Kaspar Stanggassinger (12 January 1871 – 26 September 1899) was a German Roman Catholic priest and a professed member of the Redemptorists. His inclination to the priesthood manifested from his childhood and he soon became a seminarian before deciding not be a diocesan priest but part of a religious order after a spiritual experience directed him towards the Redemptorist charism. He was ordained to the priesthood in 1895 and soon began teaching and overseeing new seminarians despite his desire to go out to the missions in Brazil.
The beatification cause commenced in 1960 and he later became titled as Venerable upon the confirmation of his life of heroic virtue in 1986; he was later beatified not long after this in 1988.
Life
Kaspar Stanggassinger was born in 1871 as the second of sixteen children to Kaspar Stanggassiner and Crescencia Hamberger. His father was a farmer who dabbled in stone since he owned one of the quarries close to their home and who was also a well-respected man in their town.
In his childhood the pious Stanggassinger announced that he would become a priest in due course when he grew older. He liked to gather other children and adolescents during periods of vacation and would go to Mass with them or hike or do other activities. On one occasion a friend was in danger of falling while mountain climbing but he risked his life to see him safe and sound. In 1887 he made a private vow to remain chaste and in 1889 contracted a serious illness but recovered and so consecrated himself to the Sacred Heart of Jesus Christ. In addition to teaching he provided pastoral assistance at the churches in neighboring villages and preached for the most part. The formal introduction of the cause came under Pope John XXIII on 27 April 1960 and he was therefore titled as a Servant of God. An apostolic process was later held and was opened on 8 May 1961 while Cardinal Julius Döpfner closed it on 14 February 1964. The Congregation for the Causes of Saints validated the previous processes in Rome on 16 January 1970 before later receiving the Positio from the postulation in 1985. Theologians assented to the cause on 9 July 1985 as did the C.C.S. on 8 January 1986 while the confirmation of his life of heroic virtue allowed for Pope John Paul II to title him as Venerable on 16 January 1986.
The miracle for his beatification was investigated and later validated prior to a medical board of experts approving it on 7 January 1987 with theologians to follow on 26 June 1987 and the C.C.S. as well on 20 October 1987. John Paul II issued final authorization needed for the miracle on 11 December 1987 and beatified Stanggassinger on 24 April 1988.
The current postulator for this cause is the Redemptorist priest Antonio Marrazzo.
Quotations
Stanggassinger often said that: "The saints have a special intuition. For me, who am not a saint, what is important are the simple eternal truths: the Incarnation, the Redemption and the Holy Eucharist".