Conrad of Parzham, O.F.M. Cap. (22 December 181821 April 1894), was a

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Capuchin

lay brother Lay brother is a largely extinct term referring to religious brothers, particularly in the Catholic Church, who focused upon manual service and secular matters, and were distinguished from choir monks or friars in that they did not pray in choi ...

. He served for over 40 years in the post of

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of the Capuchin

friary A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer which may ...

Altötting Altötting (, , in contrast to "Neuötting, New Ötting"; , ) is a Town#Germany, town in Bavaria, capital of the Altötting (district), district Altötting of Germany. For 500 years it has been the scene of religious pilgrimages by Catholics in ...

, through which work he gained a widespread reputation for his wisdom and holiness. He has been canonized by the

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Life

Early life

Born 22 December 1818, he was

baptized Baptism (from ) is a Christian sacrament of initiation almost invariably with the use of water. It may be performed by sprinkling or pouring water on the head, or by immersing in water either partially or completely, traditionally three ...

with the name of John, the son of Bartholomäus Birndorfer and Gertrude Niedermayer, and was born on the family farm in Parzham, now a part of the town of Bad Griesbach, then in the

Kingdom of Bavaria The Kingdom of Bavaria ( ; ; spelled ''Baiern'' until 1825) was a German state that succeeded the former Electorate of Bavaria in 1806 and continued to exist until 1918. With the unification of Germany into the German Empire in 1871, the kingd ...

, now part of Germany. Baptized Johann Evangelist, he was the second youngest of 12 children, five of whom died in infancy.Cargnoni, OFMCap, Costanzo. ''The Capuchin Way: Lives of Capuchins'', v. 1, pt. 2, North American Capuchin Conference, 1996, pp. 180-206 At the age of six, he started elementary school in nearby Weng. His devotion was noticeable especially when he prayed in church. The distant location was no hindrance to his visiting it frequently even in inclement weather. He had a great devotion to the

Blessed Virgin Mary was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Joseph and the mother of Jesus. She is an important figure of Christianity, venerated under titles of Mary, mother of Jesus, various titles such as Perpetual virginity ...

, and each day fervently recited the

rosary The Rosary (; , in the sense of "crown of roses" or "garland of roses"), formally known as the Psalter of Jesus and Mary (Latin: Psalterium Jesu et Mariae), also known as the Dominican Rosary (as distinct from other forms of rosary such as the ...

. On

feast day The calendar of saints is the traditional Christian method of organizing a liturgical year by associating each day with one or more saints and referring to the day as the feast day or feast of said saint. The word "feast" in this context does n ...

s he frequently made a journey to some remote

shrine A shrine ( "case or chest for books or papers"; Old French: ''escrin'' "box or case") is a sacred space">-4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to talk of the beginnings of French, that is, when it wa ...: ''escri ...

of the Blessed Mother. During such

pilgrimage A pilgrimage is a travel, journey to a holy place, which can lead to a personal transformation, after which the pilgrim returns to their daily life. A pilgrim (from the Latin ''peregrinus'') is a traveler (literally one who has come from afar) w ...

s, always made on foot, he was engaged in prayer, and when he returned in the evening, he was usually still fasting. John spent his early years on the family farm. His mother died when he was 14; his father two years later. After attending a parish mission in 1838, he decided to enter the religious life. The following year, at the age of 31, and after distributing his inheritance, he was admitted as a

among the Capuchin friars.

Brother Porter

Immediately after his

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in 1842 he was sent to the friary of St. Anna, in the city of

. The friary served the Shrine of Our Lady of Altötting, the national shrine of Bavaria to the Blessed Mother. Conrad was given the task of assisting the

at this shrine. In March 1851, he had to leave Altötting to go to Burghausen to care for a dying priest. The following September, he entered the novitiate at Laufen, where he was given the

religious name A religious name is a type of given name bestowed for religious purposes, and which is generally used in such contexts. Christianity Catholic Church Baptismal name In baptism, Catholic Church, Catholics are given a Christian name, which should n ...

''Conrad'' in honor of Conrad of Piacenza. Br. Conrad then returned to Altötting as porter. Because it was a large and busy city, the duty of the friary porter was a very difficult one. Conrad was known to be diligent at his work, sparing in words, bountiful to the poor, eager and ready to receive and help strangers."Saint Conrad of Parzham", Capuchin Franciscans, Province of St. Mary
/ref> Brother Conrad fulfilled the task of porter for more than 40 years, assisting the inhabitants of the town in their needs of body and soul. Conrad loved silence in a special way. His spare moments during the day were spent in a nook near the door where it was possible for him to see and adore the

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. During the night he would deprive himself of several hours of sleep to devote the time to prayer either in the oratory of the

friar A friar is a member of one of the mendicant orders in the Catholic Church. There are also friars outside of the Catholic Church, such as within the Anglican Communion. The term, first used in the 12th or 13th century, distinguishes the mendi ...

s or in the church. It was generally believed that he never took any rest, but continually occupied himself in work and exercises of devotion. On 21 April 1894, Conrad died in the friary where he had served for 41 years.

Canonization

During his lifetime, Conrad was reputed to have been able to read the hearts of those he met, and he was attributed with the gift of prophecy. His

heroic virtue Heroic virtue is the translation of a phrase coined by Augustine of Hippo to describe the virtue of early Christian martyrs. The phrase is used by the Roman Catholic Church. The Greek pagan term hero described a person with possibly superhuman a ...

and the miracles he performed won for him the distinction to be ranked among the Blessed by Pope

Pius XI Pope Pius XI (; born Ambrogio Damiano Achille Ratti, ; 31 May 1857 – 10 February 1939) was head of the Catholic Church from 6 February 1922 until his death in February 1939. He was also the first sovereign of the Vatican City State u ...

in 1930. Four years later, the same pope, approving additional miracles which had been performed, solemnly inscribed his name in the list of saints. Br. Conrad is the patron saint of the Mid-America Province of Capuchin Friars. Since 1984 he also is patron saint of the diocese of Passau.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Conrad Of Parzham 1818 births 1894 deaths German Roman Catholic saints 19th-century Christian saints Canonizations by Pope Pius XI Capuchin saints Canonized Roman Catholic religious brothers Christian miracle workers People from Bad Griesbach (Rottal)