Blessed Francis Xavier Seelos

Also known as: Father Seelos; Francesco Saverio Seelos; Franz Xaver Seelos

Blessed

Post-Congregation

Feast Day

5 October (Optional Memorial); 4 October (2001 Roman Martyrology); 12 October on some calendars

Born

11 January 1819 at Füssen, Bavaria, Germany; baptized on the same day

Died

4 October 1867 in New Orleans, Louisiana of yellow fever; buried in a crypt beneath the floor of Saint Mary’s Assumption Church, New Orleans

Beatified

9 April 2000 by Pope John Paul II at Rome, Italy; responsible for the miraculous healing from inoperable liver cancer of Angela Boudreaux in 1966

Biography

Blessed Francis Xavier Seelos, also known as Father Seelos, Francesco Saverio Seelos, or Franz Xaver Seelos, was born on 11 January 1819 in Füssen, Bavaria, Germany. He was one of twelve children born to Mang and Frances Schwarzenbach Seelos and was named in honor of Saint Francis Xavier. Raised in a devout Catholic family, Francis demonstrated a strong desire to become a priest from an early age.

Cause for Canonization

Beatified

Beatified2000-04-09 by 9 April 2000 by Pope John Paul II at Rome, Italy; responsible for the miraculous healing from inoperable liver cancer of Angela Boudreaux in 1966