VERY REVEREND JOSEPH SIMLER, S.M. 1833 -1905 Fourth Superior General of the Society of Mary 1876 - 1905 The 100th anniversary of the death of Good Father Joseph Simler, S.M., fourth Superior General of the Society of Mary, was Feb. 4, 2005. Father Joe Lackner says Father Simler often is referred to as the “second founder” of the Society of Mary. To help us honor his memory, the following is an overview of his life. Joseph Simler was born on Oct. 21, 1833, near Colmar, France; he was the second of three children born to Hippolet Simler and Mary Ann Klein. He made his first profession of vows on Sept. 17, 1854, having Father Chevaux as his Novice Master; Father Caillet was the Superior General. Joseph was ordained on Dec. 19, 1857. Before being elected as the Assistant for Education to the General Administration in November 1868, he was an educator and then Director of St. Mary's Institute at Bescancon and then Petit College, Stanislas in Paris. Father Simler was the first member of the General Administration to visit the Marianist communities and works in America. Beginning in February 1875, Father Simler did a six-month tour of the Province. Accompanied by the Provincial of the American Province, Father John Reinbolt, the two visited the Marianists in New York, Baltimore, New Orleans, San Antonio, Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, Columbus, Cleveland, Chicago and Dayton. One of the fruits of this visit was an invitation to Marianists in America to come to France for studies in the S.M. spirit and for advanced degrees. In 1876, Father Simler was elected the Fourth Superior General at the Seventh General Chapter. He served as General for three terms, a total of 29 years. With his eight years as Assistant for Education and his 29 years as General, Father Simler was on the General Administration for 37 years, just over half his life! During his tenure as General, Father Simler: reestablished relations with the Daughter of Mary in 1889; worked strenuously for the Approbation of the Constitutions given in 1891; through the animadversions he held fast to the essential elements of identity in the Society of Mary of Mixed Composition and our Vow of Stability; visited Saragossa on Oct. 11, 1897, and said Mass at Our Lady of the Pillar Shrine, honoring the 100th anniversary of the Founder's arrival there; opened a Marianist Seminary in Anthony, France in 1897. A few years later, Lay Religious began to attend to study for advanced degrees, highlighting our Mixed Composition; published the life of the Founder in 1901. After an illness that left him quite weak for several weeks, Good Father Simler died on Feb. 4, 1905. From his deathbed he said, "Be ye faithful and ye need not fear; trust in Mary and God's work will be done." Submitted by Tom Redmond, S.M. Marianist Novitiate Dayton, Ohio February 2005