Father Nelson Henry Baker
Priest, Pastor, Founder

Nelson Henry Baker was born in Buffalo, New York in 1842. His Father was Lutheran and his Mother was  Catholic.  He was the second  of four boys. He was baptized a Roman Catholic in 1851 at nine years age. Young Henry worked in a grocery store run by his father. It was there that he learned how to manage a business.

Nelson enlisted as a Union soldier during the Civil War. After he returned home, he started a successful feed and grain business with his friend, Joseph Meyer. He demonstrated a strong interest in religious matters and joined the St. Vincent DePaul Society. After five years, he decided that God was calling him to the priesthood.

He entered the seminary in 1869 at  the age of 28.  While he was studying at the seminary, he was privileged to be able to go on a pilgrimage to Rome in 1874. The pilgrimage stopped in Paris and toured the church of Our Lady of Victories.  This shrine was to inspire Nelson in the years to come and was the beginning of his devotion to Our Lady of Victory.

Nelson Baker was ordained on March 19, 1876 and became known as “Father Baker”. He was given several assignments in the following years.  He was eventually assigned to Lackawanna, NY. This assignment included taking care of  an orphanage, boys protectory and small parish. Under Father Baker’s guidance the existing services grew and expanded.  He also began an industrial school, a home for unwed mothers and infants, and a hospital. He began the “Association of Our Lady of Victory to raise money for his many missions. In thanksgiving to the Blessed Virgin Mary, Father Baker built Our Lady of Victory National Shrine. This Shrine was named as a minor basilica in 1926. He received many civic and church honors.   

Father Baker’s health began to deteriorate during the first part of 1936.  He was alert until July 29 when he slipped into a coma. At 9:20 on July 29^th, he breathed his last while he was being anointed by Father Joseph A. Burke, who was to become the bishop of Buffalo, New York.

During Father Baker’s sixty years as a priest, he performed the corporal and spiritual works of mercy through the many missions he either began or expanded. He gave a home to the homeless, fed the hungry, cared for the sick, loved those who had no one to love them, gave hope to the hopeless, and brought the grace of God into the lives of all he knew.

Father Baker was named Servant of God In 1987.   On January 14, 2011, he was declared Venerable by Pope Benedict XVI.

Blessed Timothy Trojanowski
Religious Brother

Blessed Timothy was born July 29,1908 in Poland.  He only attended school for three years before having to find work to help support his family. In 1930 he began his life as a Franciscan in the monastery at Niepokalanow, Poland. Brother Timothy worked in the storehouse and in the infirmary, caring for the friars who were sick. He was still at the monastery when World War II began.

Brother Timothy along with four other members of the community were arrested in October 1941.  While in prison, the friars were able to encourage one another and their fellow prisoners.  The little group spent much time in prayer, saying the rosary and singing hymns. In a place where food was scarce, the Brother Timothy and other the members of the Franciscan community shared their food with the other prisoners. In January, 1942,  Brother Timothy was sent to Auschwitz.  He was assigned to hard labor and in just a few months he was worn out with the hard work, hunger, cold and ill-treatment.  He died from Pneumonia on July 28, 1942.

For more information see:
"Heroic Catholics of the Twentieth Century"
by Sister Elizabeth Ann Barkett, SJW
New Hope Publications
New Hope, Ky.

 Or

Sisters of St. Joseph the Worker
www.ssjw.org

Saint Damein de Veuster
Priest, religious, Missionary

Two thousand miles off the coast of California lay the Hawaiian Islands.  In 1778 Captain James Cook was the first European to reach the island.  Unfortunately the native people had no resistance to the diseases Europeans were so familiar with: smallpox, influenza, cholera and tuberculosis.  Leprosy (now called Hansen’s disease), was the most terrifying of the diseases.  It quickly became an epidemic.

By the 1870’s, the king of Hawaii and his government were desperate to stop the spread of the disease.  They ordered anyone with leprosy, regardless of age or gender to be taken to the island of Molokai.  Spouses were separated and children torn from their parents.

Joseph de Veuster was born in Belgium in 1840.  Joseph and his brother Pamphile joined the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts.  When he received the habit of his community, he became known as Brother Damien.  The Congregation of the Sacred Hearts decided to send more missionaries to the Hawaiian Islands. Pamphile was chosen to go.  Shortly before he was ready to leave, Pamphile became ill.  Damien volunteered to take his brother’s place even though he was not year ordained a priest.

The journey took four months. Once in Hawaii, Brother Damien was ordained a priest.  For the next eight years he cared for the people of three districts. He often had to travel on horseback or by canoe to reach his flock.

During this time, the appalling conditions on Molokai were coming to light. The small group of Catholic lepers asked the bishop to send someone to care for the spiritual needs.  Once again, Father Damien stepped forward and volunteered to go to Molokai.

Beginning in 1873 until his death, Father Damien worked on Molokai. When he arrived on the island there was a small chapel but no place for the priest to live. So he took up his residence under a Pandanus tree.

 In a short time, Molokai went from being a place of despair to a place of joy. With the help of the lepers, he enlarged the chapel and built a rectory.  They built coffins, cared for the sick, planted flower gardens, opened a hospital and an orphanage, built roads and organized musical bands.

Leprosy can cause terrible disfigurement and a horrible smell.  Father Damien realized that if he were really going to help the lepers he had to overcome his fear of contagion.  He cleansed the wounds, he ate from the same dishes they ate from, he gave them Holy Communion – in other words, he touched them. 

In December of 1884, Father Damien realized that he had contracted Leprosy.  Now he really did share everything with the lepers, even their disease.   In 1886 Joseph Dutton arrived on Molokai to help. Mother Marianne Cope and her sisters arrived in 1888 to care for the female residents.  Until his strength failed him, Father Damien continued to work.  He died during Holy Week, on April 15, 1889.  He was beatified in 1994 and canonized in 2009 by Pope Benedict XVI.

 

For more information see

"Heroic Catholics of the Twentieth Century"

by Sister Elizabeth Ann Barkett, SJWNew Hope Publications, New Hope, Ky

or

 Sisters of St. Joseph the Worker

www.ssjw.org

 

 

Anna Schaffer
Mystic, laywoman

Anna Schäffer was born on February 18, 1882  in Mindelstetten, Bavaria.   Her father died at the age of 40.  Without the income he earned by working as a carpenter, the family became desperately poor. At the age of 14, Anna had to drop out of school and began working as a maid to help the family’s financial situation.  Anna hoped that one day she would be able to enter the convent.  However, even with her income, the family barely could make ends meet. 

Things took a turn for the worse when she was involved in a terrible accident while at work. In 1901, Anna was working in a laundry when she slipped and fell while attempting reattaching a stovepipe that had come loose.  When she fell, her legs went into the washing machine full of boiling hot water. She was taken to the  hospital.  In the early 20th century, there was very little effective treatment for burns. For centuries people with severe burns were bandaged and left to heal on their own. Often they died or were hideously disfigured. Surgeries were sometimes attempted but were not always successful. Up until the late 1930’s, it was thought that a person would probably die if they were severely burned.  

Anna endured more than thirty surgical operations in an attempt to heal her legs. The wounds had to be carefully dressed, which caused much pain. Dr. Waldin, her physician, gave her constant care but the skin grafts did not succeed. Anna became completely immobile and had to give up her dream of entering religious life.  Her mother cared for her until the end of her life.

Despite the terrible pain cause by the burns and the surgeries, Anna never lost her optimism or her faith in God. She had a great love of Christ and a deep devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary.  She especially had a devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

In Anna's writings she talked about  three ‘keys’ that helped her draw closer to God.  These ‘keys’ were her suffering, her writing and knitting clothes for her friends. Because of her optimism and her faith she was loved by people in her hometown.  Many would visit and listen to her talk about God. Her brother did not share in her faith.  Eventually after witnessing her cheerful attitude in the midst of suffering, her never failing patience and kindness toward others, he supported her.

Beginning in 1910, mystical phenomena occurred around her. This included the stigmata, which she did her best to conceal from the public . Few people knew that she bore the marks of the passion of Jesus on her body. These phenomena did not change her attitude or make her proud. She remained selfless and patience.  She promised prayers and letters for anyone who asked.

She was diagnosed with colon cancer in 1925.  As her condition deteriorated, she lost the ability to speak and write. She died on October 5 after she had received Holy Communion.  

Her grave quickly became a pilgrimage site. Since 1929, more than 15,000 miracles attributed to her intercession have been reported. She was beatified in 1999 by Pope John Paul II and canonized by Pope Benedict XVI in 2012.

 

 

 

 

St Ermino Pampuri
Doctor, Religious Brother

Ermino Pampuri, was born on August 2, 1897 in Trivolzio, Pavia, Italy.  He was one of one of eleven children.  Ermino experienced the pain of losing a loved one very early in his life. When he was three years old, his mother died.  Ermino was sent to live with his aunt in Torrino. When he was 10 years old his father passed away.

 As a young boy Ermino dreamed of becoming a missionary but his health was delicate and he was dissuaded from entering the priesthood.  He completed the normal course of education. After graduation from high school, he enrolled in Medical school at the Pavia University.

While at the university he actively lived his Catholic faith. He was a member of the University’s Severinoe Boesio  Club for Catholic Action,  the St. Vincent de Paul Society and the Third Order of St. Francis.  World War I interrupted his studies.  Ermino served as a sergeant and later was trained as an officer in the Medical Corps. In 1921, he graduated top of his class in Medicine and Surgery from Pavia University.

He practiced medicine with an uncle who was also a doctor for three years.  For a short time he worked as an assistant in a medical practice at Vernate. In 1922, he passed his internship with high honors at the Milan Institute of Obstetrics and Gynecology.  He moved to Morimondo to being his own practice.

At Morimondo, he did more than attend to the physical needs of the people.  He assisted the parish priest to set up a band for the youth in the parish.  He also started a Catholic Action Youth Club and was the club’s first president. He served as the secretary of the Parish Missionary Aid Society.

In June of 1927, Dr. Pampuri joined the Brothers hospitallers of St. John of God fulfilling his lifelong dream of becoming a religious.  Dr. Pampuri wanted to grow in holiness as a religious  and at the same time carry on his medical profession He made  his profession of vows on October, 24, 1928. Now known as Brother Richard, he was appointed director of the dental clinic attached to the St. John of God Brothers' Hospital at Brescia. This dental clinic was used by the working people and the poor in Brescia.   Brother Richard served all who came to the clinic with charity.

When he was serving in the military during World War I, he contracted pleurisy.  A few years after being assigned to working at the dental clinic he suffered from another case of pleurisy which developed into a case of bronco-pneumonia.  Bother Richard died on May 1^st, 1930 at the age of 33. 

During his life he demonstrated great charity and sanctity.  After his death, his reputation spread through Italy, Europe and the world.  He was beatified by Pope John Paul II in 1981 and canonized in 1989.

 

Blessed Innocent Guz

Blessed Innocent Guz
Priest, Religious, Martyr

Innocent Guz was born on March 18, 1890, in what is now Ukraine.  He joined the Franciscan order in 1908 and was ordained a priest in 1914.  He worked  in several parishes.  In 1933, he was assigned to the monastery founded by St. Maximilian Kolbe.  He served as a confessor and helped to teach the seminarians.  He stayed at there for 3 years working and praying.  He was in the city of Grodno when German invaded Poland, beginning the Second World War.

In 1940, Father Innocent was arrested by the Russians but somehow managed to escape.  He was then caught by the Germans who departed him to the concentration camp called Sachsenhausen. At the end of May 1940, the priests and Jews detained there were kept together for a week and tortured by the guards. At the end of the week. the group was moved to an area for work, but Father Innocent had several fractures and was not able to keep up with the group.  He was taken from the group and beaten.  After being beaten and kicked, Father was taken to a bathroom.  A guard push him into a basin full of water and put a rubber hose in his mouth, killing him.  His final words were "I go to the Immaculata".

Father Innocent Gus was beatified along with six other friars in a group of 108 Polish martyrs of World War II by Pope John Paul II in 1999.

For more information see
"Heroic Catholics of the Twentieth Century"
by Sister Elizabeth Ann, SJW
New Hope Publications
 New Hope Ky.
http://www.newhope-ky.org

Or
Sisters of St. Joseph the Worker
ssjw.org

Seven Marrtyrs of Thailand

Seven Martyrs of Thailand
1 Layman, 4 lay women 2 religious

Thailand, formerly known aw Siam has had Catholic missionaries for over 350 years.  Although most of the population is Buddhist, the country had traditionally been tolerant of other religious. All this changed in the 1930' and 1940'sas the fierce nationalist that swept over Germany and Japan also affected the Thai government.  The Thai government believed that national unity was best achieved by expelling foreign missionaries and persecuting Thai people who followed the 'foreign' religions. 

The seven martyrs all came from Songkhon, near the Mekong River.  Trouble in the village began in 1940 when government officials expelled the parish priest.  Next they began to intimidate and threaten the Catholic villagers, demanding that they renounce their faith.  Although they were frightened, the villagers refused.  Philip Siphong, a catechist and two Sisters of the Congregation of the Lovers of the Holy Cress, Sister Agnes and Sister Lucia encouraged the villagers. 

Philip received a letter requesting his presence in a near by town to meet with officials. Many of the villagers warned him not to go. They feared if was a trap. Their fears were correct.  On December 16, 1940, Philip set out with a police escort for the meeting.  Once he was inside a forest, the police executed him. 

The government hoped that Philips death would end the resistance. They were mistaken. The children continued to attend school, the sisters and their helpers continued encouraging one anther to be strong and steadfast during this persecution.

The government continued to harass the villagers.  On Christmas Date 1940 the situation came to a head. The chief of police came to the convent and threatened the sisters with death if they would not stop teaching about the Catholic faith. Sister Agnes boldly stood up to his threats. In the evening, the sisters sent a letter to the police stating their willingness to die for their faith. They also, in true Christian fashion, forgave their persecutors.

On December 26, the police arrived at the convent and arrested the six people who were staying there: Sister Agnes, Sister Lucia, the cook Agatha, Cecilia Butis, Bibiana and Maria.  Sister Agnes, 31 years old was the oldest of the group.  Maria Phorn,14 years old, was the youngest. The police marched them to the village cemetery.

The small group encouraged one another by singing hymns and praying.  The police fired into the group and then left, convinced that they had killed the Catholics.  The villagers, who had been watching the scene in hiding rushed to see if anyone was still alive. Sister Agnes and Maria Phorn were still breathing.  Sister Agnes told the villagers to send for the police as she was not yet dead.  Hearing that some of the Catholics were still alive, the police returned to the cemetery and killed the wounded victims.

The villagers buried the bodies and continued to endure another four years of persecution.  Eventually, the persecution ended and the Catholic Church in Thailand began to grow.  The seven martyrs were beatified on October 22, 1989 by Pope John Paul II.

For more information see:
Heroic Catholic of the Twentieth Century
By Sister Elizabeth Ann Barkett SJW
New Hope Publications
New Hope, Ky.

Or

Sisters of St. Joseph the Worker
Walton Ky