Paperback: Venerable Hermann Cohen (1820-1871) was a noted German Jewish pianist, who converted to the Catholic Church. He was a star pupil of the great composer/pianist Franz Liszt in Paris in the mid-1800s. Cohen became an international concert pianist in his own right and mixed with many of the famous names of the day. He provided piano accompaniment for Giovanni Mateo De Candia ( Mario), the Pavarotti of his day, on concert platforms in Paris and London.
After converting to Catholicism, Hermann Cohen became a Carmelite friar and priest and preached throughout Europe. In1862, he officially restored the Carmelite Order to England (Kensington Church and Priory). In France, he became friends with many future French saints. These will all be mentioned in the course of the story.
One of his many Canticles, The Divine Prisoner's Little Flower, greatly influenced Saint Thérèse of Lisieux, often known as the Little Flower.
Hermann Cohen inspired Raphael Kalinowski to turn from a worldly life and become a Carmelite like himself. (Timothy Tierney also wrote a biography of Saint Raphael Kalinowski in 2016).
Hermann Cohen was also known as Augustine Mary of the Blessed Sacrament OCD (French: Augustin-Marie du Très Saint-Sacrement), or better known as Father Hermann. He was instrumental in introducing the widespread practice of nocturnal adoration of the Blessed Sacrament.
In Timothy Tierney's book - A Life Of Hermann Cohen: From Franz Liszt To John Of The Cross (2017) - you will witness, through his rich and fluent narrative, the encounter with Father Hermann, a genius who savoured the intoxicating highs of success as an artist and the despairing depths of a gambler enslaved by his addictions but through music, the atheistic Cohen experienced and discovered the spiritual realm brought about by an overwhelming intense experience of submission while playing the organ for a Benediction service in the former Church of Saint Valère in Paris in May 1847.
The cause for Father Cohen's canonization has been accepted for investigation by the Holy See.
About the author: Father Timothy Tierney joined the Carmelite Order in his native Ireland. After ordination as a priest in Dublin, he spent two years in ministry in Ireland. In addition to his seminary studies for priesthood in Dublin, Timothy holds a BA degree in Ecumenical Theology from London School of Theology (now affiliated to Middlesex University) and a BD from the University of London. From 1969 until 1939, he worked in various Carmelite communities in the UK. Timothy came to Australia in 1993. His most recent appointment was as a member of the Carmelite Community in Morley, Perth, Western Australia.
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