The canonization of

Arnold Janssen and Joseph Freinademetz

 “Canonization” is not only for the recognition of individual holiness, nor is it only to present a person as an intercessor before God. Canonization proposes a number of virtues that Christians should emulate, based on the life witness of a specific person.

Arnold Janssen and Joseph Freinademetz remind us of the fundamental identity and mission of the Church: we are a community of Jesus’ disciples, united in his love and sent by him to all peoples. Every local church must look beyond its own needs, urgent though they may be, so as to discover and respond to the most profound needs and aspirations of peoples of all cultures and races. The Church must be a community that extends an open armed welcome to all people, building a unity that protects and appreciates the richness of diversity.

The lives of Arnold and Joseph give expression to Jesus’ vision: a Kingdom where all peoples and cultures reach the fullness of life in the loving embrace of God. As sons and daughters of the God of love, we recognise ourselves as brothers and sisters in a new reality that challenges us to overcome the obstacles that we encounter in our daily journey towards God’s reign of love: racism, xenophobia, fear of other religious ways, lack of social solidarity, and a lukewarm or nonexistent faith.

Arnold Janssen, both personally and as a German citizen, felt responsible for his brothers and sisters who lived in the remotest corners of the world. Though he never left Europe, he dedicated his life to them. When he found it necessary he renounced his German citizenship so as to cross frontiers that were otherwise closed to him. And because the Kingdom transcends the limits of nationalities, cultures and races, he soon transformed his “German” foundation into an international community. In this way legitimate differences could not only be respected but also valued as a witness to the presence of God’s love. Arnold insisted that missionaries be educated in the social sciences so that they could systematically study the cultures and languages of other nations and so be able to appreciate the cultural richness of the people with whom they would work. A notable outcome of this concern was the establishment in 1906 of the Anthropos Journal.

Joseph Freinademetz once wrote that “not even for 3000 coronas am I prepared to leave country and friends so as to relocate myself forever in a new world.” But love for Jesus and for all of God’s people motivated him to do exactly that. He left country, family, friends, culture and language, to go to China, a world that was totally new to him. It was a difficult challenge. Struggles with the language and the new way of life provoked in him a “culture shock” where everything seemed dark and depressing. This same experience afflicts almost all those who have to emigrate and put down roots in a new reality. But he was able to respond to the challenge. Though he never forgot the mountains that surrounded his native valley, he opted to become Chinese among the Chinese, even writing: “ I love China and the Chinese; I want to die among them and to be laid to rest among them”… “ I want to continue being Chinese even in heaven”. And so it turned out… There is a certain irony in the fact that the vicissitudes of history erased all trace of his tomb. It is now entirely impossible to separate him from China.

In both Arnold and Joseph one finds a deep love for the Word of God. In both there was an intense passion to be instruments of God’s will. And in both, one finds a living testimony that the Kingdom is open to all, no matter what the race, culture or language or way of life… Their openness was also able to include all, seeing in legitimate differences a source of enrichment, even in spite of the difficulties that can sometimes result.

Their lives do have something to say to us today.  We live in a multicultural and multireligious world that compels people from the farthest ends of the earth to learn to live together side-by-side. If Arnold and Joseph were able to do it, why can’t we?

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