St.

Arnold Janssen Founder of the Society of the Divine

Word
On October 5, 2003, at the Vatican before some 30,000 people, Pope John Paul II declared Arnold
Janssen a Saint of the Church. What was so special about this man that he would be so honored? One
might say he was really a very ordinary man, a simple priest, but one who followed his vocation in a
totally committed and extraordinary way.

St. Arnold Janssen - Founder of the Society of the Divine

WordArnold Janssen was the second son born to Gerhard and
Anna Katharina Janssen. He grew up in a devoted Catholic family
of seven children, five brothers and two sisters. His father was a
freight hauler, a man of deep faith who educated his children to
think beyond their own limited world-view and be aware of the
missionary needs of the Church around the world. Their family
prayer included a nightly rosary which was followed by the
Prologue of St. Johns Gospel: In the beginning was the Word
and the Word was with God and the Word was God.

As a young man, Arnold developed an early interest in the

natural sciences. He went on to study in this field and qualified
to be a high school teacher. Having completed these studies, he
went on to study theology and was ordained a diocesan priest
for the Diocese of Muenster on August 15, 1861. His first
assignment was to teach in a secondary school in Bocholt.

After twelve years at his post, he became restless and wanted to

devote himself more toward issues of the Universal Church. He
first did this through the printed word with his Little Messenger
of the Sacred Heart with its focus on news of the missions and what Germans might do to promote
mission activities. This quickly became a popular monthly magazine amongst Catholics. Arnold
became more acutely aware that there was no German mission-sending religious society and wanted
to see that need filled. This is where his deep faith in Divine Providence showed itself. He was
determined to found a German mission-sending society at a time when anti-Catholic laws in Germany
forbade such religious schools. At one point, Arnold went with some Ursuline nuns to visit J. A.
Paredis, Bishop of Roermond, to discuss his plans. The Bishops comment after the visit was, He
wants to build a mission house and he is penniless. Hes either a fool or a saint.

On Sept. 8, 1875, with only three candidates, little money, and a run-down inn which he was able to
purchase just across the German border in Steyl, Holland, Arnold founded his mission seminary and a
religious order, to be named The Society of the Divine Word, honoring that special devotion he had
developed in his childhood with those evening recitations of St. Johns Prologue with his family. The
beginning was difficult, with his first few candidates leaving, but eventually, more and more
candidates came, joined and stayed. He steadily guided this new Society for 34 years and quickly
expanded it to include religious brothers. Arnold also helped co-found the Holy Spirit Missionary
Sisters (SSpS) and the Holy Spirit Sisters of Perpetual Adoration (SSpSAP).

Arnolds dream proceeded with a speed that probably surprised even him. At his death in 1909, the
missionary societies that he had founded had over 1,500 priests, brothers, Missionary and Adoration
Sisters working in the missions in China, Italy, Argentina, Austria, Brazil, Papua New Guinea, U.S.,
Chile, Japan and the Philippines. Today those societies number over ten-thousand members in nearly
70 countries. The dream of a determined ordinary priest has been realized.

November 5, 1837 Arnold Janssen is born in Goch, Germany.

1849 to 1861 A time of studies at the minor seminary at Gaesdonck, mathematics and
natural sciences at Bonn University, theological studies at Mnster.
 August 15, 1861 Ordained a priest for the Mnster Diocese.
1861 to 1873 High school teacher of mathematics and natural sciences (Bocholt).
1869 Director of the Apostleship of Prayer in Mnster.
1873 to 1875 Chaplain for the Ursulin sisters in Kempen.
January 1874 Begins publishing the magazine, Little Messenger of the Sacred Heart.
September 8, 1875 Opens the Mission seminary in Steyl, Netherlands.
1877 Opens the Mission House for retreats, thus promoting the lay retreat movement.
March 2, 1879 Sends the first two SVD missionaries to China, Fr. John B. Anzer, SVD, and
Fr. Joseph Freinademetz, SVD.
December 8, 1889 Co-founds the Missionary Sisters of the Holy Spirit.
December 1896 Co-founds the cloistered sisters, Missionary Sisters Servants of the Holy
Spirit of Perpetual Adoration.
1889 to 1909 Period of expansion of missionary work to Argentina (1889); Togo (1892);
Brazil (1895); New Guinea (1896); Chile (1900); U.S.A. (1900); Japan (1906); Paraguay
(1908); Philippines (1909).
January 15, 1909 Arnold Janssen dies at Steyl, Netherlands.
October 19, 1975 Arnold Janssen is beatified in Rome by Pope Paul VI.
October 5, 2003 Arnold Janssen is canonized by Pope John Paul II.

Divine Word College

Arnold Janssen was born on November 5, 1837 in Goch, a small city in lower
Rhineland (Germany). The second of ten children, his parents instilled in him a deep
devotion to religion. He was ordained a priest on August 15, 1861 for the diocese of
Muenster and was assigned to teach natural sciences and mathematics in a secondary
school in Bocholt. There he was known for being a strict but just teacher. Due to his
profound devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, he was named Diocesan Director for
the Apostleship of Prayer. This apostolate encouraged Arnold to open himself to
Christians of other denominations.

Little by little he became more aware of the spiritual needs of people beyond the
limits of his own diocese, developing a deep concern for the universal mission of the
church. He decided to dedicate his life to awaking in the German church its
missionary responsibility. With this in mind, in 1873 he resigned from his teaching
post and soon after founded The Little Messenger of the Sacred Heart. This popular
monthly magazine presented news of missionary activities and it encouraged German-
speaking Catholics to do more to help the missions.

These were difficult times for the Catholic Church in Germany. Bismark unleashed
the Kulturkampf with a series of anti-Catholic laws, which led to the expulsion of
priests and religious and to the imprisonment of many bishops. In this chaotic
situation Arnold Janssen proposed that some of the expelled priests could go to the
foreign missions or at least help in the preparation of missionaries. Slowly but surely,
and with a little prodding from the Apostolic Vicar of Hong Kong, Arnold discovered
that God was calling him to undertake this difficult task. Many people said that he was
not the right man for the job, or that the times were not right for such a project.
Arnold's answer was, The Lord challenges our faith to do something new, precisely
when so many things are collapsing in the Church.

With the support of a number of bishops, Arnold inaugurated the mission house on
September 8, 1875 in Steyl, Holland, and thus began the Divine Word Missionaries.
Already on March 2, 1879 the first two missionaries set out for China. One of these
was Joseph Freinademetz.

Aware of the importance of publications for attracting vocations and funding, Arnold
started a printing press just four months after the inauguration of the house.
Thousands of generous lay persons contributed their time and effort to mission
animation in German-speaking countries by helping to distribute the magazines from
Steyl. From the beginning the new congregation developed as a community of both
priests and Brothers.

The volunteers at the mission house included women as well as men. From practically
the very beginning, a group of women, including Blessed Maria Helena Stollenwerk,
served the community. But their wish was to serve the mission as Religious Sisters.
The faithful, selfless service they freely offered, and a recognition of the important
role women could play in missionary outreach, urged Arnold to found the mission
congregation of the Servants of the Holy Spirit, SSpS, on December 8, 1889. The
first Sisters left for Argentina in 1895.

In 1896 Fr. Arnold selected some of the Sisters to form a cloistered branch, to be
known as Servants of the Holy Spirit of Perpetual Adoration, SSpSAP. Their
service to mission would be to maintain an uninterrupted adoration of the Blessed
Sacrament, praying day and night for the church and especially for the other two
active missionary congregations.

Arnold died on January 15, 1909. His life was filled with a constant search for God's
will, a great confidence in divine providence, and hard work. That his work has been
blessed is evident in the subsequent growth of the communities he founded: more than
6,000 Divine Word Missionaries are active in 63 countries, more than 3,800
missionary Servants of the Holy Spirit, and more than 400 Servants of the Holy Spirit
of Perpetual Adoration.