The Pious Saint Pius X. Squirrel

Dr. med. vet. Edith Breburda, PhD

Published in Oremus Press, June edition 2019
I have to admit, I love to sit in Church and proofread my books. But every so very often people misunderstand my intention and tell me I have to leave and that they never ever want to see me again. Since then, I am very afraid of going even to Adoration and instead prefer to sit in one of the last pews in the main church. Until… yes, until I realized I could go as well to this huge church nearby. It is brand-new, and sometimes I sneak in. Most of the time, no other human there. Today was such a day. I did not know where to go but was in dire need of a place to contemplate my writings.

Sure, I know all the arguments going on in the Church regarding the Society of Saint Pius X. Coming from Germany and having been a founding member of the (German-Catholic) Guides et Scouts d’Europe, I am even more aware of the late French Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre. In 1988, we so much hoped the Society Pius X would come back to the Church. However, nothing happened and since I was studying at Veterinary School in Munich during that time, I enjoyed daily Tridentine Mass celebrated by one of the founders of the Fraternity of Saint Peter.

Officially it was difficult for him to say the Tridentine Mass. He was allowed to do so in a nursing home chapel and the door behind him was closed to make sure nobody got in. I did see father very often because his studies in the German Seminary of the Society of St. Pius X at Zaitzkofen were not validated, and he needed some additional studies in Munich.

In between the Theology Faculty and the Veterinary School, located at the entrance of the English Garden, was only one street. Whereas, not the Theology Department but Veterinary School was referred to as the black faculty. To give you an idea of how dedicated the farmers are to their veterinarians, consider the old saying:

“Ross verrecken, grosser Schrecken, Weiber sterben, kein Verderben.” (If a horse dies, it is a huge disaster. If a wife passes away, it is not a big deal). Of course, this saying is obsolete. It only expresses the love Bavarians have for their animals. Indeed, the most respected person in a little Bavarian village has not been the priest, but instead the Veterinarian.

Still in our times, framers did make pilgrimages to our Lady of Altötting to pray for their animals suffering from an unknown disease. Some speculated it was attributed to GMO food and in such a case only our Blessed Mother could help.

“As a matter of fact, the mysterious illness was causing calves to bleed to death on Bavarian farms since 2007. Veterinarians were stumped over what was causing the deaths: vaccines, genetically modified feed or perhaps even the mothers’ first milk (colostrum). “The animals’ bodies were covered with drops of blood, and their eyes were bloodshot,” stated a Bavarian farmer. In his barn, the first calf bled to death in October 2007. The veterinarian tried everything, he says, including administering vitamins and blood-clotting agents. However, nothing worked, and within two or three days, they were all dead. The mysterious disease was rampant in Germany’s cattle barns. Until then, farmers likely had no other choice but to hope for help from above. At a “farmers’ pilgrimage” six hundred farmers prayed to the Black Madonna of Altötting to have mercy on their bleeding calves. The words “Holy Mary, help us in our hour of need, resounded across the shrine. In the invitation, the organizers

wrote: “Because there is apparently no help to be expected from any worldly source, we intend, in making this pilgrimage, to beg for protection and help from the Virgin Mary of Altötting, the patron saint of Bavaria>.”(1) 

I enjoyed being in school. I imagined my mother and grandfathers of several generations, who might have been sitting in the same pew at the old university building.

Being so close to Theology has had its advantages. Father invited me to the lectures of the famous Philosophy Professor Robert Spaemann. However, I could not invite him back to any of my classes because I didn’t think they would have been of interest to him.

Moving fast forward to today, I needed just a little spot in one of the last pews. From the parking lot, beneath the Diocesan Center, it was only a ride on the elevator to my desired location. Two ladies and a gentleman boarded the elevator with me. I looked at them and sensed a bit of confusion in their eyes. They did not really know where to go and eventually decided to ask me. “Where do you want to go?” I did not hesitate and answered, “Oh I want to go to heaven.” When we reached their destination on the first floor they were still chuckling.

I crossed a small plaza and entered the basilica. It was too early for Mass. I only saw the parents of a suburban parish priest. Today, it was difficult to go to Mass because all the priests gathered with their bishop. I guess many people thought that the Franciscan priests downtown would for sure celebrate Mass. But when the time arrived, the organist announced that there would be only a word and communion service. Shortly thereafter, a lady in a black dress with long white hair entered the sanctuary and took the priest’s seat. I left because I really needed a quiet place to “work.” I decided to try my luck at the Church of the Society of Pius X. There nobody would interrupt me.

I was sitting beside  a window and, after a while, I asked myself, “Why it is here that I can concentrate best?” I looked up and felt a presence. There was a squirrel and only a window in between us. To my dismay, the little thing was astonished seeing me here. After a while, the animal gave up staring at me and started to pray intensely. Indeed, I thought, there exists an interaction between animals and theology. And in places you never expected you find great faith. It just depends on where to turn. And the best example is the location of the Veterinary and the Theology Department of the Ludwig-Maximilians University in Munich.

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1) Breburda E.: Promises of New Biotechnologies, ISBN-13: 978-0615548289

ISBN-10: 061554828, Kindle or Hardcopy at Amazon.com

See also the 2017 CPA Award winning Children Book from Edith Breburda: Felix the Shrine cat and Felix the Pilgrimage cat in Paris, Chartres and Rome