"...The history of our admission to the Archdiocese of Munich is not without interest. We first met His Eminence, Cardinal Faulhaber, Archbishop of Munich, in Rome ... He received us very kindly indeed, but was positive in assuring us that he had no place for us and gave us anything but encouragement for applying elsewhere, especially in Bavaria, where the Bishops at a Conference had practically decided not to admit any more Religious unless for very special and grave reasons. Apparently our Mission to make a Foundation in Germany was to fail at the very start..." — Father Viktor to superiors in the St. Paul of the Cross Province Chapter, June 15, 1923.
Fathers Viktor and Valentine arrived in Germany in June 1922, four years after World War I ended. Assigned the monumental task of building monasteries and gathering a new congregation, they found themselves in an impoverished country reeling from enormous war reparations stipulated in the Versailles treaty. By 1923, inflation soared — 4.2 trillion Deutchmarks equaled one American dollar. Germany obtained a financial lifeline from U.S. industry, which invested in its devastated business sector, but this reprieve was short lived: the 1929 Stock Market crash precipitated a worldwide depression that terminated critical money flow, utterly shattering Germany's crippled economy. The Deutchmark's plummeting value left the population starving and unemployed.
Father Gregor Lenzen, C.P., present-day Provincial of the Passionist German-Austrian Province, elaborates upon the difficulties his predecessors faced in Germany and America:
Germany was in political and economic turmoil when the first Passionists arrived there. The 'rich Americans, also the enemies of World War I,' were not exactly given a sympathetic reception. People thought that, if they were determined to settle down there, then at least they ought to help create jobs, and improve the economic situation. In the meantime, in the mother province in America, people were becoming tired of the huge financial burden and they regarded the enterprise as a failure.
Moreover, the obstacles strewn in Father Viktor's rocky path extended beyond European shores, for the Passionists also launched missions to China, an exotic land ripe for conversion to Christianity. The Order invested significant human and financial resources in this latter effort; meanwhile, the struggling German Foundation awaited American funding that Viktor's superior, Father Stanislaus Grennan, C.P., was loathe to approve.
"We regret very much the sad possibility of the German Foundation proving to be a total failure," Father Stanislaus informed Rome in 1925. "Like all true Passionists we wish to see the Congregation grow and spread, and we would be delighted to have a strong German province. But we are forced to admit the prospects of this at present are very, very dark."
Father Viktor possessed, in no small measure, a tenacity that soared against adversity: the higher the mountain, the greater his desire to conquer it. In the darkest hours when radiant hopes diminished into a dying spark and adversity towered before him, he remained spiritually entrenched, incapable of abandoning his cause. His determination permeates a correspondence also written in 1925:
You speak of this Foundation possibly proving a failure," the Passionist Provincial wrote to doubtful superiors. "It is a puzzle to me how such a [concept] could ever [be entertained] ...To the best of my knowledge, such a thought has never entered our minds here ... Everything considered, it seems to me we are doing wonderfully well ... I am absolutely convinced that God is blessing this Foundation, and therefore it will succeed eventually, even though we have only a small number of [people joining the Order] ... the work must and will succeed!"
In Munich, gracious Vicar General Dr. Michael Buchberger granted Fathers Viktor and Valentine temporary residence in a home for local priests. After obtaining permission to remain in the diocese, the Passionists pursued ownership of the Schloss Gatterburg, intending to establish their first monastery there. Despite a negotiation process replete with opposition, disastrous setbacks, and lengthy sessions that concluded on a hopeless note, Father Viktor clung to fervent beliefs in Divine Providence. Eventually, staunch opponents surrendered to his perseverance.
A similar story occurred in Austria, where Vienna Archbishop Cardinal Piffl granted the Passionist Foundation ownership of Maria Schutz, a shrine nestled amidst the Austrian Alps. When purchased in 1925, the dilapidated church and monastery reflected only grime-covered vestiges of their former glory, though it was enough to inspire Father Viktor. Conducting an exhausting series of missions taking him and his brethren throughout Austria and beyond, he procured enough money to renovate both buildings.
Against all odds, the German-Austrian Foundation flourished, gathering 41 priests, Brothers, and Novices, and 35 students in the Preparatory School. By 1932, the congregation spilled beyond the Munich Missionhouse and Maria Schutz's ability to accommodate new recruits, compelling Father Viktor to search for a third Passionist monastery. History's forces and Divine Providence converged in a fateful moment when his friend Dr. Buchberger (now the Bishop of Regensburg) recommended Schwarzenfeld, a small town tucked away in Germany's idyllic Upper Palatinate region. Upon a gently rolling hill stood the Miesbergkirche, a beautiful pilgrimage church that was destined to serve as the backdrop of a remarkable human drama.