Saint Joseph Freinademetz and the 12th Station of the Cross

On January 29, the Arnoldus Family and the Universal Church will celebrate the feast of St. Joseph Freinademetz, our first missionary to China. There are many things we could write about St. Joseph. However, I would like to focus on one significant aspect of his spirituality: The suffering and the death of Jesus Christ.Various sources, particularly in Fr. Fritz’s book, As Wine Poured Out, indicated that St. Joseph Freinademetz was buried at the twelfth station of the cross in Taikia after his death on January 28, 1909. [1] It was not a casual or convenient, but a deliberated decision by the SVD confreres to lay him to rest at the twelfth station of the cross because they had witnessed firsthand Fr. Joseph’s missionary life rooted in the spirituality of the suffering and death of Jesus Christ. The death of Jesus on the cross is the means of salvation for all humanity.

St. Joseph understood well that the pain and the suffering are not the end but a phase in life to pass over to the resurrection and the glory. It is reported that St. Joseph always had a painting of the twelfth station of the cross on the wall next to his bed. He believes in the love of God for all humanity, especially for the unbaptized (pagans). He was willing to go to a faraway country such as China to preach the Good News and to convert the Chinese to the faith. For him, he has no reason to leave his homeland, which is so beautiful, unless there is a more significant cause to serve God and his people. His life as a missionary in China was not so easy. He had to learn Chinese languages spoken differently from Hong Kong and Shandong. He was facing death threats, sickness, and difficult situations.

I had often visited South Tyrol, the autonomous region of Italy where St. Joseph’s family came from. It is one of the most beautiful places on earth, and I enjoyed it so much every time I was there, especially in Badia Abtei, where he was born, and Brixen, where he had his priesthood formation. In this region, one thing that is so predominantly displayed is the 12th Station of the Cross, particularly on the altar of every church and on every path’s corner around the mountains’ sloops. From his childhood, every day, the image of the Crucifix was always in front of him as he walked from his house to the Parish Church below the hill. Every day in his formative years, he would look up to the beautiful fresco of the twelfth station of the cross on the altar of the major seminary at Brixen.

It was indeed a revelation for me to recognize this vital aspect of St. Joseph’sspirituality. We do not have to look to faraway places or elsewhere but to places close to us, such as our childhood, family, and community faith experiences. St. Joseph found his spirituality and became a missionary to China on the twelfth station of the cross. He was surrounded in the early years of life and deeply rooted in it throughout his missionary life in China. St. Arnold Janssen founded the missionary congregation, the Society of the Divine Word, on the words of the Prologue of the Gospel of St. John because he heard and read every Sunday in his family. With the example of St. Joseph, who formed his spirituality from his family and homeland religious tradition, we ask ourselves where we can draw the source of spirituality for our life.

Trong Joseph Nguyen, SVD

Leave a Reply