for storing milk and cheese. When finally the saw mill did go into operation the Pasha hurried up again to protest. He made it his habit to raise a hue and cry every time he thought there was something to cry about – probably hoping for a bribe. But he achieved nothing, for armed with a title deed from Constantinople Fr. Franz could afford to turn a deaf ear to him.”
Monastery Affairs
Fr. Francis and Fr. Robert jointly petitioned the general administration of the Congregation of Rancé to incorporate Mariastern. If neither Oelenberg nor Mariawald were willing to assume patronage, they would accept a French abbot as pater immediatus. Mariastern fulfilled the conditions for autonomy as laid down by the Trappist rule: its size was “90 yoke under the plow”18 and an additional yoke of standing timber and brushwood. The necessary income was generated by the sale of grain and dairy products. It also owned 14 head of cattle which produced enough milk to make butter and cheese, including Swiss cheese.
„Our products are a stable source of income and so is our Kunstmuehle,19 which does not have its equal in Bosnia. Why, we even expect to make profit with our brickyard because it is the only one of its kind far and wide. Moreover, Mariastern has a terraced vineyard and there are plans to acquire a machine [fruit drier] for making prunes. Ongoing development enables us to feed and maintain upwards from three hundred members … At present, we are five choir monks and six Brothers. – So much about us. But for the uninformed we add that Mariastern was founded by decree of Pope Pius IX himself.”
The reader will recall the animosity of both Oelenberg and Mariawald towards Fr. Francis and his monks. However, this had not prevented a friendly Trappist procurator in Rome, a cardinal and even the pope from giving him the go-ahead. Though the charges against him had been judged groundless and unjustified, the Roman Rota was powerless to stop the rumours circulated against him by fellow Trappists. The Oelenberg chronicler refers to Fr. Francis as a “rebellious” monk, to whom Prior Scheby – “later removed from office” – gave too much confidence. He had allegedly failed to keep the Trappist silence, criticized the Prior openly and denounced him in letters to the archbishop of Cologne. But in the end even this chronicler conceded that Fr. Francis might have been the victim of intrigue. “Certain superiors seem to have recognized him as a capable man feared him. But to give the devil his due, Francis was an extraordinary monk and a man of iron will and tireless work whom Divine Providence used to establish two monasteries [Mariastern and Mariannhill].”
On 15 December, 1872, Fr. Francis pronounced his solemn vows in Port-du-Salut, a Trappist abbey of the Congregation of de Rancé in western France. The following is his handwritten formula of profession:
“I, Fr. Francis, priest and monk in simple vows, Titular Prior of the Monastery of Mariastern, profess solemn vows by the dispensation granted the Trappists by the Sacred Congregation of the Holy Office on 5 February 1868. I promise stability, the conversion of morals and obedience according to the Rule of the holy Abbot Benedict, before God and the saints whose relics are preserved here. I do so for the monastery of Mariastern, a member of the Cistercian Congregation of Our Lady of La Trappe and established in honour of the Mother of God, Mary ever Virgin, in the presence of Rev. Henri, Abbot of Port du Salut, my pater immediatus. – Fr. Franziskus Pfanner.”
Cowls do not make Monks Stones do not make Monasteries
The same Fr. Franz who did not hesitate to call on ministers and [later] millionaires for support made it a point all his life to stay in touch with his native Vorarlberg. He might be a celebrated figure, but he always remained simple and devout – a man of the people, of prayer and work. Naturally, he wished to see this attitude reflected in his Brothers. So he taught them to observe the rule, pray and work and observe the perpetual silence of the Trappists. Giving the best of examples as a monk and pioneer, he did not lack followers as long as he was in charge.
Vocations poured into Mariastern from everywhere. In 1872, three blood brothers asked for admission – John, Matthew and Martin Zimmer from Willenz in Moravia (modern Czech Republic). Their brother, Francis, followed them a year later as an oblate. After him came John Berger, a blacksmith from Hirsching, and Joseph Gatterlehner from Puerach, both places in Upper Austria. In 1873, a fifty-four year-old diocesan priest, John Hofer from St. Leonhard in the Passeier Valley, entered. He was descended from the family of the freedom fighter Andreas Hofer of South Tyrol and as a Trappist received the name Zosimus, but he died less than three years later. In the same year, a master brewer, Wendelin Walter from Upper Silesia, received the habit. Under his capable direction, a small brewery and dairy were established. At almost the same time, Thomas Damm, a bookbinder from Metten near Cologne, joined the community.
The number of monks, recruited for the most part by either Fr. Franz himself or his tireless travelling Brother Zacharias, increased steadily. After ten years, Mariastern counted seventy priests and Brothers!
Mariastern was known for its charity towards the poor.
Abbot Francis:
“I organized a collection of second-hand liturgical vestments in Austria and made sure that they were repaired before they were distributed to the poorest churches in Bosnia. However, what are a few vestments for so many? – In the sacristies of Rome many old vestments are eaten by moths. Many things are discarded simply because they are old and worn. If I could have these as a donation, I would be as content as poor Lazarus was with the crumbs falling from the rich man’s table. A committee of generous helpers could be organized to save these things from complete decay. I am not asking for nice things but will be more than content with old chasubles and other vestments of little value.
I offer to pay for repair and transport. I would be very glad if my suggestion was taken up and I could make my poor Bosnians happy. God will abundantly reward anyone who contributes to this work of mercy.”
Another charity Fr. Franz undertook was a Christian school at Banjaluka. He won the Mercy Sisters of Agram to run it by assuring them of all possible assistance. He would not only obtain a suitable site for them but also provide furniture and teaching aids. When later he helped the Sisters to clear their debts, he did so as usual: by approaching his German friends and benefactors to make a contribution to a worthy cause. One of his biographers wrote of him:
“Fr. Franz must be credited with selflessly and disinterestedly having established the first Catholic School in Banjaluka. He wanted poor people to come in touch with the rest of the world and also give them a better understanding of the Christian faith.”. (Timotheus Kempf CMM)
Bosnian Customs and Traditions
When in 1874 Mariastern’s pater immediatus, Abbot Henri of Port du Salut came on visitation, he marveled at what Fr. Francis, who had meanwhile become Prior, and his monks had achieved. He also had high praise for the good work of the Sisters in predominantly Muslim surroundings. Still more surprised he was about the customs and usages of the Bosnian people. As he spoke only French, he was accompanied by an interpreter, Fr. Bonaventure Bayer who was fluent in German and French. In order to give his French visitors a taste of the real Bosnia, Fr. Franz decided to put them through a few experiences. He began by rowing them across the River Sava which at that time formed the border between Slovenia and Bosnia. Once Old Gradiska was behind them, he invited them to make themselves comfortable on a bed of hay, laid out for them on a rack waggon. Their eyes grew bigger by the hour, but they did not say a thing.
Abbot Francis:
“We traveled for about two hours over the rough and the smooth until we came to a coffee house. The innkeeper, barefoot, in an old pair of pants and a tatty shirt which was open all the way to his belly button, thus exposing his sweaty chest, extended a rare welcome to my two visitors, addressing me as Gospodin (Sir). When he brought in the coffee I asked him if perchance he also had cups. He did. Reaching
