Research Trip to Schwarzenfeld
It's been quite a while since we last posted news, but rest assured that the Father Viktor Project researchers have been making progress behind the scenes. We recently returned from a research trip to Schwarzenfeld, Germany, which lasted from Monday May 9-16, 2005. Katherine's upcoming article in the Passionist Heritage's 2005 summer edition, "From Pictures to Reality: Finding Fr. Viktor Koch, C.P.," describes the moving emotional experiences that accompanied our research. In addition, pictures and a short writeup generously contributed by Fr. Rob Carbonneau, C.P., will be appearing in the Passionist International News Bulletin (published in Rome). Keep checking our web site for hyperlinks and further details. In the meantime, we invite web visitors to view our new "Germany 2005" gallery, showing highlights from our trip.
Much has occurred since last September. Earlier this year we received invitations to visit Schwarzenfeld from Bürgermeister (Town Major) Manfred Rodde and Passionist German Foundation Provincial Fr. Gregor Lenzen, C.P. We accepted this wonderful opportunity to participate in the town celebration held every ten years in Fr. Viktor's honor, explore Passionist archival holdings in Germany, and conduct interviews with eyewitnesses who remember Father Viktor's heroic efforts to save Schwarzenfeld. Katherine delivered a speech to an audience of 300 at Schwarzenfeld's Catholic Youth Center, the Jugendheim, on May 12, during a history seminar organized by Third Mayor Peter Bartmann, and sponsored by the German Passionist Organization. On Friday May 13, the Koch family and other guests signed the town's "Golden Book," a register reserved for dignitaries and participants in honorary celebrations. During our weeklong trip, we collected remarkable personal stories from living witnesses to history, each of which contributed facts and details crucial to Father Viktor's incredible story. We will be updating the site's story section to reflect this new information.
We would like to extend our heartfelt thanks to the Markt Schwarzenfeld and the Passionist German Foundation for their kindness and hospitality, making us feel at home in a far country. We also offer special thanks to Peter Bartmann, who scheduled interviews and organized each detail of this successful trip; to Fr. Gregor Lenzen, C.P., who kindly provided translation assistance throughout the week; to the Ehrenreich and Bartmann families, generous souls who helped us in more ways than words can express; to Fr. Rob Carbonneau, C.P., our guiding light through this journey into history; and also to American Passionist Frs. Melvin Shorter C.P. and Joseph Jones C.P., who attended the celebration.
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