† August 31, 2020
Father Fr. Benno Hansel was born on July 12, 1932 and was 88 years old. He took his first vows on August 10, 1956 and was ordained a priest on Avril 06, 1962.
He was currently living in Handrup (DE). He belonged to the GER Province.
The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing (Ps 23:1)
Due to the turbulence of the war and the post-war period, the Hansel family moved to Wilhelmshaven (Northern Germany). From 1947-1955 Father Benno attended apostolic-missionary school in Handrup and entered the Congregation after finishing high school. On August 10, 1956, he professed his first vows in the Convent of Maria Martental. After completing his studies of Philosophy and Theology in the Province’s own faculty in Freiburg, he was ordained priest there on April 6, 1962. Benno studied Philology and had his first pastoral experiences in the cities of Düsseldorf and Krefeld just before being called to the Mission in South Africa (Aliwal North) in 1968.
For 50 years, he worked in South Africa as a committed pastor and doubled as the superior of the local mission region. In addition, he was Vicar General and financial administrator of Aliwal Diocese for several years. In January 2019, he returned to Germany due to his fragile health. In September 2019, Fr. Benni became a member of the Handrup community, but in December of the same year he went to the old people’s home in Bawinkel. In Bawinkel, as well as in the palliative infirmary of the Thuine hospital, he received excellent and loving care through the Franciscan Sisters.
We thank God and Father Benno Hansel for his vocation and his priestly ministry, for his great apostolic zeal and his passion for the people entrusted to him.
