沒有因他的生活和工作而接受過任何特殊
的讚揚和勳章，他甚至還推辭了作主教這樣的殊榮。
他唯一想做的就是把基督帶給中國人，把中國人帶到
天國。他愛中國人如此之深以至於他這樣說：「即使
是在天國裡，我也想做一個中國人。」一九０八年一
月廿八日，他在中國離開了人間。聖福若瑟現在真就
是在天國裡的一個中國人。
二００三年十月五日，福若瑟神父和楊生神父一起在
羅馬被教宗若望保祿二世冊封為聖人。在香港，聖言
會和香港教區二００三年十月十二日在藍田的聖言中
學舉行感恩彌撒，以此來光榮這兩位新聖人。
2003 年 11 月 9 日
福若瑟與安治泰：兩位傳教士，兩種風格
柯毅霖著，陳愛潔譯
二零零三年十月五日，教宗若望保祿二世宣佈在中國傳教的聖
言會會士福若瑟（Joseph Freinademetz, 1852-1908）為聖人。福神父在
魯南（山東省南部）成立聖言會傳教區（一八八一年）之前，
曾於一八七九至一八八一年在香港工作兩年，屬高主教
（Raimondi）管轄。在港期間，他學習中文，並首次與米蘭外方
傳教會的神父一起從事傳教及牧民的工作。福若瑟與和 Piazzoli
神父在西貢服務，也曾一度派駐到大嶼山。
福若瑟，一八五二年生於提羅爾省上巴地亞谷一個名叫沃斯的
小村莊，那裡的居民為拉丁語系。除拉丁語外，福若瑟也說德
語和意大利語。在福若瑟的時代，提羅爾省屬於奧匈帝國的領
土，因此，他理所當然被視為奧國人。他的故鄉現在已屬於意
大利。
一八七五年，他在布克申教區晉鐸，並在巴地亞的聖瑪爾定堂
區服務。一八七九年，他遇見聖言會創辦人楊生（ Arnold
Janssen）（二人已同時獲冊封為聖人），便決定加入這個新傳教
會。在荷蘭的士泰爾，即首個聖言會中心，他又遇到年輕的德
國籍司鐸安治泰（John Baptist Anzer, 1851-1903）神父。不論是好是
壞，他們二人的命運從此永遠連繫在一起。對筆者來說，這兩
位傳教士一生中獨特的傳教和人性際遇，本身就是中國傳教事
業的一種比喻，值得我們認識的。
福若瑟與安治泰－－亦友亦敵
在福若瑟一生和傳教事業中最痛苦的事，無疑是他與安治泰之
間極其悲痛的關係。安治泰是他的會長，也是山東傳教區的主
教。很少學者注意到這個苦況。福若瑟的傳記，例如約各布
羅伊特（Jokob Reuter）所撰寫的傳記（一九七五年），也忽略了這
個令人難堪又痛苦的處境。福若瑟與安治泰都是聖言會最早期
的學生，也是首兩位被派遣傳教的會士。在士泰爾的聖言會中
心，他們是朋友，又是同伴，彼此非常喜歡對方。一八七九年，
福若瑟在士泰爾寫道：「安治泰是一位年輕、充滿活力和勇敢
的神父。我肯定他會是一位很了不起的終生夥伴。」他們一起
離開士泰爾，在新成立的聖言會的首次惜別會上，跟各人話別。
他們一起踏上來華的漫長旅程，首先到了香港，然後再一起抵
達山東省，在那裡成立首個聖言會傳教區。
雖然這兩位同伴彼此的生活密切，但所走的路卻截然不同。安
治泰成了會長和主教，但福若瑟卻堅拒這些任命。安治泰由於
缺乏自律，最終斷送了自己一生。此外，他因為民族自豪而趾
高氣揚，漸漸發展過於自尊的性格；他為人傲慢，甚至有時與
中國人交往時表現粗暴。安治泰主教是傳教帝國主義的悲劇例
子，儘管是單獨的例子。另一方面，為福若瑟來說，「愛是唯
一令眾人明白的語言。」他深愛中國人和他們的文化。他所採
取的傳教態度，就是極之尊重中國人，與中國人團結，甚至表
明「我願意在天堂仍是中國人。」他在遺囑裡要求葬在中國的
墓地，但這願望沒有受到尊重。
這兩位傳教士－－既是朋友又是敵人－－之間關係的故事說明了
在華傳教的兩種態度，讀起來好像一本刺激的推理小說，但在
此只可概括地描述。
安治泰主動採取的措施，往往令人生氣又備受爭議。事實上，
這些措施並沒有得到他的傳教兄弟，尤其是福若瑟所贊同。安
治泰說：「我的唯一目標，也是我一生的奮鬥和艱難的目的，
就是在孔子的出生地曲阜高舉基督的標準。」據安治泰說，這
「迷信之地」一旦倒下，基督宗教將在各地凱旋勝利。安治泰
的傳教策略是完全以對抗和一種必勝態度為基礎，但這種心態
從起初已激起中國人的反應，導致產生反基督徒的暴亂和迫害。
一八九七年十一月三日，兩位聖言會傳教士被殺。當時，安治
泰正在柏林－－並且按照公眾輿論－－促成威廉二世決定採取軍
事行動，佔領膠州，如此增加德國在整個山東省的影響力。
這次事件，連同其他因素和事件，引發一連串危機，最終為一
九零零年的義和團之亂鋪路。為賠償兩位傳教士被殺，福若瑟
反而只要求賠款，金額更不多於用來興建一座小聖堂的費用。
他亦要求把那些掩飾殺人事件的官員調職。福若瑟不想中國當
局丟臉，但他希望他們要負起保護基督徒和傳教士的責任。
福若瑟看見主教的決定及其牧民風格，愈來愈擔心，而且很快
發現自己身處進退兩難的境地。一方面，他明白聖言會的傳教
區會因他的會長和主教而走上毀滅之路。此外，他的兄弟沒有
勇氣對抗這位性情暴燥的主教，於是懇求身為安治泰的代權人，
也是傳教站的第二號人物福若瑟，去勸誡主教。另一方面，福
若瑟被他與安治泰之間的弟兄情誼所束縛，而且，由於修道的
服從願，他要極之尊重自己的長上。
衝突
福若瑟坦誠地跟主教談話，也寫信給他，而且在不同的場合上
這樣做。安治泰拒絕接受福若瑟的勸誡，並以《法典》的制裁
來威脅他。他們的關係變得難以處理。一八九四年二月廿六日，
福若瑟用心寫了一封既長又感動和悲傷的信給安治泰。我們可
閱讀以下的內容：
我們的傳教區現在的處境可悲，探其真正原因，就是
主教與整個傳教區之間缺乏正確的關係 …… 傳教士儘
量遠離主教府 …… 閣下所說的話盡是謊言、扭曲、矛
盾，和誹謗。沒有人再相信閣下的說話。主教在公開
與人交往時，常常說衝撞的話，這方式已令傳教士閉
口不言 …… 由於你飲酒太多，再不能控制舌頭或雙腿
…… 每人都取笑你。要我提及這些事情，真是極之痛
苦，我也邊寫邊流淚。該死的酒！甚至使最明智的人
變得麻木 …… 你的牧民探訪並不符合你的目標。閣下
只對於皈依者的人數感興趣，而不注重他們的素質 …
… 個別的傳教士不告訴你這些事。他們只說你想聽的
東西。我想對你說：這些浮誇的場面夠了！
主教閣下，我在這裡寫出一直藏在心裡多年的話。除
了兩次例外，十五年來我一直緘默，事實上，對於我
們在魯南的傳教區而言，這是嚴重的過失，我的良心
亦因承受沉重的責任而感到難過。但是，我不能再緘
默了。這情況的後果實在是太嚴重，而兄弟們請求我
干預，這正是我的職責。這關乎我們傳教區的生死存
亡。幾年前，我曾致函總會長，但由於本人的大錯，
我竟在寄出前把信撕掉。許多兄弟促請我要履行職責，
而我的良心也聽到，但自己卻把良心的呼聲壓下去，
提出一些似是而非的藉口，都是由於自我中心。如果
我在說話或解釋中有什麼冒犯之處，都不是故意的，
並求你見諒。到目前為止，我沒有直接跟你談及這事，
我沒有勇氣做閣下的朋友（請原諒我用這個字），真
實地、真誠地和開放地與閣下交往，儘管我原本應該
這樣做的。如閣下准許，我願意從今作你真正的朋友。
事實上，安治泰的反應並不積極。他禁止福若瑟再談論他。他
解僱所有為福若瑟工作的傳道員，並把他派往代牧區東面最偏
遠的地方，作為懲罰。此外，一八九四年秋，安治泰回歐洲渡
假期間，沒有按慣例委任福若瑟作傳教區的臨時主管。
事情每況愈下。山東省的年輕聖言會傳教士要拒絕從他們會長
安治泰的手裡發永願。傳教士看到傳教區在福若瑟身上才可得
救，於是繼續要求他干預。福若瑟必然發覺自己身處人生的十
字街頭，要求總會長寬免他的服從願，這事上他暫時得到允許。
福若瑟連同一群傳教士致函總會長，解釋傳教區的緊張狀況。
聖言會的創辦人及會長楊生一直尊重和信任福若瑟，他因然請
求宗座解除安治泰的牧職。
一八九四年九月廿八日，安治泰在一封措詞尖刻的信中，指責
福若瑟的種種「過失」：是他的死敵，密謀推翻他，想他下台。
他指控福若瑟誇耀自己的傳教成就，還不准福若瑟參與他（主
教）召開的省大會。他在結束時說：「我要去歐洲。我不知道
會否再見你。但對你的一切回憶將會是苦樂參半的。」
一八九四年十月六日，福若瑟立即回覆他。他反駁對方的指控，
聲稱自己是無辜的。他斷言這時候只渴望留在主教把他貶到山
東這偏遠的角落，和豁免其他一切職務。他以這些說話結束：
我懇求你千次，寬恕我有意或無意給你帶來的問題。
願仁慈的天主憐憫我這可憐的罪人，因為我使會長肩
上經已很重的十字架更加沉重。你不堪當的僕人懷著
敬意，懇求你給予宗座和牧民的祝福。
福若瑟
短暫的和好
翌年（一八九五年），安治泰嘗試糾正種種過份的行徑。他懇求
福若瑟寬恕，二人開始再次合作，因此，福若瑟在安治泰經常
缺席的時候出任臨時會長。福若瑟在安治泰的壓力下，甚至致
函羅馬－－當時，有關安治泰行為不檢的報告已抵達－－堅持主
教已盡很大的努力來糾正自己。福若瑟為維護安治泰而寫的這
封信令總會長楊生頓時失望，因為他恐怕安治泰的「皈依」會
是短暫的。
安治泰被召回羅馬
事實上，主教很快便重新沾染惡習，甚至比從前的更差。福若
瑟繼續忠實地勸誡這位看來已無望復元的主教。一九零一年，
傳信部萊多霍夫斯基（Ledochowski）樞機沒有經過深思熟慮，便因
楊生提出（免除安治泰職務）的要求而感到生氣，認為此舉干預
傳信部的特權。令人難以置信的，是他竟然使安治泰免受一切
指控。此外，萊多霍夫斯基堅稱，安治泰身為主教，只服從傳
信部，而無須再服從修會，因此，不可再騷擾他。在聖言會和
傳教區出現的情況相當混亂，再沒有任何方法來阻止主教。福
若瑟說：
我從沒有想過發生這樣的事，甚至連教會的最高層，
竟會如此草率地處理這些生死攸關的問題。我們幾乎
覺得必須高聲喊叫：竟然以如此低智來管理世界！……
不管羅馬有什麼決定，我們完全心安理得！但是，我
們因當局如此不明智而感到非常悲哀。
一九零二年，萊多霍夫斯基的繼任人戈蒂（Gotti）樞機被迫重開
這宗案件。這一次，安治泰沒有操縱有權勢的朋友來維護他。
他要求福若瑟與他一起往羅馬，替他辯護。福若瑟拒絕了，儘
管如此，安治泰承認福若瑟常常忠實地講出對自己的觀感。
安治泰到了羅馬，便要面臨以下的指控：（一）酗酒以致失去理
智；（二）犯了第六誡，立下極壞的榜樣；（三）以自己的名義興
建三座官邸；（四）甚少進行牧民探訪，只接受尊敬和盛宴；
（五）失去自制的能力，甚至虐待傳教士、基督徒和僕人，以致
沒有人願意為他工作；（六）只對於高層政治和特權感興趣；
（七）沒有提出正當的理由而剝奪傳教士的聽告解特權，又頒佈
互相矛盾的命令，例如提名二人擔任同一職位；（八）濫用為新
基督徒施行聖洗的特權，只著眼人數眾多，包括未有充份準備
的人或沒有真正認識基督的人，甚至在領洗冊上加入根本不存
在的人名；（九）傳教區的傳教士後悔因服從聖願而必須與他連
繫，部份人士想離開傳教區。
福若瑟於一九零零年獲選為聖言會山東省省會長。這些指控基
本上是根據他經宣誓後寫成的報告。其他傳教士，以及傳信部
兩位調查員，還有總會長楊生，都確定這些報告。可憐的安治
泰已無法為自己辯護。事實上，他在抵達羅馬後不久，於一九
零三年十一月廿五日，因心臟病而突然逝世。
福若瑟既然已是省會長，本應理所當然是安治泰的繼任人，而
總會長和他的兄弟也提名他。但是，德國公署否決這項建議，
聲稱福若瑟是奧國人，並非德國人，而他也被視為安治泰的敵
人。（安治泰與威廉二世的友情一向很好。）最後，折衷的選擇
落在出色的韓寧鎬（Augustine Henninghaus）神父身上，他繼承安治
泰出任宗座代牧，而福若瑟留任省會長一職。
帝國主義與謙遜
對於福若瑟和安治泰這兩位又敵又友的故事而言，這當然充滿
悲慘的人性和感性的幅度。安治泰這人物喚起傷感和痛苦而多
於醜聞。福若瑟於一九零八年一月廿八日逝世；他不幸看見自
己的朋友，即他的會長和主教日漸沉淪，卻沒有能力拯救他。
此外，他還要花很多時間來處理其會長所引起的醜聞和影響。
福若瑟並非殉道者，不過，筆者敢說，他這位不幸的傳教同伴
的遭遇很可能已給他帶來個人的、不斷的，和最深切的痛苦，
這是特別的殉道。
筆者在評價和研究中國的天主教會時，發現安治泰也許是唯一
在道德上應受嚴責的傳教人物；他把政治和民族主義議程凌駕
於傳教站的利益之上。他的宗教和政治態度是帝國主義的。不
過我們必須重申，安治泰亦並非毫無功績，尤其在初時。他的
不幸是深受酗酒影響，看來除了是道德的軟弱之外，也是一種
病狀。
安治泰的帝國主義和陋習是一個特殊的例子，肯定是筆者知道
的唯一例子。事實上，他的行為並不代表天主教傳教區的一般
態度。相反地，他的兄弟和他的總會長，還有羅馬當局（干預得
太遲了）並不同意安治泰的許多政治和牧民決策。傳教士和基督
徒都是這些決策的受害者。
福若瑟代表傳教使命的另一面：尊重、團結、持重、本地化、
沒有政治議程和民族主義利益。根據聖言會的其他神父所說，
福若瑟藉著天賦的才華和傳教熱忱，並藉著聖潔的生活，他對
於中國語文和文化的知識遠超過他們。韓寧鎬主教的說話也許
是最有意義和絕不平凡的。
福若瑟從沒有得到中國人的稱讚，也沒有勳章，也沒有當時中
國朝廷所慷慨賜予的表揚和榮譽。他沒有像其他傳教士一樣，
獲得任何東西，甚至連一個牌匾也沒有。為那些認識他生活環
境的人來說，這是更加非凡的。福若瑟神父懂得如何遠離外在
的一切稱讚。他從不願意離開謙遜僕人（milites gregarii）的行列，
而加入「政治軍人」的行伍，只懷著謙遜和忠誠來履行職責。　
鼎第二十三卷總第一百三十一期 (二零零三年冬季號)
Sept 2003 :
Freinademet
z, China
Missionary
and Saint

On
October 5,
2003, Pope
John Paul
II
proclaimed
Joseph
Freinademet
z (1852-
1908)
Divine Word
missionary
in China, a
saint.
Before
founding
the Divine
Word
Fathers'
mission in
Southern
Shandong
(1881),
Father
Freinademet
z worked
for two
years in
Hong Kong,
under
Bishop
Raimondi.

Joseph
Freinademet
z was born
in 1852 in
Southern
Tyrol which
at the time
belonged to
the
Austrian-
Hungarian
empire. In
1875, he
was
ordained a
priest, and
in 1879 he
met Arnold
Janssen,
founder of
the Society
of the
Divine
Word, (the
two were
canonized
together).
Freinademet
z decided
to enter
the new
missionary
society. At
Steyl in
Holland,
the first
Divine Word
Center, he
met the
young
German
priest John
Baptist
Anzer
(1851-
1903), and
their
destiny was
linked
forever.
A
heartbreaki
ng
relationshi
p

The
most
painful
event in
the life
and mission
of Joseph
Freinademet
z was,
without
doubt, his
relationshi
p with John
Baptist
Anzer
(1851-
1903), his
religious
superior
and his
bishop in
the
Shandong
China
mission.
Freinademet
z and Anzer
were among
the first
students of
the Society
of the
Divine
Word, and
the first
to be sent
in mission.
They were
friends and
companions
at Steyl,
the Divine
Word
Center, and
deeply fond
of each
other.
"Anzer,"
wrote
Freinademet
z from
Steyl in
1879, "is a
young,
energetic
and
courageous
priest. I
am sure
that he
will be a
wonderful
life
companion."
They left
Steyl
together
following a
moving
departure
ceremony,
the first
in the new
Divine Word
Society.
Together
they made
the long
voyage to
China,
which also
took them
to Hong
Kong, and
together
they
arrived in
Shandong
Province,
where they
set up the
first
Divine Word
mission.
Taking two
separate
paths

Along
the way of
life, the
two
companions
took very
different
paths.
Anzer
became
superior
and bishop
while
Freinademet
z
resolutely
refused
such
appointment
s. Anzer
was proud,
arrogant,
and lacking
in self-
discipline,
and even
violent in
some of his
dealings
with the
Chinese.
Freinademet
z, on the
other hand,
esteemed
the Chinese
and their
culture
deeply,
adopted a
missionary
attitude of
profound
respect for
and
solidarity
with the
Chinese
people
going so
far as to
declare
that "in
heaven I
want to be
Chinese."
In his will
he had also
asked to be
buried in
the Chinese
cemetery, a
wish that
was not
respected.
Two
missionary
attitudes

The
story of
the
relationshi
p between
these two
missionarie
s - friends
and
adversaries
-
illustrates
the two
missionary
attitudes
in China.
Anzer's
missionary
strategy
was based
totally on
confrontati
on and a
triumphal
attitude.
This
immediately
provoked a
negative
reaction
from the
Chinese,
which
resulted in
anti-
Christian
riots and
persecution
s.

On
November 3,
1897, two
Divine Word
missionarie
s were
killed.
Anzer, who
was in
Berlin at
the time
and,
according
to popular
opinion,
contributed
to Kaiser
Wilhelm
II's
decision to
occupy
Jiaozhou
militarily,
and along
with other
factors and
events,
brought on
the crisis
that made
way for the
Boxer
Rebellion
of 1900.
Anzer's
behaviour
raises
alarm

Freinad
emetz
looked upon
the
bishop's
decisions
and his
pastoral
style with
increasing
alarm, and
soon found
himself in
a terrible
dilemma. On
the one
hand, he
realized
that the
Divine Word
mission was
on the road
to ruin.
Moreover,
his
confreres,
who did not
have the
courage to
confront
the
irascible
bishop,
begged
Freinademet
z, who was
Anzer's
pro-vicar
administrat
or and
number two
in the
mission, to
admonish
the bishop.
On the
other hand,
Freinademet
z was tied
to Anzer by
fraternal
bonds, and
had
profound
respect for
his
superior to
whom he
owed
religious
obedience.
A letter
from the
heart and
the
conscience

Freinad
emetz spoke
and wrote
to the
bishop
frankly.
Anzer
refused to
accept
Freinademet
z's
admonitions
, and
threatened
him with
canonical
sanctions.
Their
relationshi
p became
impossible.
In his
long,
touching
and tragic
letter of
February
26, 1894,
Freinademet
z wrote:
"The real
reason for
the
lamentable
situation
of our
mission is
the lack of
proper
relations
between the
bishop on
the one
hand and
whole of
the mission
on the
other...The
missionarie
s stay as
far away as
they can
from the
bishop's
house...
What Your
Excellency
says is a
mixture of
lies,
distortions
,
contradicti
ons, and
defamations
. No one
can believe
what Your
Excellency
says any
longer. The
bishop's
way of
often using
extremely
offensive
language in
dealing
with
persons in
public has
shut the
mouths of
the
missionarie
s...
Because you
drink too
much, you
are no
longer able
to control
your tongue
or your
legs... ?
and
everyone is
laughing at
you. It is
extremely
painful for
me to
mention
these
things and
I weep as I
write.
Curse the
wine that
transforms
into a
stupor even
the wisest
of men...
Your
pastoral
visits do
not meet
your
purpose.
Your
Excellency
is only
interested
in big
numbers,
and not in
the quality
of
converts...
Individual
missionarie
s do not
tell you
these
things.
They tell
you only
what you
want to
hear. I
want to say
to you:
enough of
these
pompous
spectacles!

"Excell
ency, I
have
written
here what I
have held
hidden
within my
heart for
many years.
With only
two
exceptions,
I have
remained
silent for
15 years,
committing,
in fact, a
serious
wrong to
our mission
in Southern
Shandong
and
saddening
my own
conscience
with the
weight of a
grave
responsibil
ity. But I
can no
longer
remain
silent. The
consequence
s of this
situation
are too
grave and
my
confreres
beg me to
intervene;
it is my
duty to do
so. It is a
matter of
life and
death for
our
mission...
If there is
something
offensive
in the
words I
have chosen
or in my
explanation
, this is
not my
intention,
and on my
knees I beg
your
forgiveness
. Not
speaking
about this
with you
directly,
up to now,
I have not
had the
courage to
be a friend
(forgive me
the word)
true,
sincere and
open with
Your
Excellency,
which I
ought to
have been.
If Your
Excellency
so permits,
I would
want to be
your true
friend from
now on."
Anzer's
response

Anzer
reacted by
forbidding
Freinademet
z, under
obedience,
to speak
any more
about him.
He
dismissed
all the
catechists
working for
Freinademet
z who, as a
punishment,
was sent to
the eastern
most remote
part of the
Vicariat.
Moreover,
when in the
fall of
1894, Anzer
took leave
to go to
Europe,
Freinademet
z was not
nominated
as interim
head of the
mission, as
custom
would have
required.
The
situation
went from
bad to
worse.
Freinademet
z requested
his
superior
general for
a
dispensatio
n from the
obligation
of
religious
obedience
to free him
to explain
frankly to
Janssen
about the
tension-
filled
state of
the
mission.
Janssen,
superior
and founder
of the
Divine Word
Society,
petitioned
the Holy
See to have
Anzer
relieved of
his
administrat
ion.

In a
letter of
September
28, 1894,
Anzer
accused
Freinademet
z of
various
offenses:
being his
mortal
enemy,
secretly
plotting
against him
and wanting
his
downfall.
He ended
the letter
by saying,
" I am
leaving for
Europe. I
do not know
if I will
see you
again. But
my memories
of you will
always be
bittersweet
."
Anzer
undertakes
a reform

The
following
year (1895)
Anzer tried
to correct
his
excesses.
On his
knees he
begged
Freinademet
z' pardon,
and the two
began to
collaborate
once again,
so much so
that
Freinademet
z was named
interim
superior
during
Anzer's
frequent
absences.
Under
pressure
from Anzer,
Freinademet
z even
wrote a
letter to
Rome -
where
reports of
Anzer's
unworthy
behavior
had arrived
- asserting
that the
bishop was
making
heroic
efforts to
correct
himself.
Rome
responds to
the
situation

The
bishop,
however,
soon lapsed
back into
his vices,
taking a
turn for
the worse.
In 1901,
the Prefect
of
Propaganda
Fide,
Cardinal
Ledochowski
, badly
advised,
and
irritated
by
Janssen's
request to
have Anzer
removed,
considered
this
interferenc
e in the
prerogative
s of
Propaganda.
Incredibly,
he
exonerated
Anzer from
the
accusations
.

In
1902,
Cardinal
Gotti,
Ledochowski
's
successor,
was
compelled
to reopen
the case.
This time
Anzer could
not
manipulate
powerful
friends to
come to his
defense.

Once in
Rome Anzer
had to
confront
multiple
accusations
. These
were based
substantial
ly on
reports
that
Freinademet
z, who in
1900 had
been
elected
superior of
the Divine
Word
missionarie
s in
Shandong
Province,
had written
under oath.
Poor Anzer
had no way
to defend
himself. He
died
suddenly
from a
heart
attack on
November
25, 1903,
shortly
after he
arrived in
Rome.
Life after
Anzer's
death

Freinad
emetz, who
was already
provincial
superior,
was the
natural
candidate
to succeed
Anzer; the
Superior
General and
his
confreres
proposed
him. But
the German
Chancery
vetoed the
proposal
saying that
Freinademet
z was
Austrian
and not
German.
Furthermore
, he was
considered
Anzer's
adversary.
Anzer
enjoyed
Kaiser
Wilhelm's
friendship.

There
is
certainly a
tragic
human and
affective
dimension
to
Freinademet
z and
Anzer's
story,
friends and
adversaries
. The human
figure of
Anzer
arouses
more
sadness and
pain than
scandal.
Freinademet
z, who died
on January
28, 1908,
had the
misfortune
to see his
friend,
superior
and bishop
sink deeper
and deeper
without
being able
to save
him.
Freinademet
z the saint

Freinad
emetz was
superior to
all the
other
Verbiti
Fathers in
his
knowledge
of the
Chinese
language
and
culture, by
talent and
missionary
zeal, and
by the
sanctity of
his life.
Although
Freinademet
z did not
die a
martyr, it
is highly
probable
that the
event of
his
unfortunate
mission
companion
must have
caused him
a personal,
constant
and most
painful
anguish, a
special
kind of
martyrdom.
The words
of Bishop
Henninghaus
are perhaps
the most
meaningful
and not at
all
ordinary:

"Freina
demetz
never
received
any praise
from the
Chinese, no
decorations
, no
imperial
commendatio
n, no
honors such
as the
Chinese
government
of the time
was so
generous in
bestowing.
Nothing,
not even
was an
inscription
made for
him, such
as many
other
missionarie
s have
received.
That is all
the more
extraordina
ry for
those that
know the
circumstanc
es of his
life.
Father
Freinademet
z knew how
to stay far
away from
every
external
tribute. He
was always
the humble
servant. He
had one
wish only:
to do his
duty with
modesty and
faithfulnes
s."
Ecce venio, See, I come.
Lord Jesus Christ!
One world~
One heart many faces!
「The only language understood by people everywhere is the language of love.」 - Joseph
Freinademetz
From 2003 《福若瑟 Joseph Freinademetz – Serving the People of China》
Published by: Societas Verbi Divini – Society of the Divine Word （Steyl Missionaries）
Rome
Compiled by: Sepp Hollweck SVD
Edited by: Stefan Ueblackner SVD

Translation: Jacqueline Mulberge SSpS
Photos: SVD
INFORMATION
More information on the Divine Word Missionaries
and the Holy Spirit Missionary Sisters,
as well as on Joseph Freinademetz
and Aronld Janssen can be found on the Internet
www.svd.org(USA)
www.steyler.de(Germany)
www.steyler.at(Austria)
www.steyler.ch(Switzerland)
www.oies.it(German)
www.freinademetz.it( German、English、Italian)
http://webs.sinectis.com.ar/svdarg(Spanish)
http://www.verbodivino.pt(Portuguese)
http://www.ssps.org.br(Portuguese)
http://vivatinternational.org(NGO-NY)
http://195.202.176.112/freinademetz/index.htm
Joseph Freinademetz SVD
（1852-1908）
Pioneer of the Divine Word Missionaries in China
canonized on October 5、2003
together with Arnold Janssen
Founder of the Divine Word Missionaries
「To be a missionary is the finest task in the world.」 - Joseph Freinademetz

聖楊生神父與聖福若瑟神父
逝世百年紀念彌撒
2009/01/17 輔仁大學淨心堂
100th
Anniversary of the death of St.Joseph Freinademetz andSt. Arnold Janssen
2009/01/17 Fu Jen Catholic University
為了使命奉獻生命是珍貴的
Precious is the Life Given for Mission.
＜Joseph Freinademetz – A Saint ?＞
Others...
天主聖神愛的火燄
感動著我們去分享
來自於那天主的愛
(Amen)
Saint Joseph Freinademetz was not an obvious leader. He did not found a religious order
and he never became a bishop; he was almost always in second place. He did not write a
significant theological treatise、nor did he develop any new mission methods; he did not
die a martyr but、like many others in China、fell victim to a typhus epidemic.
Why would the Church canonize such a man?
When he died、one Chinese man said、「It is as if I had lost father and mother!」 He had
come to love the people、『his』 Chinese people – love them so much that for their sake
he never wanted to return to his own country. He wanted to be buried among them and
even to be counted among them in heaven. Joseph Freinademetz is a 『saint of
charity』、as the Church puts it.
「When we speak of self-realization、the Christian must think of realizing Christ,」 said
Pope John Paul II. The Church calls the saints 「friends of God.」 According to a Latin
proverb: 「To want the same thing and to reject the same thing、that is friendship.」
Joseph Freinademetz lived that kind of friendship. He wanted what Christ wanted、and he
rejected whatever he could not square with God’s will.
At the beginning of his ministry in South Shandong he wrote、「I am alone in the midst of
a completely pagan people. Deo gratias. But what will I do here、what can I build? Dear
God、you build、otherwise I will build in vain; you do battle、you stand watch、otherwise
in vain! May the harvest indeed be great、but…God wills it! So set to work!」
＜Joseph Freinademetz SVD – Missionary from Steyl＞
「I do not regard being a missionary as a sacridice offered to God、but as a grace that God
gives to me.」 - Joseph Freinademetz

Arnold Janssen、with several companions、founded the first Catholic mission house for
German-speaking regions in the Dutch village of Steyl in the fall of 1875. The humble
beginnings bordered on real poverty. However、its farsighted and attractive press
apostolate soon made the Mission Institute of Steyl well known. The European 「mission
fervor」 of the times rapidly transformed Janssen’s modest initiative into a significant
missionary order: the Divine Word Missionaries.
News of the young Mission House in Steyl reached the distant mountain valleys of South
Tyrol and struck a chord in the heart of the young curate、Joseph Freinademez. His wish
to become a missionary had already formed during his seminary days and he lost no time
in acting. In January 1878 he saw the article about the Steyl Mission House in the Brixen
diocesan bulletin. At the end of August he moved to Steyl、and in March 1879 he traveled
with John B. Anzer to China. Freinademetz and Anzer were the first two missionaries to go
out from Steyl.
Joseph Freinademetz became a missionary not in Steyl、but rather in China – and the
process was very personal and at times painful. At the end of that process he no longer
regarded the people of China as objects whom he was sent to baptize、but people with
and among whom he wanted to live God’s love、making that love tangible. That is the
enduring legacy of his life – for the missionaries of Steyl and for the entire Church.
< Tyrolean View of World and Church >
When Joseph Freinademetz went to Steyl、it was the first time he had traveled beyond his
native mountain valleys; he was 26 years old. His life、habits、world view and idea of the
Church had been formed by the small、intensely Catholic world in which he grew up.
Church moral teaching determined both private and public life、the course of the year was
defined by the liturgical calendar. Its fidelity to the Church had earned Tyrol its reputation
as a 『holy land.』 In 1837、Protestants were still being driven from their homes in Tyrol
because of their beliefs. Prince Bishop Vinzenz Gasser of Brixen fought with all his might
against the religious freedom the Viennese government had managed to assert、offering
his resignation to Pope Pius IX because two Protestant parishes were established in his
diocese in 1876.
The parishioners of St. Martin’s greeted their curate with 「praised be Jesus Christ,」 and
the children kissed his hand. A dominant theme in his often rather long sermons was 『sin
and hell,』 as was customary at the time. That was the 『thoroughly Catholic』 world in
which Joseph Freinademetz was at home.
When the son of the mountains of Tyrol landed in Hong Kong in April 1879、it was with the
intention from then on 「to convert the poor pagans and root out idolatry and unbelief.」
in a sermon at St. Martin’s he had declared、「When I think of those unfortunate lands
and peoples where the darkest night of paganism reigns、where the true religion is
unknown、of those people who are also our brothers and sisters、my heart beats
passionately、and tears well up in my eyes.」 In his farewell sermon he said、「I know
the surpassing misery of our brothers across the oceans who、with tears in their
eyes、stretch out their hands toward us、imploring help.」
p.s.
《聖福若瑟神父語錄》/ 尤恩禮編輯 / 薛保綸神父翻譯
八月十八日
Our unfortunate brothers stretch our their arms toward us and call upon our help with
tears in their eyes. What else should I do than to take the pilgrim’s staff、trusting in Jesus
the good shepherd and in Mary the star of he sea、and to answer: Ecce venio、See、I
come.
我們不幸的弟兄們，向我們張開手，哭泣著要我們幫助。我除了依靠耶穌善牧和海星聖母瑪利亞，啟程與
他們同去，口裡答覆說：「主，看，我來了！」（1878 年 8 月 18 日在故鄉的道理）
「…for your Chinese…」
On August 15、1886、Freinademetz took final vows. With its first General Chapter、the
community in Steyl had become the』Society of the years old and had been in China for
seven years、four of them in South Shandong. 」Thus I vow to you、holy Triune God…」
are the words of the vow formula.
For Freinademetz、however、the vows were not only his interior、unconditional、total
commitment to the Creator. Through them he bound his life inseparably to the people of
China. He not only offered his strength、his energy and his life for them -
「pray、work、suffer…」 – he also bound his life after death、his hope of eternal
happiness、to them. That is、he could not even imagine life in heaven without the
Chinese. He confided to his diary: 「With this、brother Joseph、the die is cast;
pray、work、suffer、endure. Your whole life for your beloved Chinese、then when you
come to the evening of your life and lie on your deathbed、you can sleep surrounded by
your dear Chinese. Adieu! Farewell forever dear homeland beyond the sea!」
BECOMING A CHINESE TO THE CHINESE
Joseph had come to love the people、his ’dear Chinese』. When he was preparing for vows
he had written home: 「I assure you honestly and sincerely that I love China and the
Chinese… Now that I have less difficulty with the language and know the people and theit
way of life better、China has become not only my homeland but also the battlefield on
which I will one day fall…」 Although the 『battlefield』 comparison sounds strange to us
nowadays、we can understand his meaning、namely that he was not committing himself
to an idea、and not just for the Kingdom of God in general、but for these specific people
with whom he dealt day in、day out、for those whom he loved; not in some kind of
supernatural sense but for themselves. He wrote to his sister: 「I want to live and die with
the Chinese.」
Not everyone appreciated his attitude. To some、his affection for the Chinese people and
everything Chinese appeared exaggerated.
But his first biographer、Henninghaus、who later became bishop and who had worked with
him for many years、stressed time and again that Freinademetz was by no means blind to
the faults and weaknesses of the Chinese people. Henninghaus compared his affection with
the love that Paul proclaimed in his letter to the Corinthians: 「Love is always ready to
make allowances、to trust、to hope and to endure whatever comes.」
< Man of Prayer >
「Prayer is our strength、our sword、our consolation and the key to paradise.」
Freinademetz was what one would call a 『great man of prayer,』 and a 『spiritual』
person. In his preparatory work for the first diocesan synod of South Shandong、his
fundamental attitude became clear in the synod paper on 「The Clergy.」「Do you
imagine you can become holy without meditation、something no saint was able to do?
Meditation is a waste of time? The very opposite is true. Without meditation life is lost.
Furthermore、set aside one day a month for prayer and meditation. Such days are among
life’s most beautiful and enriching. On such days the Holy Spirit has promised to speak to
our hearts.」
Just to see him at prayer was edifying for many: 「Mostly he knelt in the sanctuary of the
church; and for us it was an extraordinary experience to see him at prayer. The image of
that kneeling priest is indelibly impressed in my memory. You got the impression that
nothing could disturb him. H was agreat man of prayer. His piety was open and aroused
fervor」 (Cardinal Tien).
Henninghaus states straight out that 「Prayer」 was his 「life element and life’s joy,」 it
was the 「source from which he lived.」 Even when he had to work until late at night、he
still took time for prayer and spiritual reading. In summer、Freinademetz often began his
working day at 3 a.m.、with prayer and meditation. He preferred to pray the breviary
kneeling、mainly very erect without an support. He may often have recalled his childhood
when the whole family knelt every day on the hard boards of the living room、praying the
rosary before the house altar.
He celebrated holy Mass 「in a dignified and devout manner、without haste but without
irritating slowness」 (Henninghauw). The man from Tyrol obviously did not wish to be
importunate in these things either.
The official name of the Steyl missionaries、『Society of the Divine Word』、fitted as if
tailored made for him: 「Daily spiritual reading. Do not let even a single day pass without
meditating on sacred scripture which has been called the Priest’s Book. Woe to you if the
well-springs of devotion in you run dry!」 he exhorted in one of the synod papers.
He himself knew the Bible inside out. He frequently quoted scripture、mostly in Latin、and
above all he was always able to find suitable comparisons for current situations; i.e. he
had truly internalized the Bible. It was not a dead letter for him、not 『dry,』 but full of
life、a well from which he knew how to draw water.

With the same intensity he challenged his confreres to continue to update themselves:
「Cultivate serious study! Sacred scripture says、『Because you have despised wisdom、I
will despise you』.」 That、too、is an example of the way in which he could quote the
Bible.
主耶穌為人服務
教宗是僕人的僕人
天主派遣祂的子民去傳揚天國福音
(Amen)
J.F. significant Dates

April 4、1852 Joseph Freinademetz born in Oies、Abtei、South Tyrol
1858-1862 Ladin primary shool in Abtei
1862-1876 German primary school、high school and Philosophy/Theology in Brixen
July 25、1875 Priestly ordination
1876-1878 Curate at St. Martin’s in the Gader Valley
1878-1879 Steyl
March 2、1879 Mission-departure celebration、farewell to his home country
1879-1881 Saikung、Hong Kong
1882 Arrival in Puoli、South Shandong
1882-1884 Itinerant missionary
1884-1886 Mission administrator
August 15、1886 Final vows
1886-1890 Itinerant missionary
1892 Coordinator of the Diocesan Synod; visitation tour
1893-1894 Director of catechist courses
1895-1897 Director of the major seminary
Nov. 1、1897 Murder of Fathers Nies and Henle
Nov.14 1897 Occupation of Kiaochow Bay by German troops
1898 New mission stations in the east of South Shandong
1899-1900 Mission administrator(1900 Boxer Uprising)
1900 Appointment as Provincial
1904-1907 Working with Bishop Henninghaus; Provincial center established in Taikia
Jan. 28、1908 Death of Joseph Freinademetz in Taikia、South Shandong
Oct. 19、1975 Beatification of J. Freinademetz and A. Janssen by Paul VI
Oct. 5、2003 Canonization of J. Freinademetz and A. Janssen by John Paul II
Divine Word Missionaries Our Founder and Cofounders
Arnold Janssen was born on November 5, 1837 in Goch, a small city in lower Rhineland (Germany).
Arnold inaugurated the mission house on September 8, 1875 in Steyl, Holland, and thus began the Divine Word
Missionaries. Already on March 2, 1879 the first two missionaries set out for China. One of these was Joseph
Freinademetz. From the beginning the new congregation developed as a community of both priests and Brothers.The
volunteers at the mission house included women as well as men. From practically the very beginning, a group of
women, including Blessed Maria Helena Stollenwerk, served the community. But their wish was to serve the mission
as Religious Sisters. The faithful, selfless service they freely offered, and a recognition of the important role women
could play in missionary outreach, urged Arnold to found the mission congregation of the “Servants of the Holy
Spirit,” SSpS, on December 8, 1889. The first Sisters left for Argentina in 1895.
In 1896 Fr. Arnold selected some of the Sisters to form a cloistered branch, to be known as “Servants of the Holy
Spirit of Perpetual Adoration”, SSpSAP. Their service to mission would be to maintain an uninterrupted adoration of
the Blessed Sacrament, praying day and night for the church and especially for the other two active missionary
congregations.
Saint Arnold Janssen, SVD (1837-1909)
Joseph Freinademetz was born on April 15, 1852, in Oies, a small hamlet of five houses situated in the Dolomite Alps
of northern Italy. He was ordained a priest on July 25, 1875, and assigned to the community of Saint Martin very near
his own home, With his bishop's permission, Joseph entered the mission house in Steyl, Netherlands, in August
1878. On March 2, 1879, he received his mission cross and departed for China with Fr. John Baptist Anzer, another
Divine Word Missionary.
Freinademetz learned how to discover the greatness and beauty of Chinese culture and to love deeply the people to
whom he had been sent. He dedicated his life to proclaiming the gospel message of God's love for all peoples, and to
embodying this love in the formation of Chinese Christian communities. He animated these communities to open
themselves in solidarity with the surrounding inhabitants. And he encouraged many of the Chinese Christians to be
missionaries to their own people as catechists, religious, nuns and priests. His life was an expression of his motto:
“The language that all people understand is that of love.”
Arnold died on January 15, 1909. His life was filled with a constant search for God's will, a great confidence in divine
providence, and hard work. That his work has been blessed is evident in the subsequent growth of the communities
he founded: more than 6,000 Divine Word Missionaries are active in 63 countries, more than 3,800 missionary
Servants of the Holy Spirit, and more than 400 Servants of the Holy Spirit of Perpetual Adoration.m
St.Joseph Freinademetz (1852-1908)
Blessed Maria Virgo (Helena Stollenwerk) was born in Rollesbroich, Germany on Nov. 28, 1852.
Josepha Hendrina Stenmanns, SSpS 1852-1903

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圣言会庆典开幕礼 纪念会祖一百周年

作者：邓 来源：公教报 2008 年 02 月 04 日 点击数： 338 次 【大 中

圣福若瑟神父（J. Freinademetz）一九○八年一月二十九在山东逝世，圣杨生神父（A. Janssen）

Freinademetz was very active in the education of Chinese laymen and

There was an outbreak of typhus in this time, and he helped wherever

Spiritual reading: Love is the only language

Whenever the bishop had to go to Europe Joseph became the administrator of

Saint Josef Freinademetz

"Love is the only language everyone understands."

Joseph Freinademetz (1852-1908)

Joseph Freinademetz was born on April 15, 1852, in Oies, a small

While Joseph was studying theology in the diocesan seminary of

With his bishop's permission, Joseph entered the mission house in

Soon Joseph came to appreciate the importance of a committed laity,

When the bishop had to travel outside of China in 1907, Freinademetz

Freinademetz learned how to discover the greatness and beauty of

He worked initially with Franciscan missionaries so he and his group

It was a time of persecution of Christians in China; many in

The abuse of the missionaries led to some foreign governments to

Freinademetz devoted himself wholeheartedly to his people and

Saint Joseph Freinademetz (Chinese name: 若瑟聖福 / 若瑟圣福, pinyin:

Saint Joseph Freinademetz

Josef Freinademetz, China missionary

Freinademetz was very active in the education of Chinese laymen and

There was an outbreak of typhus in this time, and he helped wherever

Freinademetz and Arnold Janssen were canonized on October 5, 2003 by

5. Saint Joseph Freinademetz Congregation in Beijing

The Saint Joseph Freinademetz congregation in Beijing is a German

5. 1. History of German fellowship in Beijing

 1988 eldest recorded "first holy communion" with 8 children.

In 2001 a working group ‘congregation council’ was found and

The congregation attended also the annual conference of German

5. 2. Recent activities of the congregation

Being a religious home for German speaking Christians in Beijing and

First of all, the congregation offers every second Saturday evening a

Finally St. Joseph Freinademetz congregation matches the recent

1. ^ Joseph Freinademetz - Serving the People of China

 Biography - Vatican News Service

[Biographies of Blessed Joseph describe that day thus:

Secondly, on 28 January 2002, a day before Blessed Joseph’s feast this

The figure of Blessed Joseph makes us reflect on the challenge of

The cardinal’s perplexity is like a fulfillment of a wish of Blessed Joseph.

The depths of inculturation that Blessed Joseph achieved is even more

Fraternally in the Divine Word,

Prayer to St. Joseph Freinademetz - I (January 29)

Roma 5 Ottobre 2003

Arnold Janssen was born on November 5,

Canonizzazione Josef Freinademetz (1852-

Roma 5 Ottobre 2003

Joseph Freinademetz was born on April 15, 1852 in

Already during the studies of theology in the Seminar of Bressanone he began to

Rev. FREINADEMETZ, Joseph SVD

*Birth: [15 April 1852]

*Pet Tam Chung, Sai Kung: [1879]

Bishop Zhao Fengchang of Yanggu and Linqing, Shandong province, said on 8

Yanggu, 440 kilometres south of Beijing, was where Blessed Freinademetz’s

Blessed Joseph Freinademetz, known as Blessed Joseph of Shangdong, once wrote, “I

Freinademetz and Anzer:

Gianni Criveller, PIME

On October 5, 2003, Pope John Paul II proclaimed Joseph Freinademetz

Joseph Freinademetz was born in 1852 in Southern Tyrol in the small

In 1875, he was ordained a priest for the Bressanone diocese and

The story of the relationship between these two missionaries -

Anzer took on provocative and controversial initiatives that were

圣言会庆典开幕礼纪念会祖一百周年

作者：邓来源：公教报 2008 年 02 月 04 日点击数： 338 次【大中

鼎第二十三卷總第一百三十一期 (二零零三年冬季號)

《聖福若瑟神父語錄》/ 尤恩禮編輯 / 薛保綸神父翻譯