From Our Pastor's Desk
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From Our Pastor's Desk
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Shrine of Mary, Queen of the Martyrs “America, as we well know, has ever been a hero worshipping country. Our national heroes, explorers, navigators, soldiers, our great educational leaders, our scientists and poets are enshrined in our halls of fame. But what of our spiritual heroes, our saints, our martyrs…? Have we no care for them, no shrines to their memory? Are they not too worthy of honor?” Bishop John Mark Gannon Chair, Commission for the US Martyrs, 1957 “Our hope is that this place will be a spiritual blessing for many who come to pray and to learn about those who gave their lives to bring and to establish the Faith in our lands.” Chris Stavres President, Martyrs of La Florida Missions Petitioner in the Cause for Beatification Location and Significance of the Site On August 28, 2017, Bishop Bill Wack of Pensacola-Tallahassee, bishop leading the beatification effort, blessed the land and effort. This peaceful land is located along the old mission road, El Camino Real. Primary documents indicate that on or near this land, just west of the land that once was Mission San Pedro y Pablo de Patale , site of the martyrdom of Fr. Mendoza and his native sacristan, the Last Battle was fought and lost for the Catholic Missions and the Faith in Apalachee (Tallahassee). Servant of God, Baltasar Francisco, was captured at this last stand, tied to an outdoor Cross that surrounded the mission plaza, and was tortured and killed. All the while, he proclaimed the Faith from the cross. Following the devastating loss, the missions would fall like dominoes east across El Camino and the voice of the faithful would be silenced. Yet, God remembers His faithful ones and takes delight in his saints. And the land tells a compelling story, not lost on visitors today. On a beautiful afternoon on October 12, 2015 the land hosted the opening of the beatification cause! There is a magnificent home on the back 20 acres that is not part of the design plans for the shrine. The home and 20 acres are available for purchase. We pray that a community or individual buys it to restore it for use as a guest home or ministry. Details can be seen on Mansion And The Oaks.com We will continue next week with Curriculum & Project Martyrs Source: Martyrs - Martyrs of La Florida Missions - Tallahassee, FL Fr. Paschal Chester, SVD Arnold Janssen was born in Goch, in the Rhineland, Germany, not far from the Dutch border, one of eleven siblings. He developed a deep, simple faith. His first school was the Catholic Augustinianum High School in Gaesdonck, which is near his birthplace. He did his college degree, then studied theology and was ordained to the priesthood on 15 August 1861.
For a while he worked as a high school teacher in Bocholt, Germany, teaching physics and catechism. His real passion, however, was the mission. In 1867 he became the director of the Apostolaat des Gebeds for Germany and Austria and founded a scien-tific institute in Mödling, near Vienna. He also founded, in 1874, the German language journal "Kleiner Herz-Jesu Bote" (Little Messenger of the Sacred Heart), which looked to enlist the faithful in prayer and support for the mission. The Kulturkampf, however, hampered his efforts, and Janssen purchased land in Steyl, the Netherlands to begin his seminary, dedicated in 1875 as the "St. Michael the Archangel Mission House". Within a few years, many seminarians, priests and brothers were preparing for missionary service there, and the first two missionaries, Joseph Freinademetz and John Baptist Anzer, were sent to China. St. Arnold Janssen also founded two congregations of Religious Sisters: The Holy Spirit Missionary Sisters (members known as "Sister Servants of the Holy Spirit") on December 8, 1889, and the Holy Spirit Adora-tion Sisters ("Sister Servants of the Holy Spirit of Perpetual Adoration") on September 8, 1896. Arnold Janssen was canonized together with Joseph Freinadmetz and Daniel Comboni on October 05th, 2003 by St. John Paull II Note: The Kultukkampf was the “cultural movement”, called “culture struggle” that refers to a German police to reduce the role and power of the Roman Catholic Church in Prussia enacted from 1871 to 1878 and headed by Otto Von Bismarck, who as the prime minister of Prussia. During this time convent and seminaries were closed, and no priest was allowed to wear the clergy attire outside the church. The Cause for Beatification
History of the Beatification Effort Finally, in the early 1980s the founding Bishop of Pensacola-Tallahassee, René Henry Gracida, in cooperation with all of the Florida bishops, took steps to open the cause for sixteen Florida martyrs, including three Dominicans (1549), one Jesuit (1566), ten Franciscans (1647, 1704), and two native Indians (1704). In 1982 Bishop Gracida met in Rome with Father Antonio Cairoli, Postulator General of the Franciscans, and he worked with historian Monsignor William Kerr, who was to accept appointment as Vice-Postulator. Bishop Gracida was advised by Cardinal Palazzini, Prefect of the Sacred Congregation for the Cause of Saints and Divine Worship, to put the effort on hold because ap-proval of a new set of procedures for historic causes was expected. Father Alban Maquire, O.F.M., Minister Provin-cial of Holy Name Province of Franciscan Friars in New York, wrote to Bishop Gracida: “Since in any case a process of canonization takes a considerable amount of time, we can afford to be patient for a few more months.” Yet Bishop Gracida testified that “there is an important story to be told . . . The martyrs have a place in history and are acknowledged by historians. The martyrs should also have a place in our religious memories, so that their lives might inspire and teach that service involves sacrifice” (1983 Report of Bishop Gracida to the Florida bishops) In July 1983, however, Bishop Gracida was transferred to the see of Corpus Christi, Texas. His successor in Pensacola-Tallahassee, Bishop Symons, determined that funds were not available to continue the necessary research and notified the other Florida bishops. Yet, shortly thereafter, with the blessing and direction of Bishop John Ricard, the effort was renewed as a result of local devotion, including a lay effort to understand the history of seventy-eight acres of land on the east side of Tallahassee (now being held in hopes funding will allow it to become the future site of the Shrine of Mary, Queen of the Martyrs, located approximately a mile from the land Bishop Gracida purchased to build a shrine in memory of the martyrs). Bishop Gannon’s efforts, it should be said, were anticipated and made possible by testimonies from those close to the events themselves. This is true for the Franciscan and Indian martyrs of northern Florida. King Philip V of Spain was so moved by the martyrdoms of the Apalachee Indians of the Mission of La Concepción de Ayubale (Tallahassee) that in August of 1704 he notified Pope Clement XI (r. 1700– 1721) that the Indians “gave their lives in the name of Jesus Christ Our Redeemer, imitating the glorious martyrs of the church, and may their names and veneration be wor-thy in time.” The Spanish Ambassador in Rome, the IV Duke of Uceda, responded that His Holiness the Pope “heard with great pain such a sad event and (yet) with consolation to see the determination with which they sacrificed their lives for the Faith.” Directed by the Pope, the Franciscans took sworn testimony about the martyrdoms of Franciscans and native Indians. Archival research has brought to light this as well as other rich testimonies. Finally, in 1743, King Philip V, “keeper of the Patronage of the Holy Catholic Church in my Kingdoms of the Indies, by virtue of the ius patronatus that was conferred on me through the successively issued Papal Bulls, to wit, Inter caetera, Eximiae devo-tionis, Ullius fulcite praesidio, and Universalis Ecclesiae, all of them set and confirmed by His Holiness Pope Julius II, of happy memory, and for all my dominions overseas,” established October 3rd as the day to commemorate yearly the martyrs of La Florida. King Ferdinand VI, succeeding Philip V, ordered the continued celebration of these holy martyrs. We will continue next week with The Cause for Beatification Source: Martyrs - Martyrs of La Florida Missions - Tallahassee, |
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