Société des Missions Africaines –Province de Strasbourg
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né le 11 août 1892 à Bollwiller dans le diocèse de Strasbourg, France membre de la SMA le 6 juin 1914 prêtre le 11 juillet 1920 décédé le 11 mars 1977 |
1920-1921 Les Roches, professeur 1921-1926 missionnaire en Géorgie décédé à Passaic, USA, le 11 mars 1977 |
Le père Louis IMBACH (1892 - 1977)
Louis Imbach est né à Bollwiller, au diocèse de Strasbourg, le 11 août 1892. Il fit à Keer ses études classiques, suivies d’une année de noviciat à Chanly en 1911-1912. De 1912 à 1914, il entreprit deux années de philosophie au grand séminaire de Lyon, où il prononça le serment s.m.a. le 6 juin 1914.
Il était en vacances dans sa famille en Alsace lorsque, au mois d’août 1914, commença la Première Guerre mondiale. Il était susceptible d’être mobilisé dans l’armée allemande. Mais, grâce à l’intervention du Père Ranchin, supérieur du séminaire de Lyon, qui obtint les autorisations nécessaires, il put se présenter, en novembre 1914, à l’évêque de Strasbourg, Mgr Fritzen, qui accepta de lui conférer le sous-diaconat et, dès lors, selon les dispositions de la loi allemande en vigueur, il était exempt de tout service armé, étant néanmoins mobilisable comme infirmier. Il ne fut cependant pas appelé immédiatement au service de santé, de sorte que, en 1915-1916, il put faire une année de théologie en Alsace. Mobilisé ensuite, il rentra à Bollwiller au début de décembre 1918 et, en février 1919, il retourna au séminaire de Lyon pour y reprendre et y achever ses études théologiques. Il fut ordonné prêtre à Lyon par Mgr Moury, le 11 juillet 1920.
Après son ordination, le Père Imbach fut d’abord envoyé à l’école apostolique des Roches à Chamalières. Le Père Desribes ouvrait cette nouvelle école le 1er octobre 1920, en remplacement de celle de Mozac, dont les bâtiments étaient devenus insuffisants pour le nombre d’élèves qui devaient y être admis. Le Père Imbach y fut professeur durant la première année scolaire, en 1920-1921.
Puis, de 1921 à 1926, il travailla dans les Missions Noires de Géorgie, aux États-Unis et, de 1927 à 1928, dans la Mission de Lagos, qui s’appelait à cette époque Vicariat Apostolique du Bénin. Rentré en Europe en août 1928, il passa d’abord quelques mois à la maison du noviciat des Frères à Vigneulles, avant de prendre différents emplois d’aumônerie et de professorat. Ce fut d’abord, de septembre 1929 à juillet 1932, un poste de professeur chez les Pères de Saint François de Sales à Dreiborn au Luxembourg. Ensuite, de septembre 1932 à février 1938, il fut aumônier dans un Établissement en Angleterre, à Grove-Ferry. En 1939-1940, il résida à la maison de la Croix Valmer et, pendant quelques mois, à l’Écluse (Sluis) aux Pays-Bas, comme aumônier au Collège Saint-Joseph d’une congrégation de Frères.
En avril 1940, s’embarquant à Saint-Nazaire, il put retourner en Amérique. Il exerça désormais, de 1940 à 1974, un ministère pastoral à New York. Il logeait dans une maison destinée au clergé (The Leo House), située non loin d’un couvent des Sœurs de Marie-Réparatrice, dont il était l’aumônier.
Sa vie quotidienne y était bien remplie et se déroulait dans la régularité d’un horaire quasi monacal. D’abord il restait toujours très intéressé par les livres et il s’appliqua beaucoup à l’étude des saintes Écritures, dont il comparait les traductions modernes avec les textes originaux hébreux et grecs. Mais il donnait aussi beaucoup de temps au ministère des âmes. Pendant de longues années, il disait la sainte messe à midi à l’église Saint-Léon du Couvent des Sœurs, pour les gens d’affaires de ce quartier de New York. Il assurait cette messe tous les jours sans manquer un seul jour, dit-il, durant 27 ans. Il passait aussi tous les jours des heures au confessionnal à New York et dans d’autres paroisses. Je ne sors de chez moi, dit-il encore, que pour dire la messe. Je fais le trajet toujours à pied. Je pars à 10 heures 30, je vais au confessionnal et ne reviens chez moi qu’à 15 heures. Le dimanche, il disait deux ou trois messes dans une paroisse près de Tenafly.
Avec tout cela, il n’oublia pas les missions de la Société ni ses confrères d’Alsace. Mgr Strebler en fit la remarque en écrivant dans le Ralliement : le Père Imbach a su aider matériellement le Père Muckensturm pour la construction de la Chapelle de Saint-Pierre. Il a soutenu efficacement plusieurs missions au Togo. (Et) il lui a fallu peiner pour soutenir ainsi nos œuvres...
Le Père Imbach resta à son poste à New York jusqu’en 1974, c’est-à-dire tant que sa santé le lui permit. Lorsque celle-ci fit défaut, il se retira dans un établissement sanitaire (nursing-home), aux environs de la maison provinciale de Tenafly. Il était infirme et, bien malade, il avait besoin de soins constants. Il mourut le 11 mars 1977. Il était dans sa 85e année. Ses obsèques liturgiques furent célébrées le 14 mars dans la Chapelle s.m.a. de Tenafly.
Father Louis M. IMBACH (1892 - 1977)
Louis Imbach was born in Bollwiller, Alsace Loraine, in the diocese of Strasbourg, on August 11, 1892.
He died in the Columbia Nursing Home, Passaic, Passaic County, NJ, USA, on March 11, 1977.
Louis Imbach was one of seven children born to Francis Xavier and Catherine (nee Müller) Imbach. He received his elementary education at the local parochial school in Bollwiller. He then entered the SMA College at Keer en Cadier for his second-level studies. He made his novitiate in Chanly (Belgium) before coming to the Society’s Major Seminary at Cours Gambetta, Lyon (France), to study philosophy and theology. Louis was received as a member of the Society on June 6, 1914. During the last two years of the First World War he entered the hospital service of the German Army – as a non-commissioned officer – serving in Alsace, Germany, Belgium and Northern France. After the war he resumed his studies in Lyon and was ordained a priest in the seminary chapel, on July 11, 1920.
In 1907 Ignace Lissner from Alsace commenced the first SMA mission parish in Savannah Georgia, USA. Other parishes – all in largely African-American communities – were soon established in Atlanta, Augusta and Macon. After a year spent a year in Belgium, Louis was assigned to the Society’s American works. Sailing from L’Havre, he arrived in New York on board the liner Paris, on October 1, 1921. He served in the Society’s missions in Georgia for the next three years. He was first posted to St. Anthony’s mission in Savannah, where he assisted Alphonse Riber. At the time the mission had some 70 African-American Catholics. Early in 1923 Louis posted to Immaculate Conception mission in Augusta, a larger parish with some 500 Catholic members. Sometime during the course of this year Louis was appointed Councilor to Ignace Lissner, the Pro-Provincial. The Pro-Province had been established in 1921 with a view to preparing the American branch for full Provincial status. A year later he came to the Vicariate of the Bight of Benin, in West Africa, arriving in Lagos in October 1924. Here he was posted to the principal station of Ebute-Meta in Lagos where he assisted Eugene Gasser. In 1927 he returned to Europe and was appointed to the novitiate for Brothers, situated at Vigneulles, Moselle, France. A document in the archives of the American Province in Tenafly states that between 1929-1932 he taught Latin, Greek, German and French in Luxemburg.
Between 1930-32 the Society’s register which detailed the placements of confreres has no entry for Louis, a very rare occurrence. However between 1933-1938 he is listed as chaplain to Saint Mary’s College, Grove Ferry, near Canterbury, England. The circumstances which brought him to this Marist Brothers boarding school in England are unknown. So also are the circumstances which led him to leave America in 1924. The probability is that he had a serious difference of opinion with Fr. Lissner, most likely over money. In 1938 Louis traveled to Alsace, visiting his family and then taking up residence in the Society’s ‘Sanatorium’, at La Croix Valmar. In February of the following year, still in Europe, he wrote to Fr. Maurice Slattery, the Superior General, requesting permission to work in a US diocese. And when objections were raised by Fr. Lissner, Fr. Slattery and Fr. Brediger (the Alsace Provincial), he took his case to Propaganda Fide. On December 1, 1938, Fr. Slattery informed Louis that Propaganda had ruled in his favor. ‘It is the will of Propaganda that I allow you, in your unhappy circumstances, to find a Bishop who may be willing to accept your services as a priest for one year by way of trial, and later on by way of incardination. I am, too, requested to help you by the concession of suitable references… When you find a Bishop, Propaganda is prepared to grant you an Indult for one year to enable you to live outside your own Community and secondly is willing to approve, with my consent as Superior General of the Bishop’s incardination.’ What the issue was that caused the ‘unhappy circumstances’ is not known, but it is likely to have been related to the circumstances surrounding his departure from Georgia.
War had already broken out when Louis returned to America, coming on April 8, 1940 by ‘special permission of His Eminence Cardinal Fumasoni-Biondi, Prefect of Propaganda, given to him in December 1938.’ Armed with Fr Slattery’s reference and also a letter of introduction from the Cardinal, he obtained work first in the diocese of New York and Brooklyn, and in the diocese of Lafayette, returning again to New York City. Louis became an American citizen in 1945. He was still a member of the Alsace Province. Two years later, in April 1947, the Superior General wrote Louis saying that he should either incardinate in a diocese or return to his Province, but that he could not remain in ‘no-man’s-land’. At this time Louis was chaplain to the Sisters of the Reparation in New York City and living nearby in the Leo Home where he served as an assistant. The Leo Home was a hostel run by the archdiocese to provide accommodation for priests and religious visiting America. Leo was not in any urgency to become incardinated. He wrote: ‘I must say that personally I had more stability and security during these last seven years than ever before, although it is only a temporary arrangement. I am happy to go on this way…’ And he reminded Fr. Slattery that he had sent a report to Cardinal Fumasoni-Biondi each year since his return to America. That was an end of the matter. Louis remained on in the Leo Home until 1973 when his health deteriorated sharply and he began to lose his faculties. At this point the Provincial Superior of the American Province, Kevin Scanlan, performed a signal act of kindness as well as an act of common sense. Louis was a member of the Alsace Province and should have returned to the retirement home of his Province. However Fr. Scanlan, in a letter to the Alsace Provincial wrote: “It would be cruel to send him back to Alsace since he did not wish to go and has been away so long from all his former contacts over there…’ Instead it was arranged that Louis should enter the Dellridge Nursing Home, Paramus, NJ. Later, as his condition deteriorated, he was sent to the Bergen Pines County Hospital, also in Paramus. .
Louis was 84 years old when he died. A life-long friend of Bishop Joseph Strebler, some of their correspondence is preserved in the Archives of the American Province in Tenafly.
He is buried in the SMA Community Plot, Mount Carmel Cemetery, Tenafly, NJ, USA.
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