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In Pace Christi
Kieferle Franz Xaver
Date of birth :
06/12/1919
Place of birth :
Mengen
Temporary Vows :
17/07/1938
Perpetual Vows :
03/03/1951
Date of ordination :
29/07/1951
Date of death :
10/09/2003
Place of death :
Ellwangen/D
Fr. Franz Xaver Kieferle (06.12.1919-10.09.2003)
Fr. Franz Xaver Kieferle was born on 6 December 1919 in Mengen, a small town in the diocese of Rottenburg-Stuttgart, in the state of Baden-Württemberg. He was the eighth of nine siblings. The parish priest stated that his family was very devout, stood by the Church and had an excellent reputation in the community. “Thus Fr. Franz grew up in a very Catholic environment. After the first years of primary school his parents sent him to St. Josef, a diocesan boys hostel, where he stayed for one year. Then he entered the minor seminary of the Comboni Missionaries in Ellwangen. Fr. Spindler, the formator responsible for him at St. Josef’s diocesan hostel wrote: “Franz Kieferle was a pupil at our institute from April 1932 to 1933. His religious life was good; in his behaviour he developed a community spirit towards his fellow students and he was loyal to his superiors. With his behaviour he seems fit for religious life and to be a missionary.”
The years of war and those with the Comboni Missionaries
Studies in Comboni junior seminaries (also called apostolic schools) at that time did not complete matric before the novitiate, so Franz in 1936 entered the noviciate in Bamberg and in 1938 made his first profession. There he also started his philosophical and theological studies at the diocesan theological faculty. Then, like many others of his confreres, he was drafted into the army in 1940 (as a medical orderly). His younger brother, Alfons, was also just about to enter the novitiate when he too was drafted. While Alfons fell in action, Franz survived five years of war and four years as a prisoner of war in Russia. Even his vocation survived in spite of all the terrible experiences he had to go through and, when in 1949 he came back, he continued his studies. On 29 July 1951 he was ordained priest in the cathedral of Bamberg.
From 1952 until 1958 he was a formator in our minor seminary in Bad Mergentheim and the following two years in Unterpremstätten near Graz (Austria). In those days the young priests were given tasks they had not been especially trained for. Fr. Franz, nevertheless, set to work with all his good will. He had a fiery character and at times he acted on the spur of the moment, which became a trademark of his. He was very kind by nature, honest to himself and to others, so that, whenever he realised he had gone too far, he was the first to apologise. As boys’ prefect he insisted very much on discipline, also influenced by his military background, because he wanted to help them to be people always ready and willing to prove their worth.
His years in Spain
In 1959 Fr. Franz was sent to Spain. Until 1967 he was the superior of the new apostolic school in Saldaña. The year he arrived in Saldaña, though, the school did not exist, it still had to be built. It’s construction, in fact, only started in 1960. He had, then, to face two challenges: to learn Spanish and to supervise the construction work. Full of energy, he threw himself into these two tasks and managed to overcome both of them spurred on by his fiery character. While the school was being built, the students attended the local “Instituto Laboral”, a kind of junior high school. Once the building was completed, the students were taught at home, so that teachers had to be found and employed. Fr. Franz, also through his ability to find and keep contacts, employed the teachers he needed and successfully negotiated with the town and government offices for the necessary permissions.
In 1967 he became the superior of the community of Palencia. The building had been started in 1966 and the General Administration had asked Fr. Franz to supervise the work and to see that everything went smoothly. In the heat of the moment sometimes he was inclined to decide things on his own and to do things quickly. The Superior General had a hard time in slowing him down. After three years in Saldaña, the first Spanish novices moved into the house.
During his period in Spain, Fr. Franz came into contact and got to know many of the Spanish students and novices. Some of them he met later on as priests or Brothers in Peru, working in his own community.
Reunion of the Institutes
From the very beginning Fr. Franz had been very much in favour of the reunion of the two Comboni Institutes. As a matter fact, the strongest desire for the reunion originated in Spain. Through his easiness to get in contact with other people and through his spontaneous hospitality he contributed a lot to the events that brought the two Comboni Institutes back together. In Spain the practical steps for the reunion were taken nine years before the juridical ones.
His work in Peru
After this important contribution, in 1970 he was transferred to Peru. He was 50 years of age. He accepted the transfer with some bewilderment and a bit of heartache, due to his age and the impression that perhaps he was not needed in Spain any more.
One has to admire his courage for starting a new venture. Actually, even in Peru he set to work immediately, as it was his nature. First he became parish priest at San Pedro in Huánuco, where he devoted himself to pastoral wok, carried on the service of providing a kitchen soup for the children (comedor parroquial), made himself available for prayer groups, worked with the cursillo groups and trained his catechetical workers. In these activities he put all his energy without sparing himself. The then Superior General, Fr. Georg Klose, wrote to him on 14 December 1976: “I am happy about the many positive voices I hear about your work in Huánuco. But please, don’t forget your health, because even though all that zeal is praiseworthy, common sense should not be put completely aside. Undoubtedly one can serve God and the people for a longer time if done through reasonable planning rather than through blind zeal and possibly undermining one’s strength.” After eight years in Huánuco he was called to minister the parish of Pio X in Mirones, Lima. Also there it was difficult for him to slow down. In the meantime people from Huánuco had collected signatures for a petition to have him back. The petition shows how popular he was among them. For Fr. Franz, was quite easy to become friend to all kinds of people.
When his strength began to decline, he was made chaplain of the Sisters in the college Maria Goretti in Lima.
His last years in Germany
1997 for health reasons Fr. Franz went back to Germany, after 27 years of tireless pastoral work in Peru. The last six years of his life he was looked after by the caring community for the elderly and sick in Ellwangen. He passed away on 10 September 2003. May the Lord grant him life eternal as the reward of his missionary life. (Fr. Georg Klose, mccj)
Fr. Franz Xaver Kieferle was born on 6 December 1919 in Mengen, a small town in the diocese of Rottenburg-Stuttgart, in the state of Baden-Württemberg. He was the eighth of nine siblings. The parish priest stated that his family was very devout, stood by the Church and had an excellent reputation in the community. “Thus Fr. Franz grew up in a very Catholic environment. After the first years of primary school his parents sent him to St. Josef, a diocesan boys hostel, where he stayed for one year. Then he entered the minor seminary of the Comboni Missionaries in Ellwangen. Fr. Spindler, the formator responsible for him at St. Josef’s diocesan hostel wrote: “Franz Kieferle was a pupil at our institute from April 1932 to 1933. His religious life was good; in his behaviour he developed a community spirit towards his fellow students and he was loyal to his superiors. With his behaviour he seems fit for religious life and to be a missionary.”
The years of war and those with the Comboni Missionaries
Studies in Comboni junior seminaries (also called apostolic schools) at that time did not complete matric before the novitiate, so Franz in 1936 entered the noviciate in Bamberg and in 1938 made his first profession. There he also started his philosophical and theological studies at the diocesan theological faculty. Then, like many others of his confreres, he was drafted into the army in 1940 (as a medical orderly). His younger brother, Alfons, was also just about to enter the novitiate when he too was drafted. While Alfons fell in action, Franz survived five years of war and four years as a prisoner of war in Russia. Even his vocation survived in spite of all the terrible experiences he had to go through and, when in 1949 he came back, he continued his studies. On 29 July 1951 he was ordained priest in the cathedral of Bamberg.
From 1952 until 1958 he was a formator in our minor seminary in Bad Mergentheim and the following two years in Unterpremstätten near Graz (Austria). In those days the young priests were given tasks they had not been especially trained for. Fr. Franz, nevertheless, set to work with all his good will. He had a fiery character and at times he acted on the spur of the moment, which became a trademark of his. He was very kind by nature, honest to himself and to others, so that, whenever he realised he had gone too far, he was the first to apologise. As boys’ prefect he insisted very much on discipline, also influenced by his military background, because he wanted to help them to be people always ready and willing to prove their worth.
His years in Spain
In 1959 Fr. Franz was sent to Spain. Until 1967 he was the superior of the new apostolic school in Saldaña. The year he arrived in Saldaña, though, the school did not exist, it still had to be built. It’s construction, in fact, only started in 1960. He had, then, to face two challenges: to learn Spanish and to supervise the construction work. Full of energy, he threw himself into these two tasks and managed to overcome both of them spurred on by his fiery character. While the school was being built, the students attended the local “Instituto Laboral”, a kind of junior high school. Once the building was completed, the students were taught at home, so that teachers had to be found and employed. Fr. Franz, also through his ability to find and keep contacts, employed the teachers he needed and successfully negotiated with the town and government offices for the necessary permissions.
In 1967 he became the superior of the community of Palencia. The building had been started in 1966 and the General Administration had asked Fr. Franz to supervise the work and to see that everything went smoothly. In the heat of the moment sometimes he was inclined to decide things on his own and to do things quickly. The Superior General had a hard time in slowing him down. After three years in Saldaña, the first Spanish novices moved into the house.
During his period in Spain, Fr. Franz came into contact and got to know many of the Spanish students and novices. Some of them he met later on as priests or Brothers in Peru, working in his own community.
Reunion of the Institutes
From the very beginning Fr. Franz had been very much in favour of the reunion of the two Comboni Institutes. As a matter fact, the strongest desire for the reunion originated in Spain. Through his easiness to get in contact with other people and through his spontaneous hospitality he contributed a lot to the events that brought the two Comboni Institutes back together. In Spain the practical steps for the reunion were taken nine years before the juridical ones.
His work in Peru
After this important contribution, in 1970 he was transferred to Peru. He was 50 years of age. He accepted the transfer with some bewilderment and a bit of heartache, due to his age and the impression that perhaps he was not needed in Spain any more.
One has to admire his courage for starting a new venture. Actually, even in Peru he set to work immediately, as it was his nature. First he became parish priest at San Pedro in Huánuco, where he devoted himself to pastoral wok, carried on the service of providing a kitchen soup for the children (comedor parroquial), made himself available for prayer groups, worked with the cursillo groups and trained his catechetical workers. In these activities he put all his energy without sparing himself. The then Superior General, Fr. Georg Klose, wrote to him on 14 December 1976: “I am happy about the many positive voices I hear about your work in Huánuco. But please, don’t forget your health, because even though all that zeal is praiseworthy, common sense should not be put completely aside. Undoubtedly one can serve God and the people for a longer time if done through reasonable planning rather than through blind zeal and possibly undermining one’s strength.” After eight years in Huánuco he was called to minister the parish of Pio X in Mirones, Lima. Also there it was difficult for him to slow down. In the meantime people from Huánuco had collected signatures for a petition to have him back. The petition shows how popular he was among them. For Fr. Franz, was quite easy to become friend to all kinds of people.
When his strength began to decline, he was made chaplain of the Sisters in the college Maria Goretti in Lima.
His last years in Germany
1997 for health reasons Fr. Franz went back to Germany, after 27 years of tireless pastoral work in Peru. The last six years of his life he was looked after by the caring community for the elderly and sick in Ellwangen. He passed away on 10 September 2003. May the Lord grant him life eternal as the reward of his missionary life. (Fr. Georg Klose, mccj)