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Padre Paul Graf Father Paul Graf Pater Paul Graf Foto: Archiv © 2007 |
GERMANY, mkf. Early in the afternoon on Saturday, December 1st, the eve of the start of Advent, Father Paul Graf died unexpectedly in Essen-Kray. He had celebrated Holy Mass in honor of beatified Charles de Foucauld at the Essen-Kray Shrine that morning. Afterwards he reviewed the agenda for the coming weeks with Father Heister, Diocesan Director of the Schoenstatt Movement in the Diocese of Essen. Since the weather was good, said Father Elmar Busse, his superior, the Fathers decided to rake the dry leaves in the patio of their house on Ottostrasse. Suddenly he collapsed.
At the beginning of October, Father Graf had been transferred to the filial house of the Schoenstatt Fathers in Essen-Kray from the Schoenstatt Center in Heiligenstadt (Turingia), and the Shrine in Little Paradise.
He proclaimed the prowess of the Blessed Mother
During the years he worked in Heiligenstadt, he regularly wrote articles about the life around the Shrine, which were always filled with simple, trusting, and profound emotion because of the Blessed Mother’s work in souls and in history. "The prowess of the Blessed Mother should be proclaimed!" he said, as a reason for his commitment to schoenstatt.de, his commitment with public relations, and his effective work with the regional press.
Within the Schoenstatt Family he was recently appointed as National Advisor for the Branch of the Sick. Before his work in Heiligenstadt, he was in Munich for a long time and he worked with families in the different regions of Germany. He was 71 years old.
"I met him in Munich, in 1985, and he was our guide in Dachau," says a Sister of Mary from Argentina. "Father Antonio Cosp translated. I do not remember what he said, but he impressed us very much. He truly transmitted Father’s love for his Family, and he was willing to give his life for it. It was then that I found out that Father Paul Graf, along with his course, promoted the building of the Shrine in Munich and of Klein Schoenstatt. His course ideal was to be a child before the Father, and this has been reflected in this Shrine (Saint Theresa, etc.) I am very happy to know that he supported schoenstatt.de! Surely, he will continue doing it from heaven…"
We are going to miss him here and heaven can be glad! We extend condolences and prayers to the Schoenstatt Fathers and to everyone who cries for Father Paul Graf. The Schoenstatt Family appreciates the testimony he always presented in his articles about the wonderful work of the Blessed Mother in and throughout his life.
The burial will be on the anniversary of his consecration as a deacon
On Wednesday, December 5, 2007, his coffin will be taken to the filial house of the Schoenstatt Fathers in Ottostrasse 1 in Essen-Kray and there will be a vigil in the chapel of the house. There also will be time for prayer in this chapel during the afternoon.
On Thursday, December 6, 2007, during the late afternoon, his remains will be transferred to Mount Sion at Schoenstatt, and there will be a vigil in the provincial house.
On Saturday, December 8, 2007, on the Feast of the Immaculate Conception – on the anniversary of his consecration as a deacon – the coffin will be taken to the Adoration Church, where the Eucharist will be celebrated at 1:30 p.m.
Then everyone who accompanied him on this last trip will gather at 3:15 in front of the Sion Shrine, where the final blessing will be given. The coffin then will be taken to the tomb in the cemetery that is behind the Sion Shrine. Following the ceremony everyone is invited for refreshments in the Paternal House of the Schoenstatt Fathers.
"Our life does not end with death"
This was a phrase that Father Paul Graf had written last November in the editorial of the magazine for the Branch of the Sick and Disabled: "You take us to fullness," a verse in Psalm 18. This phrase is especially consoling and encourages our faith on the commemoration of the faithful departed (November 2nd). Our life does not end with death; rather, it is assumed in the resurrection and glorification of Jesus. Through his power over death, He guides us through the narrowness and fleetingness of this world to his eternal and infinite glorification with the Father…The Advent message confirms this hope even more. On Christmas we hear the words of the prologue in the Gospel according to Saint John: "To all those who believed in his name, he gave the power of becoming children of God."
On the eve of the beginning of Advent, he stepped towards fullness in the greatness of God.
Translation: Celina Garza, Harlingen, TX, USA/amj