September 14, 2024
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20TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE BIRTH FOR HEAVEN OF FR. ROLF REICHENBACH SSCC (1931-2004)
The General Chapter of the Brothers of the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary (Picpus), meeting in Rome from September 1 to 22, 2024, will consider, among other things, the applications of the SSCC General Postulator to begin the beatification processes of two religious of the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts who died with a reputation for holiness.
One of them concerns Fr. Rolf Reichenbach SSCC, a missionary in Indonesia, Apostolic Administrator of Pangkalpinang, a charismatic priest with a rich spirituality, a man of great humility, completely devoted to God and man, whom the Lord called to himself exactly 20 years ago, on September 11, 2004.
Friedrich Joseph Reichenbach, later Fr. Rolf, was born as the third son in a Jewish-German Catholic family in Cologne, on Ocober 15, 1931. Because of the attacks to Jewish possessions and person in the 1930s the family moved to the Netherlands in 1939. Then the father moved to the United Kingdom where he died in January 1946. All his three sons studied theology and became priests. Klaus was a diocesan priest in Cologne. Hans was like his brother Rolf a member of the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts and a missionary to Indonesia, but had to return in the early 1960s to the Netherlands.
Rolf Reichanbach made his first vows on September 25, 1953 and final vows on September 25, 1956. He was ordained as a priest on September 14, 1958. One year later, on September 05, 1959, he was sent to strengthen the mission in Indonesia. He came in late 1959 in the diocese of Pangkalpinang and worked as a parish priest in the island of Belitung and even longer in Tanjung Pinang, close to Singapore. His parish was a diaspora church of mostly Chinese Catholics.
In 1975 in the diocese of Pangkalpinang a new problem started: the arrival of ten thousands of boat refugees from Vietnam, espcially on the island of Galang. Fr. Rolf went very often to the island to help them.
In 1977 he became Vicar of the Bishop of Pangkalpinang and then from 1979 until 1988 Apostolic Administrator of the diocese.
From 1988-1991 he was the SSCC Superior for Indonesia. But after that year he returned to the duty of parish priest and more and more concentrated on local and even national propagation for a charismatic spirituality.
Fr. Rolf was very active in many places to give retreats, held talks, also for many young groups and he could use this opportunity to seek more vocations for the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts, not only for Brothers, but also for Sisters.
In the late 1990s Fr. Rolf became the regional supervisor of BPN PKK, Badan Pelayanan Nasional Persekutuan (Doa) Karismatik Katolik. In 2002 he was nominated national supervisor, but soon after that his health declined with cancer of the skin and bones. After long suffering, trip to many hospitals in Singapore, Jakarta, Bandung and the Netherlands he died on September 11, 2004 in Breda.
In 2008, his body, preserved in good condition, was transported from the Netherlands to Indonesia and buried in Batam, where the faithful can ask for the necessary graces through his intercession.
The second application concerns
Fr. Mateo Crawley-Boevey SSCC (1875-1960), one of the greatest apostles of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in the 20th century, founder and zealous propagator of the Work of the Enthronement of the Sacred Heart in Christian families.
He was born on November 18, 1875 in Tingo (Arequipa), Peru. At baptism he was named Edward Maksym. His father, Charles Octave Crawley-Boevey, was of English descent and a Protestant, later converted to Catholicism. Mother Maria, née Murga, was Peruvian and a devout Catholic.
In 1884, the Crawley-Boevey family moved to Valparaiso, Chile. There, at the age of 15, most likely following the example of saint Father Damian of Molokai, Edward joined the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary and took the name Joseph Stanislas, which he later changed to Mateo.
On August 11, 1892, he took perpetual vows, on April 2, 1897, he was ordained a deacon, and on December 17, 1898, he was ordained a priest.
After his ordination, he was appointed director of the Social Center in Santiago, and then collaborated in the creation of the Catholic University of Valparaiso. In 1905, he was appointed rector of the Faculty of Law in Valparaiso.
On August 16, 1906, a key event for the further life of Father Mateo took place. A strong earthquake left Valparaiso in ruins, including the building of the Faculty of Law, of which he was rector. Rushing to help the victims of the disaster, working day and night, Father Mateo brought his body to complete physical exhaustion. In this situation, his superiors, following the doctors' suggestion, decided to send him to Europe for treatment, not realizing that it would begin a completely new stage in Father Mateo's life and activities.
On August 24, 1907, while praying in the Chapel of the Apparitions in Paray-le Monial in France, the young priest regained full health and clearly saw his new mission: winning the whole world to the Sacred Heart by enthroning individual families and social groups. Having previously received the blessing of Pope St. Pius X and strengthened by his pilgrimage to the Holy Land, Father Mateo returns to Chile to begin the crusade for the enthronement of the Sacred Heart. The work spread very quickly in Chile and then in other countries of the Americas.
In the years 1914-1935 Father Mateo promoted enthronement in European countries, then in the years 1935-1940 in Asia and finally in the years 1940-1956 in Hawaii, the United States and Canada. During this period, Father Mateo was seriously ill.
In 1956 he returned to Valparaiso. In 1959, he underwent surgery to amputate a leg infected with gangrene, which was the result of his diabetes and leukemia.
Father Mateo died in the reputation of holiness on May 4, 1960, at the age of 84. His body was buried in the church of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary in Valparaiso, which was most dear to him after the chapel in Paray-le-Monial. Notified of the death of the Founder of the Work of Enthronement, the Holy Father John XXIII sent his condolences to the Superior General of the Congregation, Father Henry Systermans, expressing the hope that the loss suffered by the Congregation "will be compensated by the presence in heaven of a new and effective protector."
I encourage all interested parties to pray fervently for the successful commencement of the beatification processes of both Fr. Rolf Reichenbach and Fr. Mateo Crawley-Boevey.
The General Chapter of the Brothers of the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary (Picpus), meeting in Rome from September 1 to 22, 2024, will consider, among other things, the applications of the SSCC General Postulator to begin the beatification processes of two religious of the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts who died with a reputation for holiness.
One of them concerns Fr. Rolf Reichenbach SSCC, a missionary in Indonesia, Apostolic Administrator of Pangkalpinang, a charismatic priest with a rich spirituality, a man of great humility, completely devoted to God and man, whom the Lord called to himself exactly 20 years ago, on September 11, 2004.
Friedrich Joseph Reichenbach, later Fr. Rolf, was born as the third son in a Jewish-German Catholic family in Cologne, on Ocober 15, 1931. Because of the attacks to Jewish possessions and person in the 1930s the family moved to the Netherlands in 1939. Then the father moved to the United Kingdom where he died in January 1946. All his three sons studied theology and became priests. Klaus was a diocesan priest in Cologne. Hans was like his brother Rolf a member of the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts and a missionary to Indonesia, but had to return in the early 1960s to the Netherlands.
Rolf Reichanbach made his first vows on September 25, 1953 and final vows on September 25, 1956. He was ordained as a priest on September 14, 1958. One year later, on September 05, 1959, he was sent to strengthen the mission in Indonesia. He came in late 1959 in the diocese of Pangkalpinang and worked as a parish priest in the island of Belitung and even longer in Tanjung Pinang, close to Singapore. His parish was a diaspora church of mostly Chinese Catholics.
In 1975 in the diocese of Pangkalpinang a new problem started: the arrival of ten thousands of boat refugees from Vietnam, espcially on the island of Galang. Fr. Rolf went very often to the island to help them.
In 1977 he became Vicar of the Bishop of Pangkalpinang and then from 1979 until 1988 Apostolic Administrator of the diocese.
From 1988-1991 he was the SSCC Superior for Indonesia. But after that year he returned to the duty of parish priest and more and more concentrated on local and even national propagation for a charismatic spirituality.
Fr. Rolf was very active in many places to give retreats, held talks, also for many young groups and he could use this opportunity to seek more vocations for the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts, not only for Brothers, but also for Sisters.
In the late 1990s Fr. Rolf became the regional supervisor of BPN PKK, Badan Pelayanan Nasional Persekutuan (Doa) Karismatik Katolik. In 2002 he was nominated national supervisor, but soon after that his health declined with cancer of the skin and bones. After long suffering, trip to many hospitals in Singapore, Jakarta, Bandung and the Netherlands he died on September 11, 2004 in Breda.
In 2008, his body, preserved in good condition, was transported from the Netherlands to Indonesia and buried in Batam, where the faithful can ask for the necessary graces through his intercession.
The second application concerns
Fr. Mateo Crawley-Boevey SSCC (1875-1960), one of the greatest apostles of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in the 20th century, founder and zealous propagator of the Work of the Enthronement of the Sacred Heart in Christian families.
He was born on November 18, 1875 in Tingo (Arequipa), Peru. At baptism he was named Edward Maksym. His father, Charles Octave Crawley-Boevey, was of English descent and a Protestant, later converted to Catholicism. Mother Maria, née Murga, was Peruvian and a devout Catholic.
In 1884, the Crawley-Boevey family moved to Valparaiso, Chile. There, at the age of 15, most likely following the example of saint Father Damian of Molokai, Edward joined the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary and took the name Joseph Stanislas, which he later changed to Mateo.
On August 11, 1892, he took perpetual vows, on April 2, 1897, he was ordained a deacon, and on December 17, 1898, he was ordained a priest.
After his ordination, he was appointed director of the Social Center in Santiago, and then collaborated in the creation of the Catholic University of Valparaiso. In 1905, he was appointed rector of the Faculty of Law in Valparaiso.
On August 16, 1906, a key event for the further life of Father Mateo took place. A strong earthquake left Valparaiso in ruins, including the building of the Faculty of Law, of which he was rector. Rushing to help the victims of the disaster, working day and night, Father Mateo brought his body to complete physical exhaustion. In this situation, his superiors, following the doctors' suggestion, decided to send him to Europe for treatment, not realizing that it would begin a completely new stage in Father Mateo's life and activities.
On August 24, 1907, while praying in the Chapel of the Apparitions in Paray-le Monial in France, the young priest regained full health and clearly saw his new mission: winning the whole world to the Sacred Heart by enthroning individual families and social groups. Having previously received the blessing of Pope St. Pius X and strengthened by his pilgrimage to the Holy Land, Father Mateo returns to Chile to begin the crusade for the enthronement of the Sacred Heart. The work spread very quickly in Chile and then in other countries of the Americas.
In the years 1914-1935 Father Mateo promoted enthronement in European countries, then in the years 1935-1940 in Asia and finally in the years 1940-1956 in Hawaii, the United States and Canada. During this period, Father Mateo was seriously ill.
In 1956 he returned to Valparaiso. In 1959, he underwent surgery to amputate a leg infected with gangrene, which was the result of his diabetes and leukemia.
Father Mateo died in the reputation of holiness on May 4, 1960, at the age of 84. His body was buried in the church of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary in Valparaiso, which was most dear to him after the chapel in Paray-le-Monial. Notified of the death of the Founder of the Work of Enthronement, the Holy Father John XXIII sent his condolences to the Superior General of the Congregation, Father Henry Systermans, expressing the hope that the loss suffered by the Congregation "will be compensated by the presence in heaven of a new and effective protector."
I encourage all interested parties to pray fervently for the successful commencement of the beatification processes of both Fr. Rolf Reichenbach and Fr. Mateo Crawley-Boevey.
