September 5, 1842: Seelos enters the Seminary
Seelos enters the Augsburg diocesan seminary at Dillingen as a first year student. He awaits word from the United States regarding his request to become a candidate for the American Redemptorists.
Category: Timeline Stories
1842: Seelos decides to become a Redemptorist
After finishing his philosophy studies at the University of Munich, Seelos attends their School of Theology for only one year. It was during this time that he decides to ask for admission into the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer, wanting to become a missionary in the United States. It was taken for granted among his family that Seelos would become a priest, but they were not expecting that he would move across the ocean! During a vacation at home he reveals his decision to his father, who approves of his desire to pursue his calling in America but wisely promises not to say anything to his mother until necessary.
July 26, 1840: The Redemptorists reach Baltimore
In Baltimore, Maryland, the Redemptorists undertake the care of the German-speaking St. John the Evangelist and St. James the Less parishes, which would eventually combine to become St. Alphonsus Parish, named after the founder of the Redemptorists. In a few short years, Seelos would begin his priestly life here.
November 5, 1839: Seelos begins University studies in Munich
Seelos begins attendance at Ludwig-Maximilian University at Munich, where he studies philosophy and, briefly, theology. In addition to singing and playing his violin, he also learns to fence and to dance, as is considered fitting for the formation of a well-educated young man of university status. His fellow student and friend, Anton Schirsner, said, “He liked to sing, and during the sung Mass he let his voice have full sway. Sometimes I said to him, ‘Seelos, don’t shout so loud,’ but to no avail. He didn’t pay any attention to me; he was completely carried away by the enthusiasm of his soul.” | Shown above, line engraving of Ludwig-Maximilian University at Munich by Gustav Seebergerafter. c 1840.
August 26, 1839: Seelos Graduates from High School
Seelos graduates from the Gymnasium of St. Stephan, with a recommendation for entrance into a university. In a class of 69 students, he ranked 9th in general excellence and 1st in effort and progress. Oddly enough, he ranked 30th in German.
May 26, 1839: The Redemptorists’ Patron Saint is Canonized
St. Alphonsus Liguori, founder of the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer (Redemptorists), is canonized in Rome by Pope Gregory XVI.
April 8, 1839: The Redemptorists settle in Pittsburgh
Meanwhile in America, after struggling for several years to establish a community in the States, Redemptorist superior Joseph Prost nearly calls it quits, for by that point there was nothing else to do but chalk it up as a noble, but failed experiment. And then, a German-born immigrant told Fr. Prost of several thousand German-speaking Catholics in Pittsburgh who were without a priest. Fr. Prost immediately requested an invitation from the bishop of Philadelphia and received it on April 7, 1839. The next day, he packed up all his belongings in three small trunks and made his way to Pittsburgh to form what would become St. Philomenia Church, where in 6 short years Seelos would become assistant pastor. | Shown above, illustration of St. Philomena Church c. 1859.
1837: Seelos Joins the Greater Latin Marian Confraternity
Seelos joins the Greater Latin Marian Confraternity, nourishing his devotion to Mary learned at home in his childhood. He is in good company, following in the footsteps of fellow members St. Alphonsus, St. Francis de Sales, St. Stanislaus, St. Peter Claver, St. Therese, St. Bernadette and many more.
October 1832: Seelos attends High School
As a teenager, Seelos begins studies at the Royal Catholic Institute of Studies at St. Stephan (the Gymnasium) in Augsburg, a city 90 miles away from his home. It was his first experience being away from his closely knit family and also of living in a large city. His sister notes, “All the students liked him very much, and they called him ‘Banker Seelos,’ for as long as he had a penny he loaned it or gave it away, so that often he himself had to go hungry. Despite this, he was always in the best of humor and cheered up the others when they were lonesome.” | Shown above, an illustration of St. Stephan in Augsburg.
June 20, 1832: The Redemptorists arrive in America
The first six Redemptorists arrive on U.S. soil from Vienna, Austria, to minister to the influx of German-Catholic immigrants who were without churches or German-speaking priests. They were the first to come to the United States and the first to undertake an overseas mission of the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer. For the first seven years, they suffered many hardships on the American frontier. | Shown above, illustration of New York City and the East River, 1848.