Servant and Instrument

CHAPTER TWO

Franziska’s Activities after Completing her Education until the Founding of the Congregation of the Daughters of Divine Charity.

Unfortunately not as many dates as we would like to have are available from this part of Franziska’s life. Especially unknown is the length of time she spent in this or that employment. What is available, though, also gives witness to her noble character, to her restless striving for the glory of God and the salvation of souls, and shows by what wonderful ways and through how many trials the Lord often leads those whom He has chosen as special instruments for His purposes and to fulfill His plans.
After a short stay in the home of her parents, Franziska returned to Munich to the Institute of the School Sisters to work there as a teacher. She soon had the total love of her students and achieved the best results as a teacher. Gladly would Franziska have been accepted in the Congregation of the School Sisters of Notre Dame, but in spite of her preference for religious life, she could not make up her mind to enter.[1] As she herself often mentioned later, it was as if an inner voice were saying that this is not the destiny to which God had called her. Of course, she did not as yet know where this destiny would be found. The desire she had since childhood to work with poor pagan children, and which still inspired her, was to be at least partially fulfilled. At that time, as already noted earlier, public examinations were the practice in schools. On the occasions of such examinations, His Majesty King Ludwig I of Bavaria often came to the Institute of the School Sisters. His Daughter-in-Law, Queen Marie, also frequently honored the Institute with her visits. Both soon noticed the young, talented teacher so gifted with many wonderful qualities and deigned to show her special favor. King Ludwig cherished the intention of buying a number of black children at his own expense, bringing them to Europe, and letting them be educated and instructed in the Catholic Faith by the School Sisters in Munich. No one seemed more suited to take charge of the education of these little black children than Franziska, more so after he knew of her wish to work with the poor pagan children. Black children actually were bought in Khartoum, brought to Munich through a priest, and then entrusted to the overjoyed Franziska. The exact number of children is unknown but it must have been about 24 girls of various ages. Franziska devoted herself with complete attention to her little black ones; Her time belonged to them, she sacrificed even rest and recreation for them. Above all, she strove to achieve a knowledge of their mother tongue, as well as to give them the most necessary minimum of the German language in order to make possible an understanding and instruction. It was no small task to civilize these little ones for, initially their inborn wildness often broke through. Franziska often mentioned later, that she was her most pious at this time, since she, in the fear that her charges could attack her, kept herself constantly prepared for death. In spite of this, she spared no effort and so, after a while, was richly rewarded, as she won the love and attachment of the children. These soon called her nothing but “Mamma”. In later years Franziska frequently and gladly told of her dear black children who so appreciatively opened their unspoiled little hearts to the holy truths of the Faith. The following little episode is an example of this. Some of the older European born students of the Institute had become guilty of a lie; so the little black children came very shocked and upset to Franziska and said, “Mamma, Mamma, eating Jesus and making lies!” It was simply incomprehensible to these simple children of nature that one could lie with the same tongue that had touched the Holy Body of Jesus. With longing and holy joy Franziska awaited the day when her little darlings would be reborn in the water of Holy Baptism as children of God. This day was for her one of the greatest happiness and purest heavenly delight. Unfortunately, Franziska was not to have her dear Black ones very long; It was soon obvious that these could not tolerate the European climate. One child after the other became ill and almost all pined away in spite of the best medical efforts and the most careful nursing. If Franziska had been a mother to the little ones before, now, in illness she was even more so and cared for them until the last moments with the sacrifice of her own strength. How painful it was for her heart as an unrelenting death once again took one of her charges! And yet she felt comfort and joy at the thought that these had gone into eternity enlightened with the true Faith and in the white dress of Baptismal grace. How many blessings for her later work will these little black ones, in Heaven shining white angels, have interceded for their loving foster mother! Of the few black girls who remained alive, one entered the Congregation of the School Sisters; One married, but, unfortunately, unhappily. This former pupil often wrote to her former foster mother in order to seek consolation in her troubles.

After the death of most of her dear black children, Franziska took a position as teacher in the Deaf and Dumb Institute in Munich and stayed there some years. This position gave her again a fitting outlet for her charity and she gave of herself to the poor deaf and dumb with the same devotion as she had earlier to her little black children. Here also Franziska enjoyed general love and respect, though this position also did not seem to be the one to which she felt herself innerly driven. More and more she was confirmed in the thought of founding her own congregation for the honor of God and the welfare of the poor. How and where this was to happen she, of course, did not yet know. Then a priest with the name Depozzo from Sett in the Canton Graubunden in Switzerland came to know Franziska. He had a similar intention as she and therefore encouraged her to found jointly with him, a Congregation which would actualize her ideas. So Franziska decided to give up her position in Munich and traveled to Illanz in Switzerland, where, in July, 1865, with the Reverend Depozzo, she founded an educational institution. Here Franziska was employed as directress, since only by and by would they attempt to organize a Congregation with the members who joined them. The Institute, also, flourished under Franziska’s leadership and in August, 1867 she already founded a branch in Dornbirn in Vorarlberg, which opened on September 6 of the same year with 64 students and gave reason for the most beautiful hopes. At the wish of Rev. Depozzo, Franziska was also supposed to found a similar educational institution in Ebersberg in Bavaria and it seemed to promise a beautiful field of activity. Unfortunately, the above named priest was very inconsistent and had once this, another time that, idea which were obviously not realizable. Convinced that she would not achieve the desired results in this situation, Franziska, after mature deliberation decided to give it up and to follow independently the goal that hovered before her. Still, she wanted to weigh carefully how she could reach this in conformity with the will of God. In order not to be idle during the time she clarified this for herself, she rented an apartment at the carpenter Kerschels and began a private school attached to a kindergarten and vocational school. She did not want to do this for herself, but for Miss Karoline Tschofen (died as a member of the “Englischen Fraulein” Institute in Brixen on September 23, 1897) who was employed with her as a teacher in Dornbirn and had come to Ebersberg. By the time this institute was functioning, she expected to have achieved clarity concerning her own plans. With God’s help the above named school, conducted by Franziska as Principal, made a good start. She employed some teachers and wore with them a kind of religious habit. In the meantime her spirit worked uninterruptedly on her ideas and in continual fervent prayer she pleaded for enlightenment from above. Her prayer was not in vain, the goal which she would follow stood with increasing clarity before her eyes. During her sojourns in larger cities she had had the opportunity to see the many dangers to which unemployed girls were exposed; how these, during their time of unemployment often not only had to use up their meager savings, but also could be ruined in body and soul. This touched her heart profoundly and she regarded it as absolutely necessary that institutes be brought into existence, especially in large cities, which would help remedy this evil by accepting without cost and providing care and employment services for unemployed girls. At the same time, these institutes should provide them with useful work and give them opportunity to gain the necessary knowledge and skills for their position, as well as confirming them in their holy religion and instructing them in their duties as Christians and good servants. Franziska wanted to found such an institute, and, if it thrived, to found various branches. Since she rightly recognized that servants had much influence on the children in the families and therefore on the coming generations, she saw the education of good servants as necessary as their protection during their time of unemployment. She therefore conceived the further intention of accepting poor orphaned girls and educating them as worthwhile, good servants who later could find an honest advancement in the world and do good in families. If God would bless these undertakings, her institutes would later be devoted to the education and instruction of youth generally, but the main goal of caring for poor servant girls would always be kept in view. Franziska wanted to name the congregation to be founded: “Congregation of the Daughters of Divine Love,” because the members whom she hoped to receive through God’s help, besides striving for Christian perfection and personal holiness, would, for the love of God, devote themselves to works of charity. It is easy to see how well Franziska recognized the needs of the times and how deeply the carrying out of her plans would penetrate the social question. Queen Marie of Bavaria to whom Franziska traveled from Ebersberg to inform Her Majesty of her plans, also grasped this. The noble Queen, who herself had such a kind heart for the poor and who still had good memories of Franziska from Munich, recognized immediately that here was a work of great significance and did not miss giving Franziska lively encouragement to fulfill her plans. Even later, her Majesty retained a lively interest in her and her undertakings and when, on occasion Franziska’s spiritual daughters made short trips to Bavaria to collect alms and asked for an audience with Queen Marie she always received them most graciously, gave them gifts and treated them, so to say, as friends. Her Majesty showed them the palace, entertained them, and finally let them be taken by carriage to the next place that they wanted to visit. Queen Marie always sent gracious greetings to Mother Franziska and once even sent, after she had personally signed her name under each picture, her portrait taken in two different poses. These same are still preserved as precious souvenirs of the noble Queen as well as of Mother Franziska.

Franziska was now indeed herself clear on the purpose of the Congregation to be founded, but did not yet know where its birthplace would be. On a trip she made in 1867 to Hungary, to collect alms for her institute in Ebersberg, she went through Vienna and met Dr. Theodor Wiedemann. As he heard of Franziska’s plans, he told her that His Highness Archduke Albrecht had reserved a sum of 300,000 florins for the foundation of an institute for servants, and only the capable hand to carry out the project was missing. This was a ray of hope for Franziska. After she had corresponded with this man for a longer time and he had given her hope of support from important people, she decided to go to Vienna in the spring of 1868 in order to convince herself personally whether or not there was a possibility of a foundation; But the time determined by God had not yet arrived. As she went, totally prepared for departure, to the coach in Ebersberg at dawn, she neglected to notice a stone in her path, fell and sprained her hand so badly that the thought of the trip had to be put temporarily aside. Therefore she returned home. The sprain caused her much pain and it was a long time until the hand was again completely sound. Meanwhile, her thoughts were often on the intended foundation and in continual prayer she pleaded with God that His holy will might be fulfilled in and through her. After healing was completed, Franziska traveled to Innsbruck in September, 1868, to strengthen herself with a retreat before beginning her work, and at the same time, to weigh everything once again with the assistance of the Holy Spirit. She made the Spiritual Exercises with Father Jung, a priest of the Society of Jesus, to whom she also revealed her plans and who strengthened her in this intention. After finishing the retreat, she returned to Ebersberg, gave the direction of her institute to the temporary care of Miss Karoline Tschofen, said farewell, and began the journey to Vienna on October 24.

[1] Translator’s note: She did enter but left sometime later.