Emaus was founded by Abbot Pfanner himself in 1894, after he resigned as abbot. Situated near the Lourdes Mission in East Griqualand, he and two companions continued their mission work, opening a model dairy farm.
Pfanner remained there until his death in 1909. The name does not derive from the biblical Emmaus but is a play on the word e Maus, which is the German dialect for Eine Maus (a mouse).
This Mission has also assumed much significance as it is here that he died. Here one also finds the place of pilgrimage and prayer dedicated to his life and to the Cause for his beatification. Emaus was both his Calvary and path to spiritual glory.
His Calvary was reflected in the vigorous timetable of work and prayer and the ever present fact of separation and isolation from all that his labour of love had conceived at Mariannhill.
His day began at 03h00 with prayer and meditation, followed by Holy Mass at 04h30 and then the Stations of the Cross – which consisted of an arduous 200-foot mountain scramble. These Stations he had personally built on arrival at Emaus. After breakfast his day would consist of three hours of manual labour and the rest of the day would be taken with prayers, walking, meditation, Adoration, writing and recitation of the Office, etc.
In many ways Abbot Pfanner was a man before his time. He had a prophetic knack to grasp solutions to the problems of the day and his thinking on social problems, life necessities, racial harmony and integration, were clearly inspired.
