GERMANY, Father Martin Emge / Maria Fischer •
On the occasion of the 120th birthday of Father Franz Reinisch, the Schoenstatt Movement of the Archdiocese of Bamberg invites all to a memorial celebration on the evening of February 1st at the Schoenstatt Center in Marienberg. —
Memorial stone for Father Franz Reinisch, Marienberg | Photo: Schoenstatt Bamberg
Father Franz Reinisch, a Pallottine from Tyrol, left many traces in Franconia, especially in Bamberg and as a novice in Untermerzbach. In Marienberg, he was even named patron of the construction of the Schoenstatt Center.
In the meantime, the process of beatification is underway in Rome. Father Franz Reinisch is a martyr of the Third Reich – he refused to take the oath of conscience before Adolf Hitler and was executed in Berlin.
If I had not had the place of grace….
In 1933 he became acquainted with the Schoenstatt Movement and in 1938 he was transferred to Vallendar. It was here that he made the decision to refuse the oath of allegiance to Hitler. While in prison, he would write about his time in Schoenstatt: “If I did not have the place of grace, I would never have gone this way, or I would certainly have turned away or despaired”. His parents shared their son’s decision.
February 01, 1903 – February 01, 2023
He was born on February 1, 1903 in Feldkirch-Levis, Vorarlberg, Austria. We will celebrate his 120th birthday with a memorial Mass at 18:00 in the Shrine of Solidarity. Afterwards, there will be a small birthday celebration in the Kentenich House.
You are cordially invited to this birthday celebration for Father Franz Reinisch, who still has much to tell us today.
His song
Many sing it. It sounds like a march, loud and joyful in the Schoenstatt Boys’ Youth of South America.
It is a song that he wrote shortly before his death and in which the deepest reason for his decision becomes clearer.
On the occasion of his 120th birthday in 2023, it will sound again in all its depth and radicality.
HOME HYMN*
August 09, 1942
You are the great sign, full of light and sunshine,
flooded and radiant with God’s love!
I want to be a flame of love, Mary, pure virgin,
I want to be kindled in your little shrine.
You stand as a rose of suffering at the Cross, great and silent,
And say your yes to the sacrifice because God wants it!
Today too, God is calling for a band of heroes.
Therefore, O Mother, I offer myself as a sacrifice of love.
O Queen of the Worlds, command the storm of time!
Crush the spawn of Satan, O victor in battle!
Make me an apostle! I stand there as a knight,
And dying I will smile: O dear MTA!
P. Franz Reinisch, portrait in the Reinisch House, Marienberg
With material from the newsletter and the website of the Schoenstatt Movement in Bamberg. With kind permission.
*Own translation. If there is an official translation of this precious hymn, we would gladly receive it and exchange the text here.
Original: German, 29.01.2023. Translation: Maria Fischer @schoenstatt.org
