✝ LEONHARD HAGER SDS

12/05/2026 - Mistelbach, Austria

He was 91 years old and had been professed for 70 years.

Our Savior Jesus Christ has called to Himself our dear confrere Br. Leonhard (Johann) Hager SDS on Tuesday, 12 May 2026, after a long illness.

Brother Leonhard, born on 24 March 1935 in Schärding/Inn, grew up in Diersbach, Upper Austria, on a farm together with his twin sister Cäcilia (Sr. Jacintha) and his brother Franz.

At the age of 18 he entered the Salvatorian community as a religious brother. After one year of novitiate on the Klosterberg in Passau, he worked with dedication in the agricultural work of the Hamberg monastery, Upper Austria, where he lived until its closure in 1985.

He then moved to Vienna Favoriten, where he served with joy and zeal as sacristan in the Apostles’ Parish and in the house community until 2016. He warmly cared for the hospitality of guests, did the shopping, and visited the sick of the parish, as well as his confreres and the sisters. He always participated with interest in the retreats and formation days for lay brothers of the religious communities of Austria. Encounters with his confreres and sisters during the celebrations of the Salvatorian family and at the SDS provincial meetings were very important to him.

Since 2016 he lived at the Kolleg Mistelbach, Lower Austria, where he gladly took part in parish life and helped in the house. After his 90th birthday on 24 March 2026, he moved—at his own request—first to the Care and Support Center in Wolkersdorf, and from October 2026 to the Care and Support Center in Mistelbach, where he passed away on 12 May 2026 at midday.

Brother Leonhard died at the age of 91, of which 70 as a Salvatorian religious. He was a beloved confrere, deeply rooted in faith, enterprising, and happy to be with others.

With gratitude we bid farewell to Brother Leonhard.