St. Wendel Catholic School - HISTORY OF ST. WENDEL

An Account of Saint Wendelin's Life

Important Dates in the Life of Saint Wendelin:

554 Born
574 Went to Rome and had an audience with Pope Benedict I
590 Lived as a hermit in the wilderness near Trier
597 Became Abbot of Tholey
617 Died at Tholey

The Life and History of Saint Wendelin

Our beloved Saint Wendelin began his life in the Year of our Lord, 554 in a city in Scotland. His father, Forchado, was the King of Scotland and his mother, Irelina, the Queen. His parents, wanting for Wendelin to be trained in the virtues of piety and good manners, turned to the Bishop of their diocese for guidance. The friendly Bishop must have gone past the King's and Queen's wishes because Wendelin not only became pious and humble, but decided that the lifestyle of being part of THE Royal Family was not for him. He wished for nothing more than to lead a humble and simple life and dedicated this life to God. So, late one night, when all were asleep in the castle, Wendelin donned the garb of a simple pilgrim, bid good-bye forevermore to his rightful inheritance, the kingdom of Scotland, and slipped away, never to return.

Wendelin began a search of all the Holy Places that he could find, looking for the ideal place where he could lead the simple life. In 574 he entered the city of Rome where he came because of the vast numbers of churches, shrines and holy people. Before leaving Rome, Wendelin was granted an audience with Pope Benedict I. Wendelin opened his heart to The Vicar of Christ and begged him for counsel and advice. The Pope praised Wendelin's mode of life, bestowed the Apostolic Blessing on him, and told him that he should continue hating worldly things and to resolutely serve God for the rest of his life.

Upon leaving Rome, he ventured to Germany, always disguised as a pilgrim and beggar, still looking for his Utopia. The city of Einsideln was his stopping point for awhile. It was here that he decided to dedicate the rest of his life to Mary, the holy Mother of God. His constant searching for a suitable location where he could lead his desired hermit's life brought him to a sheer wilderness called Westerich. He made himself a hut of tree branches and a bed of reeds and leaves. In these surroundings he began to lead a very severe and penitential life. Only God knows how many years he spent in these wilds and to what extent he suffered.

After an unknown period of time, Wendelin started getting the urge to go to the ancient city of Trier in order to pray at the many shrines. It was here that a fascinating legend developed. It seems that one day while Wendelin was roaming from shrine to shrine, he met a nobleman who was very worldly and a known robber. This extremely wealthy and godless man admonished Wendelin because he was begging for food. The nobleman said, You are still a young man. You can earn your own food. If you are not hired by anyone, then come and take care of my cattle and earn your bread. Wendelin felt that in taking this job and being paid for it, he would learn to hate worldly things even more. So he accepted the job and was put to work taking care of a herd of swine. These restless creatures did not give him a minute's rest and thus left him with no time for his prayers. So he begged his master to relieve him from this task. The master, despite all his evil qualities, respected Wendelin's virtues of piety and simplicity and granted his wish. He put Wendelin to work caring for a herd of cows instead of the swine. Wendelin could now devote more time to his devotions and took care of this herd of cows for a considerable amount of time. An ironic twist to this story is that God so blessed this herd because of Wendelin's prayers and devotions, that the herd became so productive that again Wendelin found himself with no time for prayer. (This particular herd grew twice as fast as all of the nobleman's other herds.) So, once again, Wendelin begged his master for relief. It was the custom in those days for the elder patriarchs to be the ones to watch the sheep. Even though Wendelin was still a young man the master turned a flock of sheep over to his trusting care. Wendelin once more found himself with enough time for his one great love, prayer.

Wendelin did not always take his master's flock of sheep to the same pasture, but often drove the flock very far away to greener pastures. Also, he wished to be far removed from any other shepherd so he could totally concentrate on his prayers. But no matter how far away he took the flock, God always made sure that Wendelin was home on time.

God bestowed special blessings on the flock attended by Wendelin, preserving them from all diseases and making them doubly fruitful. These blessings however caused jealousy among the other shepherds and therefore, through the underhanded workings of Satan, they set out to do him harm. They made fun of him and told the master many lies about him. But Wendelin realized that the Devil was behind all this evil and it served to make his faith stronger and his prayer more fervent.

When Wendelin was in the field with his flock, Wendelin always felt a great desire to be back at his selected hermitage in order to adore and revere his dear Jesus. He would imagine that the hill upon which his little hut rested was the Mount of Olives, and so he would meditate on the agony that Jesus went through on that first Good Friday. God showed how pleased He was with Wendelin's devotion by working a miracle of transmigration; moving the entire flock and Wendelin through the air from the pasture to the hermitage and back again. This miracle happened very frequently and although none of the other shepherds ever saw it occur, there were many instances that caused confusion.

One time, Wendelin found that his flock was in a place where there was no water. His flock was thirsty and too tired to walk any distance. Therefore, Wendelin prayed to God for guidance and then, with great confidence, thrust his shepherd's crook into the ground and a spring of fresh water came forth. This spring was later encased in stone and can still be seen not far from the city of Saint Wendel in Germany. Every year on Rogation Monday, a procession winds its way from the city to the spring and the pastor blesses the water which is used daily by the people to avert sickness in both men and cattle. Beside this well is a little chapel and a hermitage. This is the spot where Wendelin thrust his staff into the ground and left it. The staff began to grow and developed into a birch tree. This tree stood there for many years and was called Saint Wendel Tree. It decayed not many years ago.

This is one of the outstanding incidents in Wendelin's life: Wendelin's master and a servant journeyed to the town of Strassburg on a business trip. On returning, he traveled through the wilderness where Wendelin had taken his flock to graze. When they were still some distance away from the flock, the master said to his servant, That shepherd resembles our Wendelin or else it is indeed he.

The servant replied, How could our Wendelin come here? It is too far from our home in Trier. Going up to the shepherd, the nobleman found him to be Wendelin. The nobleman grew furious and cursed at Wendelin and said, among other things, Wendelin, you scoundrel. Are you a fool or a lunatic that you drive my sheep such a long way away from home? Is there not enough pasture near Trier that you must go to this dreadful wilderness?

Wendelin answered, "Dear master, be not angry. I find this pasture to be better for the flock than the one near Trier."

"Shall I not be angry?" asked the nobleman. "I have invited many guests for supper and wanted to kill a sheep for this special occasion."

Wendelin responded, "Be not angry on that account for I want to be home on time."

"How can you be home before night when I can hardly get home on time riding on a horse?" The master then abruptly galloped off murmuring and complaining all the way about Wendelin. As the master entered his courtyard he was dumbfounded to see that Wendelin was already there and was putting the sheep into the stable for the night. He could hardly believe what he had just seen with his own eyes. He knew then that this was a great miracle and realized that Wendelin was indeed a holy man to be revered. The master fell to his knees and filled with both humility and contrition he begged, "Forgive me, dear Wendelin and forgive the words of accusation that I hurled against you. Tell me who you really are. I can see that you are a holy man and that God works great miracles in you and through you."

With that, Wendelin threw himself at his master's feet and said most humbly, "I beg of you master, rise to your feet and show me no honor, for I am not a holy man but a miserable being and a simple shepherd and farmhand servant."

His master rose to his feet and said, "This I cannot believe, but I take you to be a great servant of God. Whoever you are, I will not any longer permit you to watch my herds. For I fear that God will punish me if I let His faithful servant watch my flock. Tell me what you want of me and I will fulfill your every wish."

Wendelin replied, "This only do I ask of you master, that you change your godless life into a pious one so that the wrath of God may not come upon you unawares and cast you and your robbers into the depths of Hell." Wendelin had so much to say to this nobleman and spoke so forcibly that this sinful man became very much frightened and wept over his sins and promised to amend his life. The master wanted to give Wendelin large sums of money in the form of alms, but Wendelin refused to take any money except what was due to him as wages. These wages he distributed among the poor and then in absolute poverty, he went his way into the wilderness.

In 590, Wendelin went to the Benedictine Monastery at Trier, only two hours away from his hermitage, and received the habit of a hermit and then returned to his beloved wilderness and began to live an extraordinarily severe life. His food was wild herbs, his drink cold water, his bed the hard ground. He prayed deep into the night and trekked through the cold and heat to Tholey, a hard two hour journey, for daily services. The devil tempted Wendelin furiously to give up this holy life and return to the kingdom of Scotland. He whispered to him that his royal father was grieving and his mother was inconsolable over his secret departure and that they were desperately seeking him. They would surely die of grief. Wendelin keenly felt the pain of this temptation. He used prayer as a weapon against Satan and persevered with God's assistance. Satan did not vanish after this defeat but so filled Wendelin's mind with unchaste thoughts that the holy man knew of no other means to overcome these bad thoughts than to throw himself into a thorn bush, twisting around until his body was one huge, bleeding sore.

The devil once appeared to Wendelin as a dragon, ready to devour him. He was so frightened that he thought he was already in the dragon's mouth. He prayed so hard and made the sign of the cross and the devil eventually fled.

Almighty God wished to make His humble servant Wendelin known to the world and thus gave to him the power to work miracles. A contagious disease was spreading among the animals of a nearby village and the villagers begged Wendelin to leave his hermitage and go with them to pray over their cattle and flocks. Not being able to withstand the pleadings of these poor peasants, Wendelin went with them and prayed over the sick animals, and upon blessing them, they all became well instantly. Through this miracle, Wendelin's name became known throughout the whole of Westerich and people from all over came seeking his help and guidance.

The Abbot of the monastery at Tholey died about this time and the monks could not agree in the election of another Abbot. They earnestly invoked the Holy Spirit for guidance and counsel. Then they heard a heavenly voice calling out, Choose Wendelin for your Abbot. Following this holy sign, they went as a whole to the hermitage and named Wendelin their new Abbot and begged him on bended knees to be their father and superior. The humble man refused to accept this honor and burden, saying that he was quite unfit for such a position and that the shepherd's crook fit his hands better than the miter. The monks told Wendelin that God had manifested His will to them in this choice and if he were a real servant of God he would not resist God's Holy will. Upon hearing this, Wendelin obeyed God by humbly accepting this office and sent a letter to Archbishop Severinus of Trier asking him to confirm the election. Severinus had heard many good reports about Wendelin and the Pope also recommended Wendelin to him. So the Archbishop happily came to Tholey to consecrate him as the Abbot of the monastery. These two saints became very close friends and remained so until the end of their lives. (It is certain that Wendelin, the great servant of God, ruled his monastery in a holy spirit, although there is nothing written about his ruling or his cloistered life. Either the humble monks did not write about it or the writings were destroyed when the monastery was later plundered.)

In the year 617, Wendelin became very sick and knew that death was near. He sent word to the Archbishop Severinus who came at once to assist him and be with him in his hour of need. He administered the last sacraments to his dying friend. At this time, Wendelin revealed to Severinus his secret: that he was the Crown Prince of Scotland, that he had left his country for the love of God and to serve his God in humility and poverty by means of penance and prayer. After Wendelin's death, Severinus said to the monks, Do you know what noble prelate you had for your Abbot? They were so overwhelmed at this revelation that they knelt before the body of Wendelin and kissed his hands and feet. (It is most probable that the archbishop stayed for the funeral.) Wendelin was buried in the monastery before the high altar.

The next day after the burial of Wendelin was extremely frightening to the monks for when they entered the church they found the coffin standing on top of the altar. They buried it once more with extreme reverence! They again found it disentombed the next day. When this happened for the third time they realized that Wendelin did not wish to be buried here. They placed the coffin on a wagon which was to be pulled by two young oxen who had never been yoked before. They permitted the oxen to go without any guidance. The monks followed in procession. The oxen went straight to the hermitage that Wendelin had loved so much. Here they stopped and no amount of urging could make them budge. Therefore the monks felt this was to be the resting place that their revered Abbot had chosen for himself. They buried him here and this became the site of many future miracles. The body of Wendelin was later lifted out of its burial place and elevated above the earth into a stone grave. At the side of the stone are hewn the pictures of the twelve apostles and other beautiful garlands and can still be seen today. Many pilgrims made offerings to beautify this hermitage and thus was built a stone chapel with two altars. The grave of Saint Wendelin is now found in the middle of the chapel surrounded by an iron gate.

In this chapel the people could hear Mass and found it to be a more suitable place to practice their devotion to their saint. Pilgrims came in groups. Many more miracles were wrought and many offerings were made. Houses were built and finally a village sprung up so that the pilgrims could find quarters for the night and the sick could be taken care of by professionals. (It shall be told here that Archbishop Severinus sent a delegate to Scotland to tell the reigning king, Wendelin's brother, of all that had happened.)

Word spread through Scotland of the life of Wendelin and thus many Scots journeyed to visit the tomb of their newly discovered hero. They made many sacrificial offerings and asked his blessings on their country and on themselves.

St. Wendel - a historical survey

496-752	Reign of the Merowinge. The local area belongs to the 'Bliesgau' (Blesitschowa).
6th cen-tury :	At the time of the bishop Magnerich (566-597) in Trier, Wendalin lives as a hermit or missionary in the wooded mountains of the bishopric Trier.
12th century:	The name "St. Wendel" relating to the patron of the town, is replacing the original name of the town: "Basenvillare".
1180:	First document mentioning a church consecrated to Saint Wendelin. Basis for the political and economical development of the domain Wendelshof.
1326 and 1328:	The Prince and Archbishop of Trier Balduin von Luxemburg (1307-1354) purchases the castle and the village St. Wendel. This purchase is necessary for the endeavours in course to push back from the Rhine the influence of Lorraine.
1331:	After the purchase of further domains and rights, the government department of St. Wendel developed under the direction of Trier. Jakomin von Monkler (Montclair) was the first official in charge. Restoration of the old castle (which has disappeard in the meantime).
1332:	Emperor Kaiser Ludwig der Bayer grants the 'city rights' at the occasion of the General Assembly (Reichstag) in Nürnberg. Based on these 'city rights', the town establishes its representation consisting of a bailif, 7 lay assessors and a clerk, basically taking over the traditional Court system. From now on, the town can settle alone its internal affairs, independently from the archbishop. A consequence of the 'City rights' are the rights to hold markets which, in connection with the pilgrimages and religious celebrations, soon allow the introduction of important regular fairs and weekly markets.
1360:	Inauguration of the choir of the pilgrimage church by the Archbishop Boemund von Trier.
1388:	Prince Werner von Falkenstein (1388-1418) provides the true sign of a city for St. Wendel: the protection through a wall. In order to raise the costs for the construction of the wall, a wine tax is introduced, which will persist after the construction of the wall. The fortification of the city, rests of which still exist today, consisted of the wall around the town, 2 large gates, eight towers and the moats.
15th century	In the 15th century, St. Wendel has its first prosperous period. The wealthy city becomes the economic center of a large area. The foundation of early craft art associations allowed a prosperous development of the crafts arts.
1440:	Prince Jakob I. v. Sierck gives the lot "Kaff" situated in front of the church to the parish church for the construction of a representative city hall. The building was destroyed by fire during the Dutch war (1677).
1455	The squire Johann von Oppenheim, named Hanenschild, and his spouse Tryne make a donation of their house and all their belongings for the purpose of an eternal hospital, where poor people should be housed and nursed. This was the foundation of the hospital.
1591:	A big fire. An important part of the city is totally burnt.
1618 – 1648:	The Thirty Years War. Countless billetings, fires and contributions bring the city to the verge of disaster. The manners degenerate. In order to protect them-selves from the marauding war people, the population of the surrounding villages moves several times into the city. The prosperity of the city is destroyed, the wealth of the citizens is lost due to the continuing torments.
1635:	The worst year in the Thirty Years War. The Emperors' troops, Spaniards, Croates, Hungarians, Polish, Swedes, Frenchmen, Lorrains alternate in the country. Villages are burnt, there is allover fire, pilllage, robbery and murder, plague and famine.
1639:	Siege of the city through the troops of the French General Malegotti. After the war, there are still groups of soldiers roaming through the country. 1653, 1664 and 1668, the population of the surrounding villages comes for shelter into the city with their cattle.
1674:	The French/Dutch War, which broke out in 1672, affects the city again. Upon order of the French Marshall Henri Vicomte de Turenne, the fortifications of the city are destroyed.
1677:	In the Candlemas night of this year, the Comte de Bussy had burned down the castle, the city hall and the citizens' houses of the city. The entire region is devastated.
1680:	French reunification endeavours. The Reunification Chamber in Metz declares that St. Wendel, as a former fief of Verdun, belongs to France. Baron Philipp Franz von Sötern zu Dagstuhl, owner of the local domains, declares himself vassal of France. The Bishop of Metz incorporates the parish of St. Wendel into his diocese. Until the Peace Treaty of Ryswick (1697) St. Wendel stays under French government.
1742:	Construction of the City Hall on the Schlossplatz by bailif Franz Ernst D'hame which is also used as City Hall today.
1755:	Construction of the Wendelin chapel with hermitage on the site of a former chapel, by bailif Franz Ernst D'hame.
1774:	The cemetery is transferred from its place near the church to a place outside the upper city gate.
1798:	St. Wendel becomes headquarters of the canton and belongs to the 'Arrondissement' Saarbrücken, Saardepartement. The craft arts associations are abolished. Introduction of the republican chronology. The canton of St. Wendel consists of five mayors' offices. The mayors' office St. Wendel consists of the city center and the communities of Alsfassen-Breiten, Oberlinxweiler and Urweiler.
1805:	Completion of the new City Hall building on the 'Fruchtmarkt' according to plans of the architect Friedrich Gerhard Wahl from Zweibrücken. On Feb. 5, a devastating flood as a consequence of the melting snow. The lower part of the city is flooded. The chapel Magdalene is transformed into a school. Introduction of French language lessons in the schools and in official transactions.
1806:	Demolition of the lower city gate.
1815:	Vienna Congress - St. Wendel becomes capital of an area of 8,25 square miles with 25.000 inhabitants which is accorded to the Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld.
8.8.1817	Installation of a post station by Thurn & Taxis on the road Saarbrücken - Birkenfeld - Kreuznach - Mainz. 181
1818:	Reconstruction of the hospital
1819:	The region is named Principality of Lichtenberg by ducal decree.
1824:	Inauguration of a "ducal high school" in connection with a training college for teachers and a boarding school for poor teachers-to-be.
1825:	Foundation of a protestant parish in St. Wendel.
1834:	The reign of Coburg is terminated by the revolutionary activities before 1832. By a treaty, the Duke Ernst transfers the Principality of Lichtenberg to Prussia against a yearly pension of 80.000 Talers. Institution of the 'District of St. Wendel' and its transfer into the Government District of Trier.
1836:	Foundation of an association for the discovery and collection of ancient objects in the districts of Ottweiler and St. Wendel by the headmaster Schue.
1841:	Construction of a protestant church with financial support of the Prussian King Friedrich Wilhelm IV.
1842:	Installation of the 'Schloßplatz' on grounds which were at that time a moor.
1852 – 1855:	Important emigrations, mostly to North-America. In the United States of America, 17 towns founded by these emigrants have the name St. Wendel or Wendell.
1856:	Start of the construction of the Rhein-Nahe railway.
1860:	Inauguration of the Rhein-Nahe-Railway by the Prince Wilhelm von Preußen. Construction of the railway workshop at the mountain of Tholey. These two events, which introduced the steam power, had an important impact on the economical life in town. Improvement of the general situation in town.
1877:	New construction of the 'Progymnasium'
1879:	Publication of the "St. Wendeler Volksblatt" (local daily paper), at first three times per week.
1905:	Inauguration of the industrial education school. Tentatives concerning the construction of a railway track Kusel - St. Wendel - Lebach.
1909:	New construction of a public primary school (Cecilienschule), named today Nikolaus-Obertreis-Schule.
1911:	Construction of the church of the 'Mission House'. Construction of the hospital Marienkrankenhaus. Inauguration of a training college for teachers and a preparatory school.
1912:	New construction of the railway work shop at the Berzberg.
1913:	Construction begin of the railway St. Wendel - Tholey.
1920:	Traty of Versailles. Due to the peace treaty, St. Wendel is, for a period of 15 years, part of the Saargebiet governed by a government commission.
1928:	Completion of the new high school building in the Werschweilerstraße
1929/31:	Institution of the catholic parish St. Anna. Construction of the first St-Anna church by the architect Hans herkomer.
1932:	600-years anniversary of the city of St. Wendel.
1935:	Plebiscite. Reunification of the 'Saargebiet' with Germany.
1938:	St. Wendel becomes a garrison town. On November 8, the Jewish synagogue is destroyed by fire.
1939 – 1945:	Second World War. Losses of people and considerable damages on the buildings through the war. The worst bomb attacks happened on Dec. 6, 24, 27 1944 and on Feb. 28 1945. Destruction of the church St. Anna through the bomb attacks on Dec. 24 and 27, 1944.
1957:	Inauguration of the new commercial school in the Julius-Bettingen-Straße, on May 25.
1957:	Mayor Franz Gräff from Pfalzfeld is elected Mayor of the District City of St. Wendel.
1957:	Inauguration of the St. Wendel VHS - adult education center.
1960:	600th anniversary of the Wendels cathedral. Anniversary and pilgrimage week from June 6, to June 12.
1960:	Pope John XXIII. elevates the pilgrimage church with the tomb to the liturgical status of a Basilika minor.
1960:	On October 7, inauguration of the new old age rest home and the new primary school of the hospital.
1. 4. 1961:	The German armed forces take over the repair shop and the maintenance batallion 962 installs a military maintenance work shop.
1962:	On September 25, inauguration of the commercial education school and the new addition to the building of the Nikolaus-Obertreis primary school with gym and instruction pool.
1964:	Inauguration of the ethnological museum at the 'Mission-House' St. Wendel on Oct. 15.
1966:	On Jan. 19, inauguration of the new building of the girls' high school in the Missionshausstraße.
1966:	Franz Gräff re-elected for another 10 years as Mayor of the District City St. Wendel.
1967:	On July 19, inauguration of the new building of the district junior high school in the Willi-Graf-Straße.
1967:	On Dec. 10, inauguration of the church 'Heilig-Geist' on the Tholeyerberg.
1968:	On July 2, inauguration of the new hospital church und the nurses' and employees' home.
1968:	On Oct. 6, inauguration of the public indoor swimming pool in the Willi-Graf-Straße.
1968:	May 21, The railway track St. Wendel - Saarbrücken switches over to electrical power.
1970:	Inauguration of the new railway-station. Opening of the pedestrian tunnel underneath the Mommstraße and of the enlarged subway at the Tholeyerberg.
1972:	Begin of the partnership between the cities of St. Wendel and Rezé-lès-Nantes (Loire Atlantique).
1975:	Inauguration of the technical-commercial education center in the Werschweilerstraße. Inauguration of the hospital Bosenberg-Klinik (220 beds).
1977:	Restoration and renovation of the Wendelin chapel..
1981:	Opening of the Wendalinus basilica after one year of renovation and restauration. Visit of a group of relatives of the former Jewish community of St. Wendel. Installation of a commemorative plaque at the 'Vollmann' house in the Kelsweilerstraße, place of the synagogue until 1938.
1982:	650th anniversary of the city of St. Wendel.
1999:	Withdrawal of the last French military divisions and consequent conversion of the military area.