These Last Days News - December 10, 2012
St. Clement Maria Hofbauer Fought the Spread of Freemasonry (December 26, 1751 – March 15, 1820)...
"You must instruct and bring to your children the knowledge of your saints. Their example is in the light, My children. Those you have set up to idolize upon earth now are the creations of satan. You must accept and follow the example of your saints, those who have been given this honor by your holy Church. They, too, My child, did not win their crowns without trial, rejection, and often, martyrdom."
- The Bayside Prophecies
Jesus, June 5, 1975
The following was written by John Paul Wohlscheid. This story was published in the bulletin of St. Mary's Church, Lowell, Michigan. Maybe you could have it published in your own local parish bulletin.
St. Clement Maria Hofbauer was born on December 26,1751 to Paul Hofbauer and Maria Steer in what is now the Czech Republic. The following day he was baptized and given the name Johannes. He was the ninth of twelve children. From an early age, Hofbauer wished to become a priest. However, his father died when he was six years old. This loss meant that the family could not afford the required education to become a priest. He studied Latin with his parish priest, but the priest died when Hofbauer was fourteen and the new pastor did not have time to help him.
Hofbauer was forced to learn a trade since he was unable to receive religious training. In 1767, he became an apprentice to a baker in the capital of Znaim. He continued to study in his spare time. He also spent several years as a servant in the Premonstratensian monastery at Bruck. Here he cared for the homeless and hungry that war and famine had created. Next, in 1775, he tried the life of a hermit. However, he was forced to give up the life of a hermit when Emperor Joseph II abolished all hermitages in the Hapsburg Empire. After two pilgrimages to Rome, Hofbauer once again became a hermit in the city of Tivoli at the shrine of Our Lady of Quintiliolo, under the patronage of Bishop Barnabus Chiaramonte (later Pope Pius VII). Here, he took the names Clement and Maria.
Eventually, at the age of 29 and under the patronage of two women he had met in Rome, Hofbauer started to study for the priesthood. However, he had to study at government controlled universities because the government has closed all seminaries. sHe was to endure questionable classes filled with error and rationalism. He complete his studied in 1784, but could go no further because the Emperor had forbidden religious communities to accept novices. Later that year, Hofbauer was accepted by the Redemptorist community in Rome. He was ordained in March of 1785.
After his ordination, Hofbauer and a friend were sent back home to establish the Redemptorists in northern Europe. However, Emperor Joseph II had closed thousands of monasteries and convents and was not willing to allow new religious organizations to open. Instead, they traveled to Warsaw, Poland. In the midst of poverty and illiteracy, Hofbauer and his companion worked to restore the Faith and fight the spread of Freemasonry. Poland and the rest of Europe were in the midst of political upheaval as Napoleonic armies were engaged in conquest. During this time, whenever Hofbauer saw a homeless boy on the street, he would bring him to the rectory and care for him. Soon there was not enough room in the rectory for all the boys. Hofbauer opened the Child Jesus Refuge for homeless boys. He was not ashamed to beg. Once, while entering a bakery to buy bread, Hofbauer found out that the baker was without an assistant. He worked all day at his old trade to help earn money for his boys. Four years later, the refuge for homeless boy had become an academy.
St. Clement Maria HofbauerAll of Hofbauer’s work in Warsaw was done at great personal risk, as Poland fought for its freedom. Finally, however, the battle was lost and in 1808 the mission was closed and forty Redemptorists were taken to prison. Four weeks later they were sent back to their own countries. In September, Hofbauer reached Vienna. Here, he worked as a hospital chaplain and later was appointed chaplain to the Ursuline Sisters. Vienna in the early 19th century was a major cultural center. Hofbauer spent time with students and intellectuals, including the daughter of Mendelssohn, Frederick von Klinkowstroem, and the future Bishop Frederic Baraga. However, even in Vienna Hofbauer found himself under attack. For a while he was prohibited from preaching. Eventually, Emperor Franz of Austria learned how much Hofbauer’s hard work was apprenticed in the Vatican and lifted all restrictions. Hofbauer’s last few years were spent in the work of conversion and training young men. St. Clement Maria Hofbauer died on March 15, 1820. He was canonized by Pope Pius X on May 20, 1909. He was made patron saint of Vienna, Austria.
"My child, you will make it known that Our children upon earth must speak often in the spirit with the good souls who are waiting to join them. Ask and they shall receive guidance.
"In human understanding, My child, it must be made known to mankind that your saints who are now in the heavens, in the Kingdom of your Father, they have full knowledge of the trials of earth and mankind, and therefore will be of great solace to you. Learn by their example. They did not seek the treasures of the world, but they truly sought to store these graces of treasures in the Kingdom.”
– The Bayside Prophecies
Our Lady of the Roses, November 1, 1975
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