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Fr. Franz Xaver Dirnberger |
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| Fr. Franz Xaver Dimberger,cmf, was born on 13 Jan 1916
at Flishberg, Germany. He was the thirteenth of Fifteen children in the family. After his
basic studies he wanted to become a diocesan priest and enrolled himself in the seminary
at Regensburg.He was asked to leave the seminary after four years because of polysitis, a
heart and lung disease. Back home,he worked as a shepherd for three years. He joined the
Claretians in 1932 at Dreifaltigekeitsberg |
He became a soldier of Hitler in
December 1939 and in the five years he worked in the army. He was wounded five times and
had burns from fire twice. After the world war II he did his Theology at Wurzburg
University and was ordained on 8th August 1948.He became the Provincial
Superior of the German Province in the year 1957.It was under his leadership as
Provincial, the decision to start a mission in India was taken. Accordingly students were
recruited from India and trained in Germany. |
In 1970,Fr. Dirnberger came to
India with the newly ordained Indian Claretians. He became the Novice Master and
Provincial Delegate of the Indian Claretians and worked in these capacities till 1983.
During these years he was stationed at Bangalore and in 1980 during his visit to Germany
he met with an accident and was handicapped physically for the rest of his life .In 1983
he came to Karumathur and stayed there till he breathed his last. He celebrated the Golden
Jubilee of his religious commitment on 1 November 1988.On 12 April 1993 he was called by
God to His abode. |
| A Man Of ‘Ora Et Labora’ |
The Latin maxim ‘ORA ET
LABORA’, which he advocated to the students and lived, found a fuller expression in
the person of Fr. Dirnberger Yes, he was a man of prayer and action.. These two found a
harmonious blend in him. |
| He loved and lived the liturgy of the hours. His
regularity and punctuality in all the works, especially for the community prayers and for
the other liturgical services had an exemplary trait. His thirst for God and His things
were revealed in his love for prayers, in his availability for the works of the
Congregation, in his readiness and in his commitment. He was a Servant of the Word in all
situations. Undaunted at the face of sufferings he helped to raise the Claretian flag in
the Indian sub-continent. His belief and trust in the Divine Providence in carrying out
the different missionary activities had an inviting trait to emulate |
| Fr. Dirnberger was a man of action. A hard worker to
the core, he instilled a sense of labour among his students. There were no mean works for
him but only dignified labour. It was his hard work and firm determination, which helped
him to soar to heights of greatness and roaring success |
He inculturated himself to the
ordinary ways of Indian life. He was very ordinary means of traveling, accustomed himself
to the Indian food, and associated himself with the poor. His initiatives to refrain the
people of Usilampatti area from female infanticide, his generous support to the various
social projects of the Indian Claretians, his whole–hearted acceptance of all the
inconveniences and discomforts even at the time of his illness and his encouragement to
the cause of Evangelization are different dimension of his deep rooted religious
commitment. |
| Birth |
13 Jan 1916 |
| Joins The Claretians |
1932 |
| Soldier Under Hitler |
1939 |
| Theological Studies |
1945 |
| Ordination |
1948 |
| Provincial Superior |
1957 |
| Comes to India |
1970 |
| Meets with Accident |
1980 |
| To Karamathur |
1983 |
| Golden Jubilee |
1988 |
| Death |
12 April 1993 |
|
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The success story of the Claretians
in India is the success story of Fr.Dirnberger. The various Claretian houses and churches
in Germany and in India, including the Omega-shaped St. Claret’s Church at
Karamathur, St. Claret School, Karumathur, Claretian Mercy Home, Azhakusirai and many
other missionary and social projects he helped to establish and carry out reveal the
dynamic and zealous missionary in him. Even in the last years of his life, when he lived
in terrible pain he maintained his hard work and was determined as ever he was. |
He was a Cordis Mariae Filius (CMF)
in the real sense from his adolescent days as a member of the Marian Association till his
death as a Missionary of the Heart of Mary. There was an inseparable bond between the
Mother and himself. His realization of being an instrument in the hands of God, his
readiness to do the will of God, the innumerable rosarieshr recited and his strong
conviction about his religious vocation to be Claretian and his life as gifts of the
Mother, prove this truth. |
Let us Emulate Him
Death cannot remove the persons whom we love, from midst. They will
continue to live in our memories The presence of Fr. Dirnberger will be with us through
the different religious and social institutions he established, the different churches he
constructed, the love and compassion he showed, the sense of labour and hard work he
imparted, the commitment and religious life he lived and above all through the Claretian
presence in India. |
| Fr. Dirnberger was a gift of God to the Indian
Claretians. Let us emulate him in our life and mission, in order to show our acceptance
and cherishing of this gift from God. |
