Francis Xavier Seelos

After completing his novitiate and theological studies in the United States, Francis Xavier Seelos was ordained a priest on December 22, 1844, at the Redemptorist Church of St. James in Baltimore, Maryland. A few months later, he was transferred to St. Philomena Parish in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where he served for nine years.

During his first six years in Pittsburgh, he worked as an assistant under the direction of Saint John Neumann, who was then the superior of the local Redemptorist community. Seelos himself became superior of the community and novice master. His gentleness, constant availability, and deep understanding of the needs of the faithful quickly made him known as an exceptional confessor and spiritual guide. The faithful described him as the missionary with a permanent smile and a generous heart, particularly attentive to the poor and the marginalized. He heard confessions without distinction of race or social status: "I hear confessions in German, English, and French, for whites as well as blacks."

He was subsequently transferred to Baltimore (1854), then to Cumberland (1857), and Annapolis (1862). During the Civil War, he traveled personally to Washington, D.C., to plead with President Abraham Lincoln that Redemptorist students be exempted from military conscription.

In 1860, he was proposed to become Bishop of Pittsburgh, but he humbly begged the Pope not to appoint him, preferring to remain a simple missionary to the poor. His request was granted. From 1863 to 1866, he traveled through several states in the Midwest and on the East Coast as an itinerant missionary, preaching in English and German.

In 1866, he was appointed pastor of St. Mary of the Assumption Parish in New Orleans, Louisiana. There again, he gave himself without counting the cost for the most destitute and the immigrants. In 1867, a terrible yellow fever epidemic struck the city. While visiting and caring for the sick, Father Seelos contracted the virus himself. After several weeks of suffering endured with patience and joy, he died on October 4, 1867, at the age of 48.

From the moment of his death, Father Seelos's reputation for holiness was immense. During his wake, the faithful touched his body with devotional objects, and his confreres immediately began to collect his writings and testimonies of his virtuous life. The cause for beatification was officially opened at the beginning of the 20th century. The informative process opened in Baltimore in 1901. In the 1980s, Father Carl Hoegerl, C.Ss.R., wrote the Positio on the life, virtues, and reputation for holiness of Francis Xavier Seelos, thus allowing the cause to progress decisively in Rome. Pope John Paul II recognized the heroic nature of his virtues and declared him Venerable.

The miracle accepted for his beatification is the scientifically inexplicable healing of Angela Boudreaux in 1966. This Louisiana mother, suffering from terminal liver cancer (a malignant tumor replacing 90% of her liver), had been given up by doctors who gave her only two weeks to live. Upon returning from the hospital, she went to Father Seelos's tomb in New Orleans to implore his intercession and was blessed with his mission cross. She recovered completely and rapidly, a healing that her surgeon described as a true miracle.

On April 9, 2000, during the Great Jubilee, Pope John Paul II beatified Francis Xavier Seelos in St. Peter's Square in Rome. His liturgical feast is set for October 5 (October 4 in the Roman Martyrology).

The cause for his canonization is still ongoing. A diocesan inquiry into a second alleged miracle—the healing of Mary Ellen Heibel from metastatic esophageal cancer in 2005—was finalized by the Archbishop of Baltimore in September 2010 and submitted to the Congregation for the Causes of Saints in Rome in October 2010.

Nicknamed the "joyful ascetic," Blessed Francis Xavier Seelos left behind the image of a priest of profound cheerfulness, disarming humility, and boundless charity. His spirituality, deeply rooted in the Redemptorist charism of Saint Alphonsus Liguori, was centered on the merciful love of Christ, devotion to the Passion, and filial love for the Virgin Mary.

He wrote a practical guide to holiness in ten points, recommending in particular fervent participation in daily Mass, the recitation of the Rosary, a daily visit to the Blessed Sacrament, meditation on the Passion, and the habit of beginning and ending every action with a Hail Mary.

His sacred remains rest today at the National Shrine of Blessed Francis Xavier Seelos, located in St. Mary's Assumption Church in New Orleans, where many pilgrims continue to come to pray for healings and graces through his intercession.