Congregation of Jesus Mary Joseph

Rev. Mathias Wolff - Called to be a Consecrated Religious

01 Aug 2026 - 31 Aug 2026

Although Rev. Mathias Wolff served joyfully as a diocesan priest and was deeply loved in Luxembourg for his pastoral care, availability, prophetic witness, and reputation for holiness, his desire to become a Jesuit never faded. After the fall of Napoleon, Pope Pius VII returned to Rome on 24 May 1814. On 7 August 1814, he restored the Society of Jesus through a papal bull, enabling the Jesuits to resume their mission in the Netherlands (Van Hoeck, Levensschets van Wolff, 43; Ravening Wolff, 54-55). This restoration marked a decisive turning point in Wolff’s life. The long-awaited news rekindled the vocation he had cherished for years. Without delay, he wrote to the Most Reverend Father Aloysius Petrucci, Vicar General of the Society of Jesus in Italy, expressing his ardent desire to be admitted to the restored Society. This letter, written while Fr Wolff was parish priest of Dudelange, reveals the depth of his vocation, his apostolic zeal, and his wholehearted willingness to dedicate himself to the salvation of souls through the Society of Jesus. As we now read this letter (given below), may we recall the fervour with which we first responded to God’s call to the consecrated life. May Fr Wolff’s example inspire us to renew our love for Christ, deepen our zeal for the salvation of souls, and recommit ourselves wholeheartedly to our vocation to consecrated life, through the Congregation of Jesus Mary Joseph.

Letter of Fr. Wolff - Reference: Van Hoeck, Levenschets van Wolff, 1922 (43-45)

Most Reverend Father General of the Society of Jesus,

As the desire to live in the Society of Jesus and to labour for the salvation of souls, a desire which has inspired me since my earliest youth, grows stronger with each passing day, I come, heeding the call of God and trusting in His assistance, prostrate myself at Your Excellency’s feet, to beg you, should you deem it suitable, to admit me to the Novitiate, so that I may one day be received into that holy Society. However, so that you may gain some insight into my character, not to boast but as a plea, I shall briefly outline the course of my life.

I was born in the year 1779, on 9 March, in Diekirch, a village in the Duchy of Luxembourg, in the former ‘Département des Forêts’. As a child, I began my studies and have continued them without interruption. Having completed my theological studies, as I was still too young to be admitted to Holy Orders, I devoted myself entirely to the education of young people, and was subsequently, by Papal dispensation once I had reached the required age, ordained to the Holy Priesthood. For some time I then served as a curate until His Excellency the Bishop of Metz, to whose diocese I belonged by virtue of my place of birth, appointed me as a teacher of syntax and subsequently of the French language at the Episcopal Seminary in Metz. After being appointed parish priest in Düdelingen – also a village in the Duchy of Luxembourg in the ‘Département des Forêts’, I have now been working for over five years in this part of the Lord’s vineyard entrusted to my care, constantly inspired by the desire and fervent longing to leave the world behind and to serve God in evangelical perfection within the Holy Society.

I regret that, being unfamiliar with Italian, I am proficient only in German, French and Latin, and am therefore unable to be of as much service to the Society as I would wish. However, with God’s help, I shall endeavour, should the Superiors so require, to learn the aforementioned language and whatever else is prescribed for me. Now thirty-six years old and, by God’s grace, enjoying robust health, I shall devote all my energies to proving myself worthy of such a noble calling.

It remains for me only to implore and entreat Your Excellency to include me amongst her sons (members of Society of Jesus), and to instruct me as to when, where and in what capacity I am to present myself; provided, however, that I am allowed sufficient time so that another, with the consent of His Excellency the Bishop of Metz, may take over the care of the souls entrusted to me. Meanwhile, whilst awaiting the hoped-for reply, and commending myself to the prayers of the Society, I remain confident in Your Paternal kindness, for ever.

Your Excellency’s most humble servant,
Mathias Wolff, priest.

Reflection: Has the fire of my first response to God’s call remained alive, or does it need to be rekindled? How is Christ inviting me today to renew my commitment to my consecrated vocation and to the mission of saving souls?

Castle of Rumbeke, Flanders, Belgium – Here, Fr. Wolff began his journey as a Jesuit Novice on 13.02.1815