Born in Goch, Germany, Arnold was educated and ordained in Germany, where he taught mathematics and natural sciences and served as chaplain at an Ursuline convent. In 1875, at a mission house in the Netherlands, he founded the Society of the Divine Word, or Verbites, to provide priests and lay brothers for the missions. He also established the Holy Spirit missionary sisters in 1889. Beatified by Pope Paul VI in 1975, Arnold was canonized in October of 2003 by Pope John Paul II.
