St. Arnold Janssen

Arnold Janssen was born November 5, 1837 in the Rhineland (Germany). The second of ten children raised by devout parents, Arnold was ordained in 1861. Initially assigned to teach science and math at a high school, Arnold gradually became more deeply aware of the spiritual needs of people outside his diocese. He founded The Little Messenger of the Sacred Heart to encourage German-speaking Catholics to work for the missions. Strict anti-Catholic laws in Germany led to the expulsion of several priests; Arnold encouraged the exiled priests to work in the missions. He founded the Divine Word Missionaries in 1875, establishing a house in Holland. In 1889, he founded a women’s congregation, the Servants of the Holy Spirit, for missionary work. Later he found a cloistered branch of the order, Servants of the Holy Spirit of Perpetual Adoration. Arnold died January 15, 1909. He was canonized by John Paul II. Today, the Divine Word Missionaries serve in 63 countries.