Fr. Polycarp Guerth was assigned as pastor of Saint Francis, but he died in December 1882. Fr. John Roser, a professor at Saint Bonaventure College, provided temporary coverage from March ]to July of 1883 when Fr. Cornelius Praetori was named pastor of Saint Francis. In 1888 he was replaced by Fr. Ludger Beck, who had 16 years of pastoral experience in Munich and Ratisbon in Ger- many, as well as a dozen years of missionary experience in America at the time of his appointment. 

Fr. Ludger was born in Ursulapoppenricht, Germany in 1832 and joined the Franciscan Order at the age of 23. Fearful that the May Laws which exiled their Prussian confreres would be extended to Bavaria, the Franciscan Provincial Minister sent Fr. Ludger to America to find a suitable place for the relo- cation of the friars in case of repression. Fr. Ludger served for a short time at St. Francis of Assisi in New York, and eventually moved on to Louisville, Kentucky where he found a potential home for his brothers back in Bavaria. The May Laws were never promulgated and the expected expulsion never materialized. Fr. Ludger worked in a German parish in Louisville where he was pastor of Saint Mar- tin Church for 12 years. The parish was taken over by the diocese and Fr. Ludger returned to the friars of the Allegany Custody. 

In 1888 Fr. Ludger was appointed to succeed Fr. Cornelius Praetori, who had served as pastor since 1883. Fr. Ludger imme- diately liquidated the parish debt of $14,000 and began to plan for the construction of a new parish church which would bring his people into the 20th century. 

This series of articles on the history of our parish is adapted from the writ- ings of Fr. Flavian Walsh, O.F.M., Pastor from 1985-87. 

Chapter 3: In the Light of the Master

Jesus explained with great simplicity what it means to be holy when he gave us the beatitudes. The beatitudes are like a Christian’s identity card. So, if anyone asks:, “What must one do to be a good Christian?” The answer is clear. We have to do, each in our own way, what Jesus told us in the Sermon on the Mount. In the beatitudes we find a portrait of the Master that we are called to reflect in our daily lives.

The word “happy” or “blessed” thus becomes a synonym for “holy.” It expresses the fact that those faithful to God and his word, by their self-giving, gain true happiness.

Although Jesus’ words may strike us as poetic, they clearly run counter to the way things are usually done in our world. Even if we find Jesus’ words attractive, the world pushes us toward another way of living. The beatitudes are in no way trite or undemanding, quite the opposite. We can only practice them if the Holy Spirit fills us with his power and frees us from our weakness, our selfishness, our complacency and our pride.

On this Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord, we hear Isaiah say: “Rise up in splendor, Jerusalem! Your light has come. The glory of the Lord shines upon you. See darkness cover the earth and thick clouds cover the people, but upon you the Lord shines and over you appears his glory.”

Although this was written centuries before Jesus, we can easily see that our light has come in the person of Jesus Christ. He is the one that is our light in the darkness of his world and this day and age that threatens us. The Epiphany shows us that Jesus is this for all people, all ages, all places. We say to Jesus: “Let your light shine on me.”

You may remember that we had our church elevator rebuilt last year. So, you may ask, why isn’t it working? Unfortunately, we found a small leak dripping from somewhere into the elevator that threatens to shut down the electrical system. We are trying to find that “somewhere” and have had engineers and maintenance personnel tracking down possibilities. Several ducts with rust may have to be removed and new ones installed. This means that they have to be custom made to our setting. All of this is in progress. We regret the inability of being able of using the elevator over these past weeks. Thank the good Lord that we will be receiving funds from Renew and Rebuild that you so generosity contributed to and this will pay for the project.

-Fr. Andrew Reitz, O.F.M.