by Jill Ragar Esfeld
jill.esfeld@theleaven.org
Archbishop Naumann often tells the story of his first day in kindergarten.
He was baffled by all the other children crying for their mothers.
Of course, the kindergarten teacher was his mother!
“As my mother explained,” he said, “I learned everything I needed to know in kindergarten — because she made sure of it!”
The lessons Louise Naumann taught her son extended far beyond the classroom. Her exemplary life of faith in action would form a core philosophy that he embraced and determined to pass on.
“As much as we might wish,” he would frequently tell parents, “we cannot protect children from experiencing difficulty, or even tragedy, in their lives.”
“However, if they form an authentic relationship with Jesus,” he continued, “then, no matter what happens to them, they will have access to the greatest source of strength, peace and joy.
“They will have confidence that Our Lord will draw forth good from life’s adversities.”
Grace under fire
In 1948, Louise Naumann began a journey the archbishop would later call “a heroic path of love” when her husband, working as a manager at a local store, was stabbed to death by a troubled employee.
It was a week before Christmas. Louise had an 18-month-old son and was pregnant with the future archbishop.
“My father’s sudden death dramatically changed the course of my mother’s life,” said Archbishop Naumann. “Her dreams had been shattered.”
But Louise had no heart for anger or revenge, and no time for self-pity. What she did have was her Catholic faith.
“Without my faith,” she often said, “I never would have made it.”
On June 4, 1948, she welcomed her second son and provided him a priceless gift — the name Joseph and a patron for life.
“She thought Joseph was a pretty good foster father for Jesus,” said the archbishop, “so he would be a good patron for me.
“I feel a special connection to Saint Joseph.”
Louise, Fred Jr. and Joseph lived in a two-family flat above her parents in South St. Louis. Despite the difficult road ahead, Louise never lost her trust in God’s love.
“This made a deep impression on me,” said the archbishop. “How faith helped her cope with the tragedy of my father’s death.
“She grieved his death but she still had hope. She had this belief that God still had a plan for her and for our family.”
Divine will
God’s plan took form when Louise received a St. Rose Philippine Duchesne scholarship to Maryville College in Maryville, Tennessee.
Within three years, she earned a bachelor’s degree in education.
She also strengthened her devotion to St. Rose and received a relic of the saint that is now preserved in the archbishop’s pectoral cross.
Louise’s career in Catholic education, first as an elementary school teacher and then as a principal, spanned more than 40 years.
In addition to teaching, Louise took care of her home and her children. She had a deep reverence for Mary and made time for a family rosary every evening.
“I am not sure how Mom made ends meet,” the archbishop reflected. “She rarely spent anything on herself. Her ‘social life’ was being an active member in our parish Legion of Mary group.”
Indeed, Louise loved the spirituality and apostolic action of the legion, almost as much as she loved the Eucharist.
“When my brother and I were in high school,” recalled the archbishop, “Mom went to 5:30 a.m. Mass at a neighboring parish and came home to prepare breakfast for us.
“After getting us off to our respective schools, she attended 8 a.m. Mass with her students.”
Louise chose to go to daily Mass twice because she knew she would be focused on her students during the school Mass, and she needed time each day to be fully focused on the Eucharist.
Treasured memories
As the archbishop and his brother matured, Louise made sure they knew their father.
Fred Sr. had served in the military and was a promising catcher in the St. Louis Cardinals farm system.
“We were very proud of his military service in World War II and very interested in his abbreviated baseball career,” said Archbishop Naumann.
In the 1960s, the archbishop felt a call to the priesthood and entered seminary high school. He fondly remembers his mother making BLT sandwiches and “burnt brownies, usually” for fellow seminarians who visited the home.
At his ordination, he received a chalice from his mother. Into the cross at the base, she had embedded the diamonds from her engagement ring.
“So it’s always a reminder to me of how my vocation as a priest was really the fruit of my mother’s and father’s vocation of Christian marriage,” he said.
When he was an auxiliary bishop in St. Louis and visited parishes to administer the sacrament of confirmation, parents of the newly confirmed would often ask him, “Are you Mrs. Naumann’s son?”
“And they would testify to the difference she had made in their lives,” he said.
A life well-lived
Louise Naumann received the St. Rose Philippine Duchesne Award in 2006 here in the archdiocese in recognition of her contributions to Catholic education and her devotion to St. Rose.
In 2018, St. Benedict’s Abbey presented the Lumen Vitae Medal to Louise and Archbishop Naumann for their outstanding witness of faith and service to the church.
“My goal always was to raise my boys as living monuments to their father’s memory,” Louise said on that occasion. “I feel like I succeeded in that. Because I think Fred is an exemplary example of what a Catholic husband should be, and I think Joe is a great example of what a Catholic bishop should be.
“I’m proud of everything he’s done.”
In June of 2020, at the age of 97, Louise moved from a care home in St. Louis to Villa St. Francis in Olathe.
The archbishop had been saying a daily rosary with his mother over the phone, but now with her so close, he was able to pray with her in person.
On Sept. 26, 2020, Louise died, as she had hoped, peacefully in her sleep.
“Whatever good I have accomplished in my ministry as priest and bishop,” said Archbishop Naumann, “it is the fruit of her influence and example.
“The title I’m most proud of is not priest, Reverend, Father, Bishop or Excellency, but as I’m known by her former students — as Mrs. Naumann’s son.”
