Joseph Amand Passerat

From the time of his ordination, Father Passerat was entrusted by Saint Clement Mary Hofbauer with the formation of novices and students in the Warsaw community, as well as the teaching of dogmatic and moral theology. His zeal and profound piety earned him the esteem of his superior, who described him as a "man of holiness and high virtues." In 1803, he was appointed superior of the new foundation at Mount Tabor, near Jestetten (Diocese of Constance). Driven out by political upheavals in 1805, he guided his community to Babenhausen (Diocese of Augsburg), then through Switzerland, tirelessly seeking a stable refuge for his confreres. In 1818, he succeeded in establishing the community in the former Charterhouse of La Valsainte, in Switzerland. After the death of Saint Clement Mary Hofbauer in 1820, Father Passerat succeeded him as Vicar General of the Transalpine Redemptorist communities (that is, those located outside of Italy), establishing his residence at the convent of Maria am Gestade in Vienna. During his twenty-eight years of government (1820-1848), he displayed prodigious missionary and administrative activity. He founded no fewer than twenty-nine houses across Europe: in Bavaria, Prussia, Switzerland, Belgium, France, Portugal, the Netherlands, and England. In 1832, he sent the first six Redemptorist missionaries to the United States, thus laying the foundations for a major expansion on the American continent. He also played a decisive role in the establishment of the female branch of the order, the Redemptoristines, outside of Italy, by founding their first transalpine monastery in Währing, near Vienna, between 1830 and 1831.

Father Passerat's ministry was marked by numerous political trials. During the revolution of 1848, he was expelled from Vienna with his community on April 6, 1848. At seventy-six years of age, he had to flee disguised as a layman through Austria, Bavaria, and Prussia to reach Belgium. Exhausted by these trials and by his long years of labor, he submitted his resignation from his office of Vicar General.

He first retired with the Redemptoristines of Bruges, then in 1850 joined the Redemptorist convent in Tournai. His final years were marked by illness—he suffered three strokes—and by profound spiritual trials, enduring periods of interior dryness and scruples, which he bore with heroic patience. At the same time, his confreres testified to his gifts of spiritual intuition and penetration of hearts.

He passed away holily in Tournai on October 30, 1858, at the age of 86. During his funeral, the famous preacher Father Combalot declared from the pulpit: "We have just lost a servant of God who was a miracle of prayer and a man of great holiness."

The reputation for holiness of Father Passerat spread rapidly after his death. The informative process for his beatification was opened in the diocese of Tournai in 1892. His spiritual writings were officially approved by the theologians of the Congregation of Rites on August 9, 1896. The cause was formally introduced in Rome on May 13, 1901, under the pontificate of Pope Leo XIII, conferring upon him the title of Servant of God. After a meticulous examination of his life and writings, Pope John Paul II promulgated the decree recognizing the heroic nature of his virtues on April 29, 1980, thereby declaring him Venerable.

Nicknamed "the Great Orant" (il Grande Orante) by Saint Clement Mary Hofbauer because of his continual prayer, Father Passerat deeply influenced the spirituality of the transalpine branch of the Redemptorists. While Saint Clement embodied a more intellectual approach focused on popular pastoral care, Father Passerat emphasized a return to traditional asceticism, rigorous observance of the rule, obedience, and a spirit of sacrifice. His legacy lies primarily in the extraordinary missionary zeal he instilled in his congregation, allowing the Redemptorists to establish themselves durably in the Anglo-Saxon world and in North America. He liked to repeat to his confreres discouraged by persecutions: "Take heart, we are seed; even if we were reduced to ten, these ten, like grains of wheat fallen into the earth and reduced to dust, will one day yield a rich harvest."