SEELOS IN FÜSSEN

U.S. Seelos Shrine Newsletter

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ST MANG, FÜSSEN

Saturday-1st Mass of Sunday 1800hrs preceded by 1700hrs Rosary (Choir stools) and Confession at 1730hrs(Baptism Chapel)

Sunday 1030hrs

Monday 0830hrs(St Mang ) 1700hrs Rosary(Krippkirche)

Wednesday 1500-1900hrs(Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament in the Krippkirche)

Thursday 1700hrs Rosary (Krippkirche)

Friday 1830hrs Mass followed by 30 minutes Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament (Krippkirche) 

ACHT SELIGKEITEN,FÜSSEN WEST

Sunday Mass 0800hrs, 1800hrs. Thursday 0830hrs

ST WALBURGA,WEIßENSEE

Sunday Mass 0900hrs. Tuesday May-September 1900hrs. October-April 0830hrs(St Nicholas Oberkirch/Wieskapelle) 

ST PETER & PAUL,HOPFEN AM SEE

Sunday Mass 1000hrs.

Wednesday 1900hrs 

ST STEPHEN FRANCISCAN CHURCH

Mass every day at 0900hrs 

Fridays in Lent 1800hrs Stations of the Cross 

MASS TIMES IN PINSWANG AUSTRIA

Saturday  1800hrs St Ulrich von Augsburg Kirche,Pinswang

Sunday 1000hrs St Ulrich von Augsburg Kirche,Pinswang 

Monday 0700hrs (Vils) 1900hrs Rosary in Widum

Tuesday 0800hrs(Widum-At the rear of the Priest`s house)  1900hrs Rosary

Wednesday 1900hrs Widum 

Thursday 1900hrs Widum

Friday 0800hrs Musau   1800hrs Stations of the Cross in Widum

CONFESSION:Monday 4th April 1800-1900hrs in Widum.  Saturday 8th April 0800-0900hrs in the Church.

https://files.constantcontact.com/ea67a4dd701/00c04da9-4e1b-45b8-8995-a5c9eea17641.pdf?rdr=true

Artist Wayman Scott with his beautiful sculpture of Blessed Seelos

Dave Schoenadel and Wayman Scott as they carry the carefully packed statue of Blessed Seelos to the car for his transportation to Cumberland, Md

The Kiln where Wayman placed Blessed Seelos statue for firing.

Photos Copyright- David Schoenadel Paula Schoenadel

The full story can be found at the link below as Save the Shrine of St Pater & Paul,Cumberland have not got the right settings to allow Seelos in Füssen to embed the whole Facebook post !

https://www.facebook.com/groups/641772892902626/permalink/1609470766132829/

The Shrine of St Peter & St Paul in Cumberland is looking forward to at last having the statue of Blessed Francis Xavier Seelos in the grotto within the Seelos Prayer Garden.

David and Paula Schoenadel told the members of the Save the Shrine of St Peter & Paul Facebook page    "Blessed Seelos statue update-We have scheduled a day next week for picking up the statue of Blessed Seelos from Wayman Scott of Baltimore,Md. Wayman is the artist who has sculpted the statue made specially for the grotto located at the Blessed Seelos Prayer Garden. It is one of its kind. When weather becomes more steadily favorable in the Spring, Blessed Seelos will be placed in his very own long awaited grotto. Plans are in the making for a dedication Blessing to take place after Blessed Seelos is placed in the grotto." 

The Shrine where Blessed Francis Xavier Seelos and Saint John Neumann served is celebrating its 175th Anniversary this year. Joe George the President of the board of directors of the Friends of the Shrine told us "Every 5 years the Archdiocese requires a formal inspection of Church facilities to do a condition assessment by an independent firm. The Friends of the Shrine paid $3,000 for an inspection by Bureau Veritas for the Archdiocese. All in all, for a 175 year old building, the 41 page report was favorable. There are 3 issues that we will be addressing:

https://donorbox.org/friends-of-the-shrine-of-saints..."

 

Joe also wrote the following on the groups Facebook page "As we begin to celebrate the 175th Anniversary of the Shrine of SS Peter & Paul and work to raise an endowment fund to be able to preserve & maintain the Shrine for years to come, we sent a mailing to approximately 400 of faithful Shrine supporters in the past. Attached is a copy of the letter & tri fold brochure. Please click on the photo attachments to read more. Many have responded already. We don’t have all the addresses of the 1000 followers to the Save the Shrine Facebook page but each of you can help make a difference for the Shrines’ future. Any donation amount is appreciated. Some have donated $175 in honor of the Anniversary year. Please keep the Shrine & our Board in your prayers. Should you wish to make a donation you can mail it to:

Friends of the Shrine of SS Peter & Paul, P.O. Box 1876, Cumberland, MD 21502 or donate on line via our website How to Help Donate page:

https://www.friendsoftheshrine.com

https://donorbox.org/friends-of-the-shrine-of-saints...

Thank you!"

 

 

Saint Mary’s Church and Novitiate, 1864. During his rectorship of St. Mary’s (1862-63), Blessed Francis Xavier Seelos established a fleet of sailboats to be used for recreation by the Redemptorist priests, brothers, and novices. Courtesy: Redemptorist Archives of the Baltimore Province, Brooklyn, New York.

St. Mary`s Parish, Annapolis, Maryland can trace its very existence back to George Carroll, the only Catholic  signer of the United States of America Declaration of Independence. He asked his granddaughter,  Mary Anne Caton Patterson to be in charge of the building of the first Catholic Church in Annapolis and gave the ground which it was built on. It was opened in 1823 and was able to house 150 people. It was a small one room building and was served monthly by the Jesuits from Prince Georges County until 1853 when the Redemptorist took over the Parish.

      Blessed Francis Xavier Seelos served in the Parish from April 16th to May 19th 1857 as Superior and Novice Master and also from June 14th 1862 to November 17th 1863 as Rector. In 1862, he was made Rector to St. Mary's Church and Novitiate, Annapolis, Maryland. It was during his posting here that he went to met President Abraham Lincoln to ask if the Redemptorist seminarians could be excused from military conscription during the Civil War.

On 9th February 2023 the Parish celebrated its 200th Anniversary of the opening of the original church.

Redemptorist Scala News item-https://www.cssr.news/2023/02/annapolis-st-marys-church-is-celebrating-the-200th-anniversary/

Patch Annapolis MD-  https://patch.com/maryland/annapolis/st-marys-church-celebrates-200th-anniversary-downtown-annapolis?fbclid=IwAR2269LgxEekdiNN7bTihc2i9j5ecnHaGR89IZggHEwEN6ieoSKYftVjMSo

Archdiocese of Baltimore Catholic Review News item- https://catholicreview.org/annapolis-parish-marks-historic-milestone/

St Mary`s Parish, Annapolis website-https://www.stmarysannapolis.org/

https://files.constantcontact.com/ea67a4dd701/bd8757c7-0277-4741-b188-55e6d1fff717.pdf?rdr=true

Dr Angelo Giorlando M.D. died on the 24th January 2023 aged 96. He was born May 2nd 1926  in New Orleans. He attended the Redemptorist School, Redemptorist Seminary  in Missouri. He served in the US Army during the war. He became a Pediatric Doctor and was well renowned in his field. He was married for 70 years to Marie. They had 7 children, 11 grand children and 13 great grandchildren. 

In 1961 he was one of those who reignited the interest in trying to have Father Seelos canonised. In both 1965 & 1967 he was part of the team which excavated the remains of Father Seelos.

Photos;- The origional burial place of Father Seelos. The bones of Father Seelos being examined by the excavation team

The bones of Father Seelos in a small casket which is now inside his coffin

The original  coffin in which Father Seelos was buried now located in the Seelos Center.

In 2006 he was inducted into the Order of Seelos Witness. This is the highest honour given by the National Seelos Shrine in New Orleans, U.S.A. He and his wife were also honoured to receive The Blessed Father Volunteer of the year award in 2009.  The Full Obituary of Dr. Giorlando is available at https://obits.nola.com/us/obituaries/nola/name/angelo-giorlando-obituary?id=38977826

https://www.facebook.com/seelosshrine/videos/1425512364522504

https://files.constantcontact.com/ea67a4dd701/893c9912-daf9-447f-8ab4-9ef95e82635c.pdf?rdr=true

Seelos in Füssen`s reporter in Spanish Fort made the news this month. Judy Hill Sullivan had told us back in November about her healing. She said " Here is another more personal gift, which I will report to the National Shrine later today.  My surgery last month to repair rotator cuff was successful. The rate of recovery to all the surrounding tissue is beyond natural.  You and I both know why this is excelerated, because prayers are carried by Father Seelos to grant a good outcome.  The initial injury was forty years ago on an icy patch at a Colorado Rocky Mountain ski resort.  Year 2021 -- it became time to address the function of this limb.  All result is beyond expectations... so much like our other good graces from our loving Jesus Christ!!

In this months issue of the Seelos Center News here submission has been printed

https://files.constantcontact.com/ea67a4dd701/92e1f5be-b046-42df-a710-42ddfbb0af2d.pdf?rdr=true

SEELOS HEALING MASS

Sunday, January 15, 2023

1300hrs

St. Mary’s Assumption Church and on Facebook Live

https://files.constantcontact.com/ea67a4dd701/06afad38-87ee-426d-9e1f-611846519b36.pdf?rdr=true

Real problems with the sound quality are contained on all 3 videos which can be viewed on Facebook

Father  Joshi Sebastian  celebrated Holy Mass in honour of Blessed Francis Xavier Seelos in the Krippkirche, Füssen at 1830hrs Friday 7th October the Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary. Helene von Rechenberg played the organ and Sacristan Bruno Ehrentreich served the Mass and Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament, Father Joshi gave a sermon about Blessed Seelos and his role as a Missionary to emigrant Germans in America. This is a subject close to his heart as Father Joshi belongs to an Indian Religious order and is a Missionary in the German Diocese of Augsburg and works in our Parish for the past two years. 

Seelos in Füssen is pleased to bring you a breaking news story from the Shrine of Ss Peter & Paul, Cumberland. For over a year they have been trying to get a statue of Blessed Francis Xavier Seelos for their prayer garden. Today on the Feast of Blessed Francis Xavier Seelos it is finally finished. Find out the whole story about their prayer garden on the following page-http://seelosinfuessen.de/st-peter-st-paul-shrine-cumberland

Photo Copyright Wayman Scott Artist Wayman Scott

The Prayer Garden Grotto where the statue will be placed.

SEELOS HEALING MASS ~ SUNDAY, OCTOBER 9 ~ 1300hRS

St. Mary’s Assumption Church and Facebook live Gift Shop open 1000 hrs – 1230 hrs and 1400 hrs- 1600hrs

FÜSSEN-The Mass for the Feast of Blessed Francis Xavier Seelos was celebrated by Father Frank Deuring, Parish Priest in St Peter & Paul Church, Hopfen am See. The organ was played by Helene von Rechenberg. Füssen is unique in the whole of Germany in celebrating the feast of Blessed Seelos. The only other places in Germany which celebrate his feast are the monasteries and convents belonging to the  Redemptorist Order. 

The American TFP mention the feast here-https://nobility.org/2022/10/october-5-blessed-francis-xavier-seelos-5/

The Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington DC mentions him in an article which is password protected. But worth clicking the link to see the Blessed Seelos window in the Basilica.-https://www.nationalshrine.org/blog/a-heart-for-all-blessed-francis-xavier-seelos/

Aleteia News website-https://aleteia.org/daily-prayer/wednesday-october-5/daily-meditation-1/

Blessed Seelos-Charlotte was Both blog by Amy Welborn-https://amywelborn.wordpress.com/2022/10/05/blessed-seelos/

CATHOLIC PREACING-FATHER ROGER J.LANDRY OF THE DIOCESE OF FALL RIVER

https://catholicpreaching.com/wp/how-jesus-teaches-us-to-pray-and-to-live-as-children-of-the-father-27th-wednesday-ii-october-5-2022/

HOLY ROSARY CATHOLIC CHURCH  FLINT MI

https://holyrosaryflint.com/blessed-francis-xavier-seelos-1819-1867-feast-day-october-5-patronage-again/

Celebrations started early for the Feast of Blessed Francis Xavier Seelos which is celebrated 5th October 2022.

In New Orleans the Vietnamese Healing Mass was celebrated last Sunday at  1500hrs in St Mary`s Assumption Church.

Also Last Sunday 2nd October Blessed Francis Xavier Seelos Parish in Spanish Fort celebrated Mass in Honour of Blessed Seelos and held a Parish Picnic afterwards.

They also televised the Mass live! The picture quality was good but they had many problems with the sound on this their first attempt.

In Füssen Mass will be celebrated in honour of Blessed Seelos at 0900hrs in the Franciscan Monastery, enter via the garden gate and turn right as the Church is closed due to falling masonry. In the evening Mass will be celebrated in St Peter & Paul, Hopfen am See at 1900hrs. 

https://files.constantcontact.com/ea67a4dd701/6aa9314b-48d5-4b26-a640-b30cdfc084df.pdf?rdr=true

The pilgrims from America travelled to the world renowned Wieskirche after their trip to photograph Neuschwanstein. Missing in action was Father Ric Boever,Executive Director of the National Seelos Shrine in New Orleans. He opted to stay in the Best Western Hotel for the day to recuperate enough for the first Mass of Sunday in St Mang Basilica.

 At 1800hrs all the Pilgrims were present in St Mang for the Holy Mass which was celebrated by Father  Joshi Sebastian Valikulath who was introduced to Father Rich before Mass.

They returned to their hotel where they sat down for their evening meal at 2000hrs.

Photo Credit- Maria from Spain! From right to left-Father Richard Boever, Executive Director of the National Seelos Shrine in New Orleans, Myke Rosenthal-English runs the Seelos in Füssen website ( seelosinfuessen.de). Dr. Miriam Rosenthal-English responsible for translating the Seelos Novena into German. Michael Porter a Board member of the "Friends of the Shrine of St Peter & Paul, Cumberland" which was built by St John Neumann and Blessed Francis Xavier Seelos served a a Priest there for many years! 

After the meal they retired to bed for the night before moving on at 0900hrs to Oberammergau to watch the World Famous Passion Play.

The weary pilgrims on the "In the Footsteps of Blessed Francis Xavier Seelos Pilgrimage 2022" awoke in the Best Western Hotel, Füssen on Saturday morning to overcast skies after experiencing a massive electrical storm overnight..

They were all due to visit the sites in Füssen connected to Blessed Seelos. However as 0800hrs drew near the skies opened and the rain started. Father Rich Boever, Executive Director of the National Seelos Center in New Orleans announced he would be staying in the hotel. This was hardly surprising as he has been treated with chemotherapy and surgery for lung cancer and was finding it a strain to walk to far as he got of of breath quickly.

This then gave the Spanish tour guide Maria the chance to let those who wanted visit the places in the rain to do so, whilst those who didn't want to get wet would be free to do as they please till 1100hrs.

​

Maria explaining the itinerary for the day to all!

Those brave souls who ventured out with Seelos in Füssen were shown the Seelos Family grave.

They were shown the Franciscan Church and the wonderful view over the old city of Füssen

The pilgrims at the top of the road where Seelos was born just outside the St Sebastian Catholic Cemetery.

They visited the House where Seelos was born.

The Spitalkirche (Hospital Church where he served and was taught Latin for two years after leaving Primary School

They were then shown the Frau am Berg Kirche (Our Lady of the Mountains Shrine). where Seelos asked his sisters to pray for him.

Next stop was the mural on the Parish Meeting Centre-Seelos Haus.

We continued on to the Krippkirche St Nicholas where Seelos served the 0730hrs Mass before School at 0800hrs.

Finally they were shown the building where Seelos attended Primary School on the 2nd floor.

At 1100hrs the whole group went of in their coach to visit the Marienbrücke so as to be able to take photos of Neuschwanstein Castle.

A group of 13 pilgrims plus their Spanish tour guide, Maria  arrived in Füssen about 1215hrs on Friday 9th September 2022.  At 1340hrs they  toured the Museum in Füssen. 

As with last two pilgrimages by Americans visiting Füssen the weather was rain!

The pilgrims seat themselves in the choir stools of St Mang whilst Father Rich Boever was preparing for Holy Mass in the sacristy.

Father Rich being shown where the Altar is by sacristan Bruno Ehrentreich who gave his time voluntarily to help the pilgrims.

Photo above Copyright Michael Porter

Father Rich giving his sermon about Blessed Seelos.He told those present that they had just seen many violins in the Museum in Füssen Even today violins are made in the town. Seelos learnt to play the violin! He loved playing so much that he often got carried away. Here in Füssen he was called by his second name Xavier and was known for being a very happy person. He decided to become a priest whilst he was studying at the Maximilian Ludwig University in Munich. Father Boever told the pilgrims he did not want to be a Diocesan or local Priest as he felt they were very spoilt and had a rather easy life, so he applied to join the Redemptorist. The problem was post took a very long time to reach America in those days so he joined the Augsburg Diocesan Seminary which was then based in Dillingen,He stayed only a while as the news came back that he had been accepted to join the Redemptorists. So he moved to Altötting where the German Redemptorists had their head quarters at the time. Father mentioned this was one of the places they would be visiting. 

St Mary Magdalen Church, Altötting,former German HQ of the Redemptorists.  

He mentioned Seelos in Baltimore and also in Pittsburg where he served alongside St John Neumann with just a small room separated by a curtain which they lived in. Father pointed out the all Redemptorist houses on the East Coast of the U.S.A. served former German communities. Seelos was Dean of students in Cumberland and in charge of their formation. He also  meet President Lincoln and asked that no Redemptorists would be drafted. Lincoln didn`t promise anything but not one Redemptorist was drafted!

Finally he was posted to New Orleans where he died of Yellow fever and where the National Seelos Shrine if located. Father told the pilgrims just one of the many miracles he had hear about since being posted to the Seelos Center as Director. A woman who was unable to have any children so she laid on what was his former tomb and ended up having 13 children!  He asked us all to pray for Blessed Seelos to intercede in our lives and mentioned his own need of Blessed Seelos.He was recently found to have lung cancer and had to have chemotherapy and then surgery to remove the cancer. He is now cancer free according to the doctors treating him. He finished the sermon by saying they have a miracle for canonisation which looks promising but still a lot of prayers needed as Rome wants more information and documents about it!

Father Boever is the Executive Director of the Seelos Shrine in New Orleans and is leading this special pilgrimage to visit all the places connected with Blessed Francis Xavier Seelos in Germany. As the pilgrims had had a long day travelling they were only shown the Seelos Shrine here in Füssen as well as the Baptismal Font where Seelos was baptised the day of his birth.

Photo below of Father Rich Boever, Executive Director of the National Seelos Shrine in New Orleans who has recently been treated for lung cancer and is still having to take life slowly as he easily gets out of breath. Your prayers for him would be appreciated.

The pilgrims were all given a second class Seelos relic and Prayer cards before they returned to their hotel or spent the rest of the afternoon shopping depending on how tired they were.

Michael Porter lives in West Virginia, USA and is on the board of the "Friends of the Shrine of Saints Peter & Paul" which is a Non-Profit organization dedicated to the preservation of the Shrine of Saints Peter & Paul Church, located at 125 Fayette Street, Cumberland, MD. Catholic Church built in 1848. Founded by St. John Neumann & served by Blessed Fr. Seelos. Originally served the German population in the area. It is part of the Our Lady of the Mountains Parish in Cumberland and the friends were formed when the Parish wanted to shut it down! They have managed to get the Bishop to allow them to run the Church at their own expense.

Michael has a great love for Blessed Seelos and when he found out that Father Rich Boever was leading a pilgrimage to Europe to visit all the places connected with the Blessed ,he jumped at the chance to join the pilgrimage. He is in the photo above at the Seelos Shrine in Füssen.

PHOTOS BELOW-Michael finally makes it to the Shrine of Our Lady of the Mountains in Füssen

Below Michael is photographed outside the St Sebastian Catholic Cemetery Füssen where the family of Blessed Francis Xavier Seelos are buried.

https://files.constantcontact.com/ea67a4dd701/85dc61e7-381d-4bdf-8b12-2d147bf3ae3b.pdf?rdr=true

CALL FOR VOLUNTEERS: Crocheters, Prayer Partners & Videographers

1. Calling all crocheters, tatters and cro-tatters! We need your skills to add decorative trim around Seelos 3rd class relic cards provided for you. Work from anywhere and drop off or mail us your completed cards.

2. Prayer Partners are needed to pray with pilgrims visiting the Shrine on Mondays thru Saturdays 1000-1400hrs. No experience necessary!

3. We’re looking for a volunteer to live stream Seelos Healing Masses. Must be able to attend Masses in person, climb steep stairs, and use an iPhone camera. Brief training included.

Email- Heidi Groat at hgroat@seelos.org or call (504) 525-2495 for more information

Atrocious weather greeted Father Michael Russo and the 39 pilgrims who travelled to St Mang Basilica to pray to Blessed Francis Xavier Seelos on the last day of August 2022.

The American group organised by Magnificat Travel and led by Maria Tregre, Founder of the travel company and travel guide, Oliver, have been on a tour of religious places in Austria, Switzerland and Germany. Today it was the turn of Füssen. 

The reason they came to Füssen was to honour Blessed Francis Xavier Seelos who was born in the city on 11th January 1819.

Before Holy Mass, Deacon Ed Boustany asked the pilgrims to give him their Mass intentions, which he then placed on the Altar. 

Father Michael Russo, Spiritual Director to the pilgrimage and Parish Priest of St Anne Parish, Youngsville in the Diocese of Lafayette celebrated Mass assisted by Deacon Ed.

Father Michael celebrated the Mass of Blessed Francis Xavier Seelos and his sermon was also about this great son of Füssen.

He told the pilgrims that Seelos had left his homeland because of love to serve the needs of German emigrants to America.

He asked the congregation "What have we sacrificed? What have we given up?" Father then asked them "Why did you come on this pilgrimage? Was it to enjoy a few days out or was it to find God more in our lives? "  Continuing the theme of sacrifice and love he asked them to reflect on "What am I looking for in my life?" He prayed their answer would be, "I want to find you, Lord"

After Mass the pilgrims were shown the font where Blessed Seelos was baptised.

They then visited the Shrine of Blessed Seelos and placed their prayer requests in the box and lit a candle.

Seelos in Füssen then gave Seelos Prayer Cards and Second Class Seelos relics to all the pilgrims thanks to the generosity of Gregg Terrabone of  Metairie, Louisianna.

After the Group photo the pilgrims were shown the house in which Seelos lived when his father was sacristan of St Mang.

ALL PHOTOS ON THIS NEWS STORY ARE COPYRIGHT FREE AND CAN BE CLICKED AND DOWNLOAED IN THEIR ORIGIONAL SIZE .if you were on this pilgrimage and have better photos to share please contact us via the contact page and we will get back to you.apologies about how bad they turned out-we discovered a problem with the camera!

The above Pilgrimage will be arriving in Füssen,Germany on the Friday 9th September 2022 from Lucerne, Switzerland. The group will be based at the Best Western Hotel on the Augsburger Strasse.

              Seelos Shrine in Füssen                                                                                               St Mang Basilica Füssen

The group of 13 will be led by Father Rich Boever, Director of the Blessed Seelos Welcome Center in New Orleans. Seelos in Füssen will show the pilgrims around the city and take them to places with relevance to Seelos. They are also hoping to celebrate a Mass in St Mang on the Friday afternoon/evening but this has not been confirmed and Father Rich is looking into it.. During the evening they will have spare time to take in a meal at a  local restaurant or in their hotel. On Saturday 10th September the group will have free time to spend discovering Füssen before travelling to Neuschwanstein Castle. They then visit the world famous Wieskirche  before returning to Füssen to partake in the Parish, 1st Mass of Sunday at 1800hrs. After Mass the pilgrims will have an evening  meal in their hotel and Sunday 11th September they set of to Oberammergau to see the world famous Passion Play. 

Plaque on house where Seelos was born.                                        House   where Seelos was born-Spitalgasse 13 (was number 184)

On Wednesday 14th September they visit Germany`s "Lourdes" the famous shrine of Our Lady at Altötting in the "Catholic heart of Bavaria" where Seelos went to join the Redemptorist Order. For any serious lover of Blessed Seelos the St Mary Magdalen is a must as this is the church the Redemptorists used to be in charge of at the time of Seelos. 

           Our Lady of Altötting                                 St. Mary Magdalen Church where Seelos joined the Redemptorists

They will celebrate Mass in Altötting before moving on to the birthplace of Pope Benedict XVI, Marktl am Inn. Then on to Munich where they they will visit the Ludwig Maximilian University (LMU), where Seelos studied Philosophy and Theology as well as learning to sing and play the violin. 

       Ludwig Maximilian University, Munich Plaque                                  Ludwig Maximilian University, Munich, Germany

After an overnight stay in Munich they will travel to Augsburg Thursday 15th September to see St Stephen`s Gymnasium where Seelos studied from October 1832 until 26th August 1839.

     St Stephan`s Grammar School sign Augsburg                                            Where the original school stood prior to WW2 bombing

The group will then move on to Frankfurt for their flight back to the United States of America.

The Revisionist  History Podcast posted the following about Blessed Francis Xavier Seelos on Sunday 14th August 2022

https://player.fm/series/the-revisionist-history-podcast/sundays-with-the-saints-blessed-francis-xavier-seelos-IOu2OOwCqYesIPzO

https://files.constantcontact.com/ea67a4dd701/fb3444f7-2ef1-4d55-882c-c1799498d3e5.pdf?rdr=true

Wednesday 31st August a group of American Pilgrims to Füssen will join with their Priest for Holy Mass in English at 1000hrs in St Mang Basilica. The pilgrims will then join "Seelos in Füssen" in an hour long tour of the city seeing all the sites associated with Blessed Francis Xavier Seelos.

They will then spend the rest of the day in Füssen before moving on to Neuschwanstein Castle for a "photo stop", not a visit to the actual castle itself. This seems to be the new accepted norm for many tours due to local traffic jams and time restraints, something the local Tourism Offices should be keeping an eye on! The pilgrims will then move on to dinner and overnight accommodation in Bad Kohlgrub before watching the world famous Passion Play in Oberammergau the next day. The Pilgrims have the very experienced Autrian Tour Guide, Julia Woodwards in charge of them. 

Rubenena & Roberto who renewed their marriage vows in St Mang Basilica,Füssen, Germany during Holy Mass celebrated by Father Antonio Mena.

A group of 25 Texan Pilgrims of Latinos origin celebrated Holy Mass today in the Choir-stools of St Mang Basilica. The pilgrims were on their rest-day before moving on tomorrow to view the world famous Oberammergau Passion Play. Led by Spanish Tour guide Pila the pilgrims arrived about 1315hrs in the basilica with their Priest Father Antonio Mena, who has  served the El Paso Diocese for over 30 years. He is Now Parish Priest of  San Felipe De Jesus Parish(Socorro), El Paso, Texas.

The happy couple renew their marriage vows and are blessed by Father Antonio Mena

Father Antonio celebrated the Mass in Spanish and gave his sermon in Spanish & English highlighting  the Epistle of the day and its message about following God in humility and not taking advantage of those who live in poverty.

During Holy Mass a couple called Rubenena Maria & Roberto renewed their marriage vows much to the delight and joy of the rest of the congregation!

After the Holy Mass the entire group posed for a group photo and were then given holy pictures and 2nd & 3rd class relics of Blessed Francis Xavier Seelos by Seelos in Füssen 

Pila Spanish Tour Guide to the Pilgrims

Seelos in Füssen would like to thank the Spanish Tour Guide, Pila, Father Antonio Mena  and the entire group of Pilgrims for allowing us to partake in their joyous and deeply moving Holy Mass.

SAN FELIPE DE JESUS - SOCORRO
Rev. Antonio Mena
Pastor
401 Passmore, Socorro, TX 79849
(915) 851-3039

The Füssen Tourism Office continues to turn a blind eye to the needs of American Religious Pilgrims visiting Füssen because of the American Blessed Francis Xavier Seelos who was born here on 11th January 1819. American Pilgrims continue to flock into the City so as to be able to attend Mass in St Mang Basilica where he was baptised the day he was born. Apart from the pilgrims Seelos in Füssen has shown around another group of pilgrims celebrated Holy Mass in St Mang at 1200hrs Monday 11th July with yet another large group due to celebrate Holy Mass at 1230hrs Wednesday 13th July. These are just a small number of the pilgrims we get to hear about as the local Parish Office do not give us any information about visiting groups due to German privacy laws!

At the beginning of September two pilgrimages will visit Füssen from the USA. Their sole reason to visit Füssen will be to see the sites associated with the "great son of Füssen" Blessed Francis Xavier Seelos.

Magnificat Travel are bringing a Pilgrimage to Oberammergau visiting different religious Shrines in Switzerland, Austria & Germany including St Mang Basilica Füssen and a tour of the sites in Füssen relating to Blessed Seelos. The Spiritual Director of the Pilgrimage is Father  Michael Russo. The founder of Magnificat Travel Maria Tregre will be leading the Pilgrimage.

Also in September the Director of the National Seelos Shrine in New Orleans, Father Richard Boever will be leading the "In the Footsteps of Blessed Francis Xavier Seelos " Pilgrimage. The pilgrims will be in Füssen Friday 9th and Saturday 10th September. They will also have a tour of all places in Füssen to do with Blessed Seelos

A group of 43 joyful and happy pilgrims from St Helen Parish Houston, Texas visited Füssen Saturday 9th July 2022. on a Pilgrimage arranged by Magnificat Travel of Lafayette, Louisiana.

Pilgrims arriving at St Mang Basilica,Füssen 

Entering St Mang Basilica

Father Jim Courville,Parish Priest of Sr Helen Catholic Church,Houston, Texas in the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston  and Deacon Juan Pagan, Coordinator for the Hispanic Ministry for the Diocese of Lafayette, waiting to celebrate Holy Mass in the Choirstools of St Mang Basilica

Father Jim Courville celebrated Holy Mass in the choir-stools of St Mang Basilica assisted by Deacon Juan Pagen of the Diocese of Lafayette, Louisiana.

Father Jim Courville spoke about the whole point of the Pilgrimage, to come closer to Our Blessed Lord Jesus Christ through a deepening of our understanding of His Passion and crucifixion. Tomorrow the group will watch the world famous Oberammergau Passion Play which starts in the afternoon and has one break during the performance.

The Parish of Füssen had agreed to send a guide to give a tour of the Basilica but they failed to turn up.

The group at the Baptism Font where Seelos was baptised 11th January 1819

Pilgrims from St Helen Catholic Church Houston,Texas outside St Mang Basilica for a group photo

Thanks to quick thinking and forward planning Official Tour Guide Julia Woodwards had arranged with Seelos in Füssen to give the group a tour of the Basilica and Füssen showing all places associated with this "great son of Füssen".

Pilgrims on the Lech Bridge in Füssen,Germany where they took photos of the "Our Lady Of the Mountains Shrine", The St Mang Basilica and Monastery and the Franciscan Church of St Stephan.

Pilgrims outside the house where Blessed Francis Xavier Seelos was born

The pilgrims see the grave of Blessed Francis Xavier Seelos`s Mother and Father and his siblings.

The pilgrims having completed their Seelos tour of Füssen get ready to board the bus to Garmisch-Partenkirchen 

ALL PHOTOS ON THIS NEWS STORY ARE COPYRIGHT FREE AND CAN BE CLICKED AND DOWNLOAED IN THEIR ORIGIONAL SIZE .if you were on this pilgrimage and have better photos to share please contact us via the contact page and we will get back to you.

David and Paula Schoenadel report "

Wayman is finishing up with the final sculpture of Blessed Seelos for the grotto. He has added the rosary which hangs from the cincture.

He says he is thankful for the opportunity to do this and to learn more about Blessed Seelos. He believes he is a Saint we need in this day and age of a world recovering from a pandemic. He says he is such a humble and pious Priest giving his life to care for those during yellow fever. He said it was an honor building it.

Next steps

1. dry for at least 4 weeks

2. bisque (first firing)

3. Glaze (second firing)

Thank you Wayman for your excellent work on this very special sculpture for the prayer garden at SSPP Shrine.

Many thanks to Joe and Maggie Sank who who read about Wayman in the Catholic review when a artist was needed. This was perfect timing. Prayers answered!"

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The Superior General of the Redemptorist Order when communicating with "Seelos in Füssen" today said about  Blessed Seelos, "He is a remarkable man with a wonderful story of holiness and gentleness. "

Father Brehl is Canadian by birth and has been Superior General of the Redemptorist order since 2009. He is known for great knowledge of Redemptorist history especially its Saints and Blesseds.

Photo Copyright © Seelos Shrine Newsletter.

42 American pilgrims will be attending Holy Mass at 1400hrs Saturday 9th July 2022. The group will be lead by Julia Woodwards of European Premier Tours,Austria.

Many US pilgrimages to Oberammergau deliberately make a detour to Füssen to honour their fellow American citizen. Although born in Füssen Francis Xavier Seelos became a US Citizen on 6th October 1842.

The pilgrims also long to visit the Seelos Shrine her in Füssen and pray in the Church where he was Baptised the day he was born 11 January 1819, Confirmed 3 September 1828 and made his first Holy Communion 2 April 1830. A point that Füssen Tourism Office seem oblivious too as their site has nothing to help the American tourist learn more in the city about this great "son of Füssen".

https://files.constantcontact.com/ea67a4dd701/5c434dba-63d2-4ce0-a26b-0567d20c4d63.pdf?rdr=true

Seelos in Füssen can announce that more tours are coming too Füssen because of Blessed Francis Xavier Seelos. As soon as we have finalised  the details we will post them here.

LOOKING FOR A GOOD EXPERIENCED EUROPEAN TOUR GUIDE?

Look no further- Julia Woodwards is your first choice!

Brunnenwasser 15

A6600 Lechaschau

Österreich/Austria

European Organisation for Coach Travel

Find out more on her website!

Link

Seelos in Füssen highly recommends her

David & Paula Schoenadel posted the following message on the Save the Shrine of SS Peter & Paul Facebook page

"Exciting news-

Photo © David & Paula Schoenadel

The American Pilgrims standing in front of the Seelos Door to St Mang Basilica, Füssen with Father David  in the back row and Tour Guide Carmen qith the official tour flag!

The City of Füssen welcomed Father David, a Priest of the New Orleans Diocese and his group of 27 pilgrims and their Spanish Tour Guide on Saturday 25th June 2022, the Feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. On what was a beautiful sunny day the joyous  pilgrims had requested to visit Füssen for the sole reason of being able to pray at the Seelos Shrine in St Mang Basilica. The group were mainly from Louisiana where Seelos is a household name to most people! Others on the Pilgrimage were 2 from DC, 2 from Memphis and 2 from San Antonio.

The pilgrims had been in Italy the previous days and had visited Rome & Assisi.

Photos Miriam Rosenthal-English

Having flown from Italy to Munich yesterday and stayed overnight, they were fortunate not encounter any traffic problems on they way to Füssen due to the G7 summit being held at Schloss Elmau near Garmisch Partenkirchen. 

The group celebrated Mass before coming to Füssen as they have to move to Garmisch tonight for their meal and overnight stay.

They had Carmen Sánchez Gil as their tour guide. This was her first time bringing a tour group to Füssen. She flew in from her home in Spain to lead the pilgrims and was the one who contacted Seelos in Füssen to give them all a guided tour of the city showing places relevant to Blessed Francis Xavier Seelos.

The Pilgrims visited Seeloshaus, and the House where Seelos lived when his father was sacristan of St Mang. They saw the Hohes Schloss, the former summer residence of the Prince Bishops of Augsburg. In St Mang Basilica they spent time in prayer in the Baptistry where the font that Seelos was baptised in is still in use today. They also put their prayer requests in at the Shrine itself. After a 30 minute break for refreshments in the city they continued on to see the former Benedictine Monastery, Our Lady of the Mountains Shrine, the Holy Ghost Hospital Chapel. Finally they walked the street where he was born and took photos outside the house he was born in. 

So having refreshed their spiritual batteries at the Shrine of Blessed Seelos tomorrow the have a police escort at 0930hrs from Garmisch to Oberammergau where they will watch the world famous Passion Play starting at 1430hrs. We just pray that their tour guide Carmen manages to find a Holy Mass for them all to attend!

Thanks to the generosity of Gregg Terrabone who visited Füssen with his wife, Peggy, two years ago, Seelos in Füssen was able to give all pilgrims a 2nd class relic of Blessed Francis Xavier Seelos.

Stefan Friedlmeier, Director of the Füssen Tourism Office has responded to a complaint by Seelos in Füssen about the lack of mention of Blessed Francis Xavier Seelos on the city tourism website. Despite other towns like Oberammergau and Alttoting not being afraid to use spiritual events to promote the town. The same cannot be said of Füssen which completely ignored the 200th birthday of Blessed Seelos despite many events in the USA celebrating this renowned "Son of Füssen"!

            Seelos in Füssen had in fact informed the Tourism Office over 12 years ago about the lack of information about Blessed Seelos. We were totally ignored at the time despite many tour guides contacting us personally to give Seelos guides of Füssen. Mr Friedlmeier claims "Thank you very much for your email and for your information – even if it is a complaint.   We will discuss the topic internally. To be honest: You are the first one in years to address to us in this respect.". To be fair too Mr Friedlmeier he was not the Tourism Director 12 years ago when we first brought this to the attention of the tourism department! 

          We were made aware due to information from an Austrian Tour Guide that Füssen was loosing out on American pilgrimages to Oberammergau. Tour guides in Munich totally ignored Füssen when taking Oberammergau tours and would only visit Neuschwanstein Castle and the world renowned Wieskirche. The Austrian guide actually cancelled a trip to Salzburg in Austria as her group WANTED to visit Füssen due to Blessed Francis Xavier Seelos! The photos and news item about the group visit 12 years can be found in the archives.

         Hopefully the Füssen Tourism Department can see the benefit of including information of places in the city relevant to Blessed Seelos on their website, especially as a second miracle has been forwarded to Rome which could eventually lead to this "Son of Füssen" being declared a SAINT!

A few of the sites in the city of Füssen relevant to Blessed Seelos!.There are many more!

A Pilgrimage group of 28 people and a tour guide will visit Füssen on the afternoon of Saturday 25th June 2022 at 1600hrs. They will then be shown all the sites in the city with connections to Blessed Francis Xavier Seelos by a representative of Seelos in Füssen Website for free as well as being given 2nd & 3rd class relics of Blessed Seelos. The group arrive in Munich from the U.S.A. on Friday 24th June. On 25th June they leave Munich and will stop at Füssen for 3 hours before moving on to Oberammergau where they will view the world famous Passion Play. There is a Catholic Priest amongst the group and he expressed a great desire to celebrate Mass in St Mang Basilica where the Shrine of  Blessed Seelos is located. Unfortunately they left it too late to apply as the Basilica is really busy that weekend and only one sacristan is available to do it all. The group therefore decided to do exactly the same as the Pilgrimage from the National Seelos Center in New Orleans will do when the come in September. They will tour the sites connected with Blessed Seelos then attend the 1800hrs Mass in German in the Basilica.

Blessed Francis Xavier Seelos has a permanent place in the narthex. Also we have memorialized our foundation with the words found in St Matthew’s Gospel (chapter 25). Of course these are the verses scrolled across our sanctuary wall at the Prodisee Pantry. God Bless the ministry at Prodisee Pantry. God Bless our new community and the work we are called to do in Jesus’ name.

St Alphonsus Parish in New Orleans will welcome Deacon Michael Thien Hoang C.Ss.R. on the feast of Pentecost. Newly ordained, Deacon Hoang is posted there for a year.

He is a Vietnamese American who was born in Austin Texas.He has been with the Redemptorists for 7 year and was ordained Deacon on 30th April 2022.

For more infomation about Deacon Hoang click this link https://stalphonsusno.com/welcomedcnhoang/

Photo Copyright © St Alphonsus Parish New Orleans

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