Background
Janssen was born in Goch, in the Rhineland, Germany, not far from the Dutch border, one of seven siblings.
Janssen was born in Goch, in the Rhineland, Germany, not far from the Dutch border, one of seven siblings.
He did his college degree, then studied theology and was ordained to the priesthood on 15 August 1861.
He was canonized on 5 October 2003, by Pope John Paul World War II He developed a deep, simple faith. His first school was the Catholic Augustinianum High School in Gaesdonck, which is near his birthplace. Foreign a while worked as a high school teacher in Bocholt, Germany, teaching physics and catechism.
His real passion, however, was the mission.
In 1867 he became the director of the Apostolaat des Gebeds for Germany and Austria and founded a scientific institute in Mödling, near Vienna. He also founded already in 1874 the German language journal "Kleiner Herz-Jesu Bote" (Little Messenger of the Sacred Heart), which looked to enlist the faithful in prayer and support for the mission.
The Kulturkampf, however, hampered his efforts, and Janssen purchased land in Steyl, the Netherlands to begin his seminary, dedicated in 1875 as the "Saint Michael the Archangel Mission House". Janssen and Joseph Freinademetz, along with Daniele Comboni (an important missionary in Africa) were canonised on 5 October 2003 by Pope John Paul World War II Janssen was elevated to sainthood after the healing of Pamela Avellanosa, a Filipina teenager living in Baguio who fell from a bike and was not expected to recover from the resulting head injury.
According to her relatives and the Church, she was healed miraculously following prayers to Janssen.