Reflections for the Centennial of the Death of
St. Joseph Freinademetz SVD
Prepared by Fr. Pietro Irsara, SVD
Director of the Ancestral Home and Shrine
of St. J. Freinademetz, at Oies, Badia, Italy
Reflection 11
“Thank the physician!”
The strength of Joseph Freinademetz was spent, his body worn out; he could no longer fight the typhus. His final agony lasted nine days, from the 19th to the 28th of January. The pain became unbearable, but neither Chinese medicine nor the skill of an American doctor was able to help him. Br. Ulrich broke out in tears when he woke up in agony after long hours of unconsciousness and mumbled to him: “Thank the physician!” During the last days he frequently lost consciousness, in the intervals he could be heard saying short ejaculatory prayers. His last night turned out to be a night of excruciating suffering, caused by additional bladder problems. An intervention brought temporary relief, until complete exhaustion set in. There was no real agony. Accompanied by the prayer of his confreres Joseph Freinademetz died on Tuesday, January 28, 1908 at about 6:00 p.m. His was, in the truest sense of the word, a return to the Father.
Although his death was not really unexpected, his closest collaborators were deeply affected. “The worst blow that could strike our Mission struck it today,” Fr. Georg Stenz wrote the Superior General in Steyl and reported: “Just now at 18:00 hours our kind pro-vicar died here of typhus (…) In his illness he gave us a heroic example of patience. He did not want to die yet, but he also resigned himself fully to the holy will of God. (…) It is only now that people of South-Shantung will become aware of what he meant for us!”
They were conscious that in Fr. Freinademetz they had lost more than an ordinary person: “A heavy blow not only for the Mission, but also for the whole Society,” Fr. Johannes Düster wrote and added: “Right away people prayed for the deceased but also already to him.”
That was probably also what Sr. Blandina, Holy Spirit Missionary Sister, had in mind when she wrote: “Already now one would wish to honor our highly esteemed Fr. Superior Freinademetz as a saint. Our poor orphans have only one consolation left, that we have an exceptionally good intercessor; the future will show this!”
The mourning was particularly deep among the simple Chinese: “Many will moan over the loss of Fu Shenfu!” was the opinion of a catechist, knowing full well that the deceased had sacrificed himself for “his” Chinese. What moved the Christians was not just what he had done for them, but above all how he had dealt with them. “I feel as if I had lost my father and my mother!” was how someone expressed it.
Superior General Fr. Arnold Janssen tried to console his confreres: “The Lord God has taken from us this second founder of the Mission, this good soul, whose merits for South-Shantung are great and immortal. We may thus hope that his heavenly crown was ready and that the Lord called him in order to given his faithful servant the well earned rest and a beautiful place in His glorious kingdom. The more zealously, unselfishly and sacrificially he worked the more will he now rejoice, but also be active for us as intercessor at the heavenly throne.”
Sources: Bornemann, pp. 506-508;
For reflection:
Fr. Freinademetz did not long for death. Initially he was rather fearful; but then he let himself be sustained by the thoughts of a book, became calm and composed and was thus able to say good-bye, in peace with himself and with God, and to let go in the awareness that he had “fought the good fight, finished the race, and kept the faith” ( 2 Tim 4,7).
For many Christians it was clear: “If he is not in heaven, then no one can ever hope to go to heaven!”
In his native place a prayer card was printed which said: “Died in China with a reputation of holiness …”
Which impression does the death of this holy man make on me? What can I learn from it for my life – for my death? What do I do against the fear of death? Am I serious enough in asking myself whether I do God’s will, or whether I do that which he is probably expecting of me?
What does “holy” mean to me? – The word has something to do with “whole,” wholeness, health. For me what is a “saintly” life? Can I imagine to live – and to die – in a “saintly” way, i.e. according to the salvation which God offers me?
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