STORER, FRANZ

Having entered the Order in 1635, he taught with great success from 1646 to 1650 mathematics and Hebrew at the University of Ingolstadt until he departed for the Ethiopian mission with Fr. Enrico Roth, making the journey overland through Asia Minor, Persia, and as far as Goa in India, where he exercised parochial ministry in the vicinity of the city. He did not succeed in entering Ethiopia until 1656, disguised as an Armenian physician, and settled at Gondar. As the persecution of Emperor Fasiladas had almost entirely annihilated the Catholic Church, he could find no other means of secretly serving the few Christians who remained steadfast in the faith except by continuing his medical practice while concealing his identity as a missionary. Thus he even enjoyed the favor of the Emperor, who granted him various fields, allowed him to live at court, and to accompany him on several journeys. His last letter dates from 1658; after that nothing more is known of him. Whether he died of illness or as a martyr remains uncertain.