January 25, 2026 - "Catholic Schools Week - Prince Gallitzin"
-
Demetrius Gallitzin came from a very aristocratic background. His father, a Russian prince served as ambassador to Holland. His mother was a German countess who also happened to be a devout Catholic who imparted her Catholic faith to her son. While making a tour of America in the early 1790’s, Demetrius was struck by the needs of the struggling Catholic Church. Deciding to become a Catholic priest, he was accepted as a seminarian by Bishop John Carroll and enrolled in the new seminary in Baltimore in November 1792. His father was shocked and horrified by this news. Demetrius was ordained in 1795 by Bishop Carroll. He was the first to make all his theological studies in the United States. After ordination he was sent to work on a church mission at Port Tobacco, Maryland. He was then transferred to the Conewago district where he served at the Conewago Chapel, located in Hanover, Pennsylvania, until 1799.
In 1799 he used his own fortune to purchase land for a new Catholic settlement in Loretto, Pennsylvania. For many years he was the only Catholic priest west of the Alleghenies, covering territory that is now part of the Dioceses of Pittsburgh, Erie, Greensburg, Altoona-Johnstown, and Harrisburg. Carving up this settlement out of the wilderness was arduous. In addition to buying tracts of land for settlers, he set up sawmills, tanneries, and other industries to support them. Although he had expected to inherit his parents’ fortune, he found himself disinherited by a decree from the Russian government on account of his ordination as a Catholic priest.
Having spent himself both physically and financially for the sake of his flock he died on May 6,1840. On June 6, 2005, he was named a Servant of God. Let me end this column with this quote: “The ministers of Christ, in 1815, scattered over the globe, preach likewise one and the same doctrine, because Christ is still with them”
–Servant of God Demetrius Galliztin.
Until next week,
Fr. John