A Brief History of St. Clement Hofbauer, C.Ss.R.
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March 15, 2022On March 15, 2022, we celebrate 202 years since the death of St. Clement Mary Hofbauer, CSsR. Who was he? And what makes him so important in the context of today? Clement knew war, and experienced displacement because of war. Perhaps we might turn to our brother for inspiration today.
Clement was born in what is now the Czech Republic on December 26, 1751. He was poor, and dreamed of having an education and becoming a priest, but that door seemed closed to him for a long time. But one day, he offered an act of kindness to a group of ladies who, moved by this, offered to fund his education. The door was opened, and Clement was able to complete his basic education and advanced catechetical, philosophical, and theological studies.
During this time, he made yearly pilgrimages to Rome, where he met the Redemptorists. On October 24, 1784, with a friend—Thaddeus Hubl-- Clement entered the Redemptorist Congregation. Both professed religious vows on March 19, 1785, and were ordained priests on March 29. They wanted to spread the Redemptorists beyond Italy and so, with the blessing of St. Alphonsus, Clement and Thaddeus headed north.
Clement was a true missionary. When others saw closed doors, he saw possibilities. He was the first to dream of a Redemptorist mission in Canada. Clement’s most famous saying was “The Gospel must be proclaimed anew,” and he was always on the alert to find new ways and means of proclaiming the Good News in every circumstance in which he found himself.
Clement founded the first house of the Redemptorists in Warsaw, Poland, and other houses were established in Poland, Prussia, Germany, Switzerland, and Romania. He lived in Warsaw from 1787 to 1808. Because of a command of the emperor, Redemptorists were not permitted to evangelize in public or conduct parish missions. Clement saw not a closed door, but an open one. With the collaboration of many laypeople, he made the Redemptorist church in Warsaw a centre of vibrant liturgical life, missionary outreach and service to the poor.
With the takeover of Poland by Napoleon, the Redemptorists were suppressed. All of the missionary centres that Clement had founded were closed, and Clement—forced to leave Warsaw—made his way to Vienna. It seemed as if all of his work had come to nothing. But Clement saw not a closed door but an open one. He was resilient, and started anew.
Through the charisms of spiritual direction, preaching, confession, and works of charity, he converted and helped people of every social class, and so he had a profound impact on the society, culture and political structures of his day.
Clement died at Vienna on March 15, 1820. He was canonized by St. Pius X on May 20, 1909. He is honoured as the co-patron saint of both Vienna and Warsaw.
Today, we honour his memory and commit ourselves to learning from his faith, energy and zeal for the Gospel, and his resilient spirit. Like him, may we see not closed doors, but open doors of opportunity for us, like St. Clement, to proclaim the Gospel anew in our own place and times.
(Courtesy of Together In Mission.)
