Clement Hofbauer
| St. Clement Mary Hofbauer, C.Ss.R. | |
|---|---|
Hofbauer's tombstone in the Church of Maria am Gestade, Vienna, Austria
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| Religious and priest | |
| Born | Johannes Hofbauer 26 December 1751 Taßwitz, Znojmo District, Kingdom of Bohemia, Habsburg Empire |
| Died |
15 March 1820 (aged 68) Vienna, Austrian Empire |
| Venerated in |
Roman Catholic Church (Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer & Archdiocese of Vienna) |
| Beatified | 29 January 1888 by Pope Leo XIII |
| Canonized | 20 May 1909 by Pope Pius X |
| Feast | 15 March |
| Patronage | Vienna, Austria |
Clement Mary Hofbauer, C.Ss.R., (German: Klemens Maria Hofbauer) (26 December 1751 – 15 March 1820) was a Moravian hermit and later a priest of the Redemptorist congregation. He established the presence of his congregation, founded in Italy, north of the Alps, for which he is considered a co-founder of the congregation. He was greatly known for his lifelong dedication to the care of the poor during a tumultuous period of Europe's history, which left thousands in destitution. He worked to care for the Polish people, until he was expelled from there and moved to Austria.
Hofbauer has been declared a saint by the Catholic Church. Due to his extensive service in that city, he is called the Apostle of Vienna, of which he is a co-patron saint.
He was born Johannes ("Hansl") Hofbauer on the feast of Saint Stephen (December 26) 1751, in Taßwitz (now Tasovice), in the Znojmo District of the Moravian region of what is now the Czech Republic. He was the ninth of twelve children born to Maria Steer and Paul Hofbauer (originally Pavel Dvořák, who had changed the family name from the Czech "Dvořák" to the German "Hofbauer").
The son of a poor widow, his father having died when he was six years old, Hofbauer had little chance to go away to a seminary or join a religious Order. He began to study Latin at the home of the local parish priest. It was to be the first step on Hofbauer's long road to the priesthood. The period of study ended abruptly with the death of the pastor when Hofbauer was just fourteen. The new pastor did not have time to help him with the language studies.
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