Johann Evangelist Wagner

The major work of Johann Evangelist Wagner is inseparable from the foundation and development of the charitable institutions that bear his name today: the Regens-Wagner-Stiftungen (Regens Wagner Foundations). In 1847, deeply moved by the distress of marginalized people deprived of education, he partnered with the Mother General of the Franciscan Sisters of Dillingen, Mother Maria Theresia Haselmayr. Together, they founded the Taubstummenanstalt in Dillingen, a school and residential home for deaf-mute girls and women. This pioneering initiative aimed to offer them not only a religious and general education, but also vocational training (notably in the making of liturgical vestments and banners) in order to guarantee them financial autonomy and social dignity. Faced with the influx of requests and the need to accommodate people suffering from other forms of disability (notably intellectual disabilities, epilepsy, or physical handicaps), Regens Wagner undertook to expand his work. Until his death in 1886, he founded seven specialized establishments across the dioceses of Augsburg, Eichstätt, and Bamberg: 1. Dillingen (1847): the original establishment for deaf-mute women. 2. Glött (1869): installed in the former castle of the Counts of Fugger, intended for the reception of girls and women with intellectual disabilities and epilepsy. 3. Zell (1872): school and home for deaf people. 4. Hohenwart (1878): set up in the buildings of the former secularized abbey, for the reception and care of disabled people. 5. Lauterhofen (1881): for people suffering from mental disabilities. 6. Holnstein (1881): reception and assistance center. 7. Michelfeld (1885): institution for deaf people. At his death, these seven centers housed and supported more than 532 disabled people. His work would be continued and widely developed by his successors (including Canon Magnus Niedermair) and by the Franciscan Sisters of Dillingen, extending to 14 regional centers in Bavaria and a foundation in Hungary (Balatonmáriafürdő, created in 2000).

The reputation for holiness of Johann Evangelist Wagner, described by his contemporaries as a "man of God" (Mann Gottes) due to his boundless charity and life of prayer, persisted long after his death. The official process for his beatification was formally opened at the diocesan level on March 19, 2001, by the Bishop of Augsburg, Mgr. Viktor Josef Dammertz, OSB. After a meticulous investigation into his life, writings, and virtues, the diocesan inquiry was closed on May 3, 2004. The acts of the inquiry were then transmitted to Rome, to the Congregation for the Causes of Saints. The Positio, a summary document of 1,615 pages compiling testimonies and historical and theological reports, was submitted for examination by the Vatican. The theological consultants voted unanimously in favor of the heroicity of his virtues. On April 3, 2009, Pope Benedict XVI authorized the promulgation of the decree recognizing that the Servant of God Johann Evangelist Wagner exercised Christian virtues in a heroic manner, thus conferring upon him the title of Venerable.

Canonical status: Venerable. Decree of venerability: Promulgated on April 3, 2009, by Pope Benedict XVI. For the venerable Johann Evangelist Wagner to be proclaimed blessed, the recognition of a miracle due to his intercession is required. Two procedures for examining alleged miracles were conducted, but resulted in negative conclusions from the Roman medical commission: 1. First miracle trial: Conducted at the diocesan level from November 29, 2001, to November 13, 2002, it concerned the unexplained healing of a seriously ill person. On November 26, 2009, the medical commission of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints concluded that the miraculous nature of the healing was not scientifically established. 2. Second miracle trial: Opened on May 6, 2010, in Dillingen by Auxiliary Bishop Josef Grünwald, this trial concerned the sudden healing, which occurred approximately 75 years earlier, of a nun suffering from tuberculosis who had invoked the intercession of Regens Wagner. In October 2011, the Roman medical commission rejected this case, considering that the healing could be explained by medical factors. The cause for beatification remains active and open, awaiting the presentation of a new case of inexplicable healing.

The spirituality of Johann Evangelist Wagner is characterized by an intimate union between a solid theological formation and concrete pastoral charity. As a professor of dogmatics, he did not conceive of theology as a mere intellectual discipline, but as a truth to be lived daily. He exhorted future priests to preach first by the example of their own lives: humility, order, regularity, and above all, active charity. In great personal poverty, he lived in complete detachment from material goods, distributing his resources and personal inheritances to finance his foundations and relieve the poor. His spiritual motto and his actions were based on the conviction that every human being, regardless of their disability, possesses an inalienable dignity as a child of God and must be fully integrated into the ecclesial and social community. His legacy remains extremely vibrant in Germany, particularly in Bavaria. The Regens-Wagner-Stiftungen today constitute one of the most important networks for assisting people with disabilities in the region, employing thousands of staff members and accompanying thousands of people daily in a spirit of respect, inclusion, and fidelity to the evangelical values of their founders.