On July 16th, a German Jesuit, Philipp Jeningen, a man dedicated to the spiritual well-being of the many people he met in the ‘missions’ he gave throughout Bavaria. This beatification adds another festive moment as the Ignatian Year comes to an end.

Philipp Jeningen was born in 1642 in Bavaria and exercised his priestly ministry as an itinerant preacher, mostly in that same region of Germany. For many years, he was attached to the Jesuit Basilica in Ellwangen. That is where he died and was buried in 1704.

A life in accord with the Spirituality of St Ignatius

The Provincial Superior of the Central European Province, Fr Bernhard Bürgler, wrote “Father Philipp Jeningen’s life was entirely in accord with the spirituality of the Spiritual Exercises of Ignatius. He was thus able to help many people be renewed by God in their lives. Thanks to his simple language, his edifying lifestyle, and his philanthropy, he had a great influence everywhere he went. People felt that he believed what he said and - perhaps more importantly - that he demanded nothing of them that he did not demand of himself.”

In a chapel dedicate to Our Lady

The desire to join the Jesuits was already firmly anchored in Philipp at the age of 14 but determined opposition from his parents forced him to wait seven years. When his father, recovering from a serious illness, changed his attitude, Philipp entered the novitiate in 1663. After his studies, he first taught in colleges, and in 1680 he began his missionary activity in Ellwangen, where he was put in charge of a chapel dedicated to Our Lady. His presence attracted many pilgrims, and he obtained permission to build a church in Schönenberg. This church soon became a Marian shrine at a time when such spiritual centres were rare in Germany.

Beatification

Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich SJ, Archbishop of Luxembourg, and President of the Commission of the Bishops’ Conferences of the European Union (COMECE) presided over the beatification celebration of Father Johann Philipp Jeningen SJ (1642-1704), in Ellwangen. Mgr. Gebhard Fürst, Bishop of Rottenburg-Stuttgart, and Mgr. Nikola Eterović, Apostolic Nuncio to Germany, have concelebrate the beatification Mass.

Connection between love of God and love of man

In his address, Mgr. Hollerich praised Jeningen as an example of the connection between love of God and love of man. As examples for today's life, the Cardinal mentioned the commitment to creation, the reception of refugees and the commitment to peace. According to Hollerich, Jeningen managed to "find God in all things of life". Bishop Gebhard Fürst of Rottenburg spoke of "a happy day for Ellwangen, the diocese and far beyond".