STORER, FRANZ. - Jesuit, missionary, b. at Costanza on 17 Jan. 1617, d. at Gondar (Ethiopia), probably in 1662.
Having entered the Order in 1635, from 1646 to 1659 he taught mathematics and Hebrew with great success at the University of Ingolstadt, until he departed for the Ethiopian mission with Fr. Enrico Roth, travelling overland through Asia Minor and Persia as far as Goa in India, where he exercised parish ministry in the vicinity of the city. He succeeded in entering Ethiopia only in 1656, disguised as an Armenian physician, and settled at Gondar. Since the persecution of Emperor Fasiladan had almost entirely destroyed the Catholic Church, he could find no other means of secretly serving the few Christians who remained firm in the faith than to continue practising the art of medicine, concealing his status as a missionary. Thus he was also able to enjoy the emperor’s favour, who gave him various fields, allowed him to live at his court, and permitted him to accompany him on various journeys. His last letter dates from 1658; thereafter nothing more could be learned of him; whether he died of illness or martyrdom remains a secret.