PFANNER, FRANZ

Trappist abbot, African missionary, religious founder; b. Langen, near Bregenz, Austria, Sept. 21, 1825; d. Emmaus, Natal, south africa, May 24, 1909. After university studies in Innsbruck and Padua, Franz (whose baptismal name was Wendelin) studied for the priesthood (1846–50) and was ordained. He served in parish work at Haselstauden until 1859 when he became chaplain to the Sisters of Mercy in Zagreb. In 1863 he joined the trappists at the priory of Mariawald, located in the Eifel region in the Diocese of Aachen. An attempt to expel him from the order (1867) because of a quarrel with the Trappist vicar-general was overruled by the Holy See. In 1869 Pfanner founded Mariastern in Bosnia and acted as its prior. In response to the appeal of Bp. James Ricards, Vicar Apostolic of the Eastern Districts of the Cape of Good Hope, before the Trappist general chapter (1879), Pfanner set out with 31 monks for South Africa, erected the priory of Dunbrody, and acted as its prior until 1882. Since this location was unsatisfactory, the community moved to Natal at the invitation of Bp. Charles Jolivet and began near Pinetown a priory called Mariannhill. In 1885 the priory became an abbey, with Pfanner as abbot. To further his missionary work among the Zulus he founded the missionary sisters of the precious blood and the mariannhill missionaries. Under Pfanner's direction Mariannhill developed into the most important missionary center in South Africa, with 11 mission stations. Difficulties over the conflicting demands of the Trappist rule and evangelization led to Pfanner's suspension for a year as abbot (1892). Within that period he resigned and spent his remaining years laboring on the mission station at Emmaus, despite great suffering from arthritis.

Bibliography: b. hofmann, The Founder of Mariannhill (Dearborn, Mich. 1948), adapted from the Ger. b. huss, Mariannhill: Half a Century of African Mission Life (Detroit 1935). j. dahm, Mariannhill (Mariannhill, Natal, S. Africa 1953). f. schimler, Mariannhill: A Study in Bantu Life and Missionary Effort (Mariannhill 1953); Against the Stream (Mariannhill 1949), w. brown, The Catholic Church in South Africa from Its Origins to the Present Day (New York 1960). a. wilmot, Life and Times of the Rt. Rev. James David Ricards (Cape Town 1908).

[j. e. brady]