Bienheureux János Scheffler
Évêque roumain, martyr du communisme (✝ 1952)
János Scheffler (1887 - 1952), évêque roumain de Satu Mare, mort à Bucarest, sous le régime communiste, a été béatifié en 2011.
Né en 1887 dans ce qui est alors la Hongrie, entré en 1905 au séminaire de Satu Mare, János Scheffler a effectué des études de théologie à Budapest avant d'être ordonné prêtre en 1910... Évêque de Satu Mare en 1942, il doit faire face aux persécutions communistes contre l'Église... Emprisonné à Jilava et soumis aux travaux forcés, à toute sorte d'humiliations, à des tortures, il sut 'transformer cette expérience de douleur en occasion d'apostolat, de catéchèse, et de prière' (cardinal Amato lors de la cérémonie de béatification)... Il tint bon et mourut le 6 décembre 1952, en priant et en pardonnant à ses assassins... (d'après 'Mgr János Scheffler a été béatifié en Roumanie' - La Croix)
A l'issue de l'Angélus du 3 juillet 2011, Benoît XVI: je m'unis à la joie de l'Église en Roumanie, en particulier de la Communauté Satu Mare, où aujourd'hui est proclamé bienheureux János Scheffler, qui fut évêque de ce diocèse et mourut martyr en 1952. Que son témoignage soutienne toujours la foi de ceux qui le rappellent avec affection, ainsi que des nouvelles générations.
.jpg)
Bienheureux János Scheffler
Évêque roumain de Satu Mare
martyr du communisme
Janos Scheffler naît en 1887 à Kalmand, alors situé en Hongrie, dans une famille de paysans pauvres. Après ses études de séminaire il fut ordonné en 1910 et envoyé à Rome pour se spécialiser dans le Droit Canon. En 1942, il fut nommé évêque de Satmar, dont le nom a été changé en Satu Mare à la fin de la Première Guerre Mondiale, lorsque la ville a été incluse dans le territoire Roumain.
Durant la Seconde Guerre Mondiale, il a aidé de nombreux réfugiés à fuir les horreurs de la guerre ; il était connu pour porter assistance à la population juive du diocèse qui se trouvait le plus gravement en danger.
Lorsqu’à la fin de la guerre le régime communiste s’efforça d’instituer une église fidèle au régime et schismatique à l’égard de Rome, Mgr Scheffler s’y opposa ; il fut arrêté et traduit en justice. Condamné aux travaux forcés dans un camp de prisonniers, il meurt, le 6 décembre 1952, des tortures qu’on lui faisait endurer, en priant et en pardonnant à ses assassins.
Le 3 juillet 2011, une cérémonie de béatification a eu lieu à Satu Mare, Transylvanie, Roumanie. La messe solennelle était présidée par le Cardinal Peter Erdo, évêque de Hongrie, et par le Cardinal Angelo Amato, Préfet de la Congrégation pour la cause des Saints, qui représentait le Pape Benoît XVI (Joseph Ratzinger, 2005-2013).
BENOÎT XVI
ANGÉLUS
Place Saint-Pierre
Dimanche 3 juillet 2011
Chers frères et sœurs,
Aujourd’hui, dans l’Évangile, le Seigneur Jésus nous rappelle ces paroles que nous connaissons bien, mais qui nous émeuvent toujours : « Venez à moi, vous tous qui peinez sous le poids du fardeau, et moi, je vous procurerai le repos. Prenez sur vous mon joug, devenez mes disciples, car je suis doux et humble de cœur, et vous trouverez le repos. Oui, mon joug est facile à porter, et mon fardeau, léger » (Mt 11, 28-30). Quand Jésus parcourait les routes de Galilée annonçant le Royaume de Dieu et guérissant de nombreux malades, il ressentait de la compassion pour les foules, parce qu’elles étaient fatiguées et épuisées, comme « des brebis sans berger » (cf. Mt 9, 35-36). Ce regard de Jésus semble se prolonger jusqu’à aujourd’hui, jusqu’à notre monde. Aujourd’hui encore, il se pose sur tant de personnes oppressées par des conditions de vie difficiles mais aussi dépourvues de points de référence valides pour trouver un sens et un but à leur existence. Des multitudes épuisées se trouvent dans les pays les plus pauvres, éprouvées par l’indigence ; et dans les pays les plus riches aussi, il y a tant d’hommes et de femmes insatisfaits, et même malades de dépression. Nous pensons aux nombreux réfugiés et déplacés, à ceux qui émigrent en mettant leur vie en danger. Le regard du Christ se pose sur toutes ces personnes, et même sur chacun de ces enfants de son Père qui est aux cieux et il répète : « Venez à moi, vous tous… ».
Jésus promet de donner à tous le « repos » mais pose une condition : « Prenez sur vous mon joug et apprenez de moi, car je suis doux et humble de cœur ». Qu’est-ce que ce «joug» qui au lieu de peser soulage, et au lieu d’écraser soutient ? Le « joug » du Christ, c’est la loi de l’amour, et son commandement, qu’il a laissé à ses disciples (cf. Jn 13, 34 ; 15, 12). Le vrai remède aux blessures de l’humanité — matérielles comme la faim et les injustices, ou psychologiques et morales, provoquées par un faux bien-être — est une règle de vie fondée sur l’amour fraternel, qui a sa source dans l’amour de Dieu. Pour cela, il faut abandonner le chemin de l’arrogance de la violence utilisée pour se procurer des positions de pouvoir toujours plus grand, pour s’assurer le succès à tout prix. À l’égard de l’environnement aussi, il faut renoncer au style agressif qui a dominé ces derniers siècles et adopter une « douceur » raisonnable. Mais surtout, dans les rapports humains, interpersonnels, sociaux, la règle du respect et de la non-violence, c’est-à-dire de la force de la vérité, contre tout abus de pouvoir, est celle qui peut assurer un avenir digne de l’homme.
Chers amis, nous avons célébré hier une mémoire liturgique particulière de la Très Sainte Vierge Marie, en louant Dieu pour son Cœur Immaculé. Que la Vierge nous aide à « apprendre » de Jésus la vraie humilité, à prendre avec décision son joug léger, pour faire l’expérience de la paix intérieure, et devenir à notre tour capables de consoler d’autres frères et sœurs qui avancent péniblement sur le chemin de la vie.
À l'issue de l'Angélus
Chers frères et sœurs, je m’unis à la joie de l’Église en Roumanie, en particulier de la Communauté Satu Mare, où aujourd’hui est proclamé bienheureux János Scheffler, qui fut évêque de ce diocèse et mourut martyr en 1952. Que son témoignage soutienne toujours la foi de ceux qui le rappellent avec affection, ainsi que des nouvelles générations.
Chers pèlerins francophones, de façon providentielle, alors que pour beaucoup débutent les vacances, les textes de ce dimanche nous orientent vers le repos et la sérénité. Il ne s’agit pas de partir en repos pour partir, mais bien de vivre d’une façon nouvelle nos relations avec nos proches, avec Dieu, en prenant du temps pour cela. Jésus nous invite à venir à Lui, à nous confier à Lui. La foi en sa présence nous apporte la sérénité de celui qui se sait toujours aimé du Père. Faisons une large place à la lecture de la Parole de Dieu, particulièrement de l’Évangile que vous ne manquerez pas de mettre dans vos bagages de vacances ! Bon pèlerinage à tous !
Je souhaite à tous un bon dimanche et un bon mois de juillet. Au cours des prochains jours je quitterai le Vatican pour me rendre à Castel Gandolfo. C’est de là, si Dieu le veut, que je guiderai l’Angélus de dimanche prochain. Merci ! Bon dimanche et bonne semaine à tous.
© Copyright 2011 - Libreria Editrice Vaticana
SOURCE : http://www.vatican.va/content/benedict-xvi/fr/angelus/2011/documents/hf_ben-xvi_ang_20110703.html
Le pape évoque le bienheureux János Scheffler, évêque et martyr
Béatifié samedi matin en Roumanie
JUILLET 03, 2011 00:00ÉGLISE CATHOLIQUE
ROME, Dimanche 3 juillet 2011 (ZENIT.org) – Benoît XVI évoque la figure du bienheureux János Scheffler, évêque roumain de Satu Mare, mort martyr du communisme en 1952 à Bucarest, à l’âge de 65 ans.
« Je m’unis à la joie de l’Eglise en Roumanie, et en particulier de la communauté de Statu Mare » où Janos Scheffler a été proclamé bienheureux samedi matin lors de la célébration eucharistique présidée par le cardinal Angelo Amato, préfet de la Congrégation pour les causes des saints et envoyé de Benoît XVI.
« Que son témoignage soutienne toujours la foi de ceux qui font mémoire de lui avec affection et celle des nouvelles générations », a dit Benoît XVI après l’angélus de ce dimanche.
La persécution communiste contre l’Eglise catholique se durcit à partir de 1947 : « Le régime, a expliqué le cardinal Amato à Radio Vatican, voulait casser les relations avec le Saint-Siège et créer une Eglise sans le pape en forçant les catholiques à devenir orthodoxes ».
Cette haine de la foi se déchaîna contre les prêtres et contre les évêques. Mgr Scheffler fut emprisonné à Jilava et soumis aux travaux forcés, à toute sorte d’humiliations, à des tortures (des douches bouillantes), mais il sut « transformer cette expérience de douleur en occasion d’apostolat, de catéchèse, et de prière », a ajouté le cardinal Amato.
Le régime lui proposa de devenir « patriarche de Roumanie » s’il acceptait de passer à l’Eglise orthodoxe : il tint bon. Il mourut le 6 décembre 1952, en priant et en pardonnant à ses assassins.
Anita S. Bourdin
JUILLET 03, 2011 00:00ÉGLISE CATHOLIQUE
SOURCE : https://fr.zenit.org/articles/le-pape-evoque-le-bienheureux-janos-scheffler-eveque-et-martyr/
Mgr János Scheffler a été béatifié en Roumanie
Avec Radio Vatican et Zenit,
le 04/07/2011 à 16:05
L’évêque roumain János Scheffler a été proclamé bienheureux dimanche 3 juillet à Satu Mare (nord de la Roumanie), ville dont il avait été évêque de 1942 jusqu’à sa mort comme martyr en 1952 à Bucarest.
Plusieurs milliers de fidèles ont participé à la messe présidée par le cardinal Angelo Amato, préfet de la Congrégation des causes des saints, en présence de nombreux évêques latins et gréco-catholiques de Roumanie.
Né en 1887 dans ce qui est alors la Hongrie, entré en 1905 au séminaire de Satu Mare, János Scheffler a effectué des études de théologie à Budapest avant d’être ordonné prêtre en 1910 puis d’effectuer ses études de droit canonique à Rome.
Après la Première guerre mondiale, la Transylvanie étant intégrée à la Roumanie, il apprend le roumain pour pouvoir prêcher et confesser et fait preuve d’une intense activité apostolique.
Le régime lui a proposé de devenir « patriarche de Roumanie »
Évêque de Satu Mare en 1942, il doit faire face aux persécutions communistes contre l’Église. Comme l’a expliqué le cardinal Amato sur Radio Vatican, « le régime voulait casser les relations avec le Saint-Siège et créer une Église sans pape en forçant les catholiques à devenir orthodoxes ».
Emprisonné à Jilava et soumis aux travaux forcés, à toute sorte d’humiliations, à des tortures (des douches bouillantes), il sut « transformer cette expérience de douleur en occasion d’apostolat, de catéchèse, et de prière », a ajouté le cardinal Amato.
Le régime lui proposa de devenir « patriarche de Roumanie » s’il acceptait de passer à l’Église orthodoxe : il tint bon et mourut le 6 décembre 1952, en priant et en pardonnant à ses assassins.
Depuis Rome, lors de la prière de l’Angelus, Benoît XVI a salué la mémoire du nouveau bienheureux. « Que son témoignage soutienne toujours la foi de ceux qui font mémoire de lui avec affection et celle des nouvelles générations », a souligné le pape.
Blessed János Scheffler
Profile
Born
- 6 December 1952 in Bucharest, Romania
- 1 July 2010 by Pope Benedict XVI (decree of martyrdom)
Beatification of a martyr for the faith
Janos Scheffler was a bishop in Transylvania who died in 1952 in a prison camp under Communist rule.
On July 3, 2011, a beatification ceremony took place in Satu Mare (also know in the Jewish world as Satmar), Transylvania, Rumania. The solemn mass was concelebrated by Cardinal Peter Erdo, Primate of Hungary and Cardinal Angelo Amato, Prefect of the Congregation for the Cause of Saints, who represented Pope Benedict XVI.
Janos Scheffler was born in 1887 in Kalmand, then in Hungary into a poor peasant family. After his studies for the priesthood he was ordained in 1910 and sent to Rome to specialize in Canon Law. In 1942, he was named Bishop of Satmar, since the end of the First World War part of Rumania and renamed Satu Mare.
During the Second World War, he helped the many refugees fleeing the horrors of the war and was known for his assistance to the Jewish population in the diocese who were especially in danger.
When, at the end of the war, the Communist regime in Rumania tried to create a Church faithful to the regime and in schism with Rome, Bishop Scheffler resisted and he was arrested and put on trial. Sentenced to hard labor in a prison camp, he died shortly afterwards as a result of the tortures he was forced to endure.
The new blessed is an inspiration for all those who still today are persecuted for their faith.
Romanian Catholic bishop martyred by Communists beatified tomorrow
A Catholic bishop who was starved and forced to stand naked in winter will be beatified as a martyr in Romania, 63 years after dying of malnutrition in a communist prison.
The ceremony honoring Bishop Anton Durcovici, who served as head of the Diocese of Iasi at the time of his death, will take place tomorrow in the northeastern Romanian city’s municipal stadium with Cardinal Angelo Amato, prefect of the Congregation for Saints’ Causes, presiding.
“This is a great joy for the whole Catholic church here, and especially for his home-diocese,” said Bishop Petru Gherghel of Iasi.
“But it’s important for Romanian society as a whole, since he’s a figure of resistance, who gave an example to everyone by standing up for truth, dignity and freedom, as well as for devotion to the Christian faith,” the bishop told Catholic News Service yesterday.
Bishop Durcovici will be the first martyr from the Iasi Diocese to be declared blessed. Bishop Gherghel said that the end of the lengthy process for canonization would reward and encourage people still engaged in collecting documents and testimonies about communist-era martyrs.
“He was also deeply involved in educating and forming local people, so his fate teaches much about courage and faithfulness to the end,” Bishop Gherghel said.
“Our country produced many such witnesses and martyrs to the faith, who are still with us today – speaking to us in our lives and giving us fortitude to face the future.”
Born May 17, 1888, in Bad Deutsch-Altenberg, Austria, a town on the Danube River, the martyred bishop moved to Romania with his widowed mother and brother as a child, and enrolled at the Iasi seminary in 1906.
He gained degrees in canon law, philosophy and theology and two doctorates while studying at Rome’s Pontifical University of St Thomas Aquinas, or Angelicum and serving with the Vatican’s Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples. He returned to Romania as a seminary teacher and parish administrator at his ordination in 1910.
Interned during the First World War because of his Austrian citizenship, Bishop Durcovici was later freed and became rector of the Catholic seminary in Bucharest in 1924.
In April 1948, he was consecrated bishop of Iasi by the Vatican’s then-apostolic nuncio, Archbishop Gerald P. O’Hara, two years before the U.S.-born diplomat was expelled by Romania’s new communist regime.
In June 1949, Bishop Durcovici was arrested by Romania’s Securitate secret police with Bishop Aron Marton of Alba Iulia for refusing to omit references to papal authority from a new regime-sponsored statute regulating church activities.
Held at the notorious Jilava prison, Bishop Durcovici was transferred with other priests to Sighet prison, where he was tortured and denied food and water and stripped in winter weather.
Bishop Durcovici died of malnutrition in his cell on December 10, 1951, and was buried in an unmarked grave by communist officials, who attempted to erase all physical and documentary evidence of his stay in prison.
Witness accounts on the Iasi Diocese website said the bishop received final absolution through his cell door from a priest after calling on other inmates to pray for him.
The accounts reported different dates for the bishop’s death because of the total isolation of fellow prisoners, including Cardinal Iuliu Hossu (1885-1970) and Archbishop Ioan Ploscaru (1911-1998), although news of his deteriorating condition had been leaked by a sympathetic warden.
In a May 1 pastoral letter, Bishop Gherghel described the martyred bishop as a “flower of the local church,” who had carried “the cross of salvation and redemption” through his bitter sufferings.
Meanwhile, the current Vatican nuncio, Archbishop Francisco-Javier Lozano, and Archbishop Ioan Robu of Bucharest, president of the Romanian bishops’ conference, told Austria’s Kathpress agency May 12 that they believed the beatification would assist interchurch ties by recalling shared communist-era sufferings in Romania, 87 percent of whose 23 million inhabitants are nominally Orthodox.
Austrian church leaders, and Catholics from the hometown of Bishop Durcovici are expected to attend the beatification Mass.
The bishop will be the fourth Romanian Catholic beatified as a communist-era martyr after Bishop Szilard Bogdanffy (1911-1953); Bishop Janos Scheffler (1887-1952); and Bishop Vladimir Ghika (1873-1954).
Blessed János Scheffler
bishop and martyr
Official memorial: 17 May
János Scheffler was born in Kálmánd (province of Satu Mare) in 1887 in a serf family of ten children. He completed his secondary school studies at the Catholic grammar school of Satu Mare, then attended the Faculty of Theology of the Pázmány Péter Catholic University. He had excellent intellectual capacities and always had the best grades.
After his priestly ordination, which took place on 6 July 1910, he worked as a pastoral assistant in Ciumești (a.k.a. Csomaköz) and Uzhhorod (a.k.a. Ungvár). He spent two years in Rome, where he obtained his doctorate in canon law at the Pontifical Gregorian University in 1912. After his return to Hungary, he became a professor of theology in Satu Mare (Szatmár); however, he continued his studies in canon law in Budapest and, in 1915, he became a doctor of theology. He was a teacher of religion at the Catholic grammar school of Satu Mare. Later on, he reorganized the school and became its director. From 1923 to 1925 he was the parish priest of Moftinu Mare (a.k.a. Nagymajtény). His bishop soon appointed him professor of theology. He taught canon law and history of the Church in Satu Mare, then in Oradea. In 1939 he became the spiritual director of the seminary in Oradea. Following the merger of the dioceses of Satu Mare and Oradea, he was asked to organize the common faculty of theology and the seminary. At the same time, he also worked as a canon lawyer: he studied the legal aspects of the autonomy of the Church and of the relationship between the Church and the State. He also wrote several books of religion for secondary school students and for groups of more educated Catholics. He drafted the Statutes of the Sisters of Charity of Satu Mare and several writings for retreats, whose manuscripts have been preserved. In 1940, he was appointed professor of the department of canon law of the Franz Joseph University of Cluj.
In 1942 the Holy See appointed him bishop of the diocese of Satu Mare and apostolic administrator of Oradea. From 9 April 1948 he was bishop of the reunified diocese of Satu Mare and Oradea. He continued to consider the promotion of priestly and religious vocations as his principal task. Therefore, he established the Opus Vocationum Ecclesiasticum, organized the pastoral care of vocations, and set up minor seminaries in Satu Mare, Carei and Uzhhorod. As bishop, he promoted the devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. He introduced the feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary (22 August). On the model of the year of prayer in Hungary, in 1948 he proclaimed the year of Our Lady in his diocese.
During the war, he often defended the persecuted: through his mediation, the Hungarian government cancelled the internment of the Greek Catholic bishop of Baia Mare, Alexandru Rusu, of Romanian nationality. He made every effort to help the people detained in internment camps, especially the Jews. He managed to save his priests who had been carried off by the SS with force. In January 1945, he personally interceded with the Romanian lord lieutenant and the Soviet commander in order to prevent the deportation of his faithful of German-Swabian origin. Sadly, he did not succeed. As early as 1943, he pointed out the possible consequences of the war and of an eventual atheist-communist rule, that is, persecution and suffering; and he emphasized the need of sacrifice, expiation and reparation. In 1945 Pope Pius XII appointed him successor of the bishop of Győr and martyr Vilmos Apor. Nevertheless, he asked the Holy See to be able to remain in his beloved diocese due to its difficult situation. The Holy See accepted his petition.
In 1948, the Romanian government terminated its agreement with the Vatican and dissolved the diocese of Satu Mare by the new law on cultural activities. Bishop Scheffler was made to retire and banned from exercising his episcopal ministry, and his closest colleagues (Szilárd Bogdánffy, Károly Pakocs) were arrested. In 1950 he was interned to the Franciscan convent in Baia de Criș (a.k.a. Körösbánya) because he resisted the communists' efforts to separate the Romanian Catholic Church from the Pope. He could have regained his freedom provided he had accepted the role designed for him by the Romanian government: becoming bishop of the diocese of Alba Iulia (a.k.a. Gyulafehérvár), i.e. the only Roman Catholic diocese recognized by the State, and thus collaborating with the communist power. He refused such a compromise, therefore he was arrested and the communists started a trumped-up criminal proceeding against him. However, he did not live to see his trial because he died on 6 December 1952 in the Jilava prison. During his entire life he strove to find out and fulfil the will of God. He professed the motto of Pope Pius X: Restore all things in Christ.
Both the priests and the faithful regarded János Scheffler as a martyr, who suffered and died in prison, under inhumane conditions, for Christ. Following the fall of communism, Pál Reizer, who was consecrated and appointed bishop of the diocese of Satu Mare in 1990, fulfilled the request of the priests and the faithful by submitting the petition for the initiation of János Scheffler's process of beatification.
CCS protocol number: 1791
Diocesan inquiry
Competent forum: Episcopate of Satu Mare
Competent bishop: Diocesan bishops Pál Reizer and Jenő Schönberger
Postulator: János Szőke SDB
Diocesan inquiry: 8 December 1994 – 5 December 1996
Competent forum: Episcopate of Satu Mare
Competent bishop: Diocesan bishops Pál Reizer and Jenő Schönberger
Postulator: János Szőke SDB
Diocesan inquiry: 8 December 1994 – 5 December 1996
Inquiry of the Holy See (CCS)
Decree on validity of diocesan inquiry: 13 May 1998
Promulgation of decree on martyrdom: 1 July 2010
Decree on validity of diocesan inquiry: 13 May 1998
Promulgation of decree on martyrdom: 1 July 2010
Beatification: 3 July 2011, Satu Mare
Let us pray for his canonization!
Official prayer of the Mass (opening prayer)
Almighty and eternal God,
You granted Blessed Bishop János Scheffler
the grace to fight for the truth till his death
and to be a model of loyalty and obedience to the Church.
Grant that we may imitate his faithful self-giving
and find an eternal home in Heaven.
Grant this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.
You granted Blessed Bishop János Scheffler
the grace to fight for the truth till his death
and to be a model of loyalty and obedience to the Church.
Grant that we may imitate his faithful self-giving
and find an eternal home in Heaven.
Grant this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.
Amen.
Those who obtain favours through his intercession are asked to notify the
Episcopia Romano Catolica
Str. 1. Decembrie 1918, Nr. 2
RO-440010 Satu Mare
Episcopia Romano Catolica
Str. 1. Decembrie 1918, Nr. 2
RO-440010 Satu Mare
Beato Janos Scheffler Vescovo e martire
Camin, Romania, 29 ottobre 1887, Bucarest, Romania, 6 dicembre 1952
János Scheffler, vescovo di Satu Mare in Romania, fu perseguitato dal regime comunista e morì prigioniero a Bucarest. Beatificato il 3 luglio 2011.
János Scheffler nacque il 29 ottobre 1887 a Kalmánd (Cămin), un villaggio appartenente allora all’Ungheria, da una famiglia di agricoltori cattolici, secondogenito di dieci figli. Nel 1898 fu iscritto al Liceo Maggiore Cattolico Reale di Satu Mare e venne poi accolto nel convitto vescovile retto dai Gesuiti.
Avendo manifestato fin dall’età di dieci anni una forte inclinazione per il Sacerdozio, terminati gli studi liceali il Servo di Dio fu ammesso al Seminario di Satu Mare nel 1905. Dal 1906 al 1910 frequentò la Facoltà di Teologia dell’Università delle Scienze “Pétér Pázmány” di Budapest e, dopo aver ricevuto gli ordini minori, fu ordinato sacerdote il 6 luglio 1910 e nominato cappellano a Csomaköz dal vescovo diocesano Tibor Boromissza. Per le sue spiccate doti intellettuali, fu inviato a Roma dove completò gli studi in Diritto Canonico, laureandosi “summa cum laude” presso l’Università Gregoriana, il 19 giugno 1912. Tornato in patria, ricoprì diversi incarichi: fu protocollista e cancelliere presso la cancelleria vescovile, cappellano a Ungvár, prefetto del seminario. Nel novembre 1915 ricevette il dottorato in Scienze Teologiche, assumendo successivamente doversi incarichi accademici e pastorali: professore al liceo cattolico di Satu Mare, predicatore della Cattedrale, promotore di giustizia del tribunale ecclesiastico diocesano, docente di Diritto Canonico, di Storia della Chiesa e di Teologia. Al termine della Prima Guerra Mondiale, la mutata situazione politica e la cessione della Transilvania alla Romania indussero il Servo di Dio ad apprendere la lingua romena per poter predicare e confessare. La sua esperienza pastorale ebbe modo di ampliarsi ulteriormente con la nomina nel 1923 a parroco di Nagymajtény (Moftinu Mare), un incarico durante quale diede forte impulso alle opere di apostolato, organizzò pellegrinaggi, scrisse manuali di catechesi per gli studenti delle scuole medie, adoperandosi in vario modo per la sussistenza della scuola cattolica.
Alcuni anni più tardi Scheffler partecipò a Chicago, dal 20 al 24 giugno 1926, al XXVIII Congresso Eucaristico Internazionale, un evento ecclesiale di grande rilievo al quale il Servo di Dio volle dedicare un suo libro dal titolo “Da Satu Mare a Chicago”. Seguirono nuovi, importanti incarichi a Satu Mare, come direttore spirituale del Seminario, e nella diocesi di rito latino di Oradea, dove insegnò Diritto Canonico e Storia della Chiesa presso la Facoltà di Teologia. Il 26 marzo 1942 fu nominato vescovo della Diocesi di Satu Mare, il cui territorio era passato nuovamente all’Ungheria, e amministratore apostolico di Oradea; ricevette la consacrazione episcopale il 17 maggio dello stesso anno nella cattedrale di Satu Mare.
Si dimostrò pastore prudente, zelante e paterno, instancabile nell’esercizio del ministero episcopale, nella predicazione, nell’amministrazione dei sacramenti, nelle visite alle parrocchie, nella cura dei sacerdoti e dei seminaristi. Erano gli anni del secondo conflitto mondiale e per l’Europa orientale si stavano profilando profondi mutamenti politici. Nel settembre 1944 la diocesi di Satu Mare venne invasa dall’Armata Rossa e la Transilvania settentrionale fu assoggettata dai sovietici. Terminata la guerra, la persecuzione contro la Chiesa si fece più aspra. Venne annullato il Concordato e il 1° ottobre 1948 fu dichiarato lo scioglimento della Chiesa cattolica di rito orientale: il governo romeno voleva infatti assimilare i cattolici agli ortodossi e staccare la Chiesa cattolica in Romania da quella di Roma.
Poiché il Servo di Dio non volle piegarsi alle pretese del regime, fu arrestato dalla “Securitate” il 23 maggio 1950 e costretto agli arresti domiciliari presso il convento francescano di Korosbánya. Venne poi trasferito nel carcere di Bucarest (1952) e in quello sotterraneo di Jilava, dove trascorse gi ultimi due mesi di vita in condizioni disumane, che incisero profondamente sulle sue già precarie condizioni di salute. Si spense, a conseguenza delle privazioni e dei maltrattamenti subiti, al mattino del 6 dicembre 1952. Nel 1965 i suoi resti mortali furono traslati nella cripta della Cattedrale di Satu Mare.