Ambrose Oschwald
Encyclopedia
The Reverend Ambrose Oschwald (March 14, 1801 in Mundelfingen, Baden
- February 27, 1873 in St. Nazianz, Wisconsin
) was a Roman Catholic priest. Ordained to the priesthood on August 1, 1833, Oschwald came to Wisconsin to form a religious haven for the members of his congregation
in August 1854 which became the town of St. Nazianz, Wisconsin
, located at what became the John F. Kennedy Preparatory High School property.
Oschwald led a group of German immigrants to St. Nazianz in 1854 as a religious colony. The first settlers in the Oschwald group numbered 113 and came to the United States
from the Black Forest
region of Baden, Germany seeking religious freedom.
The group sailed for America from Strassbourg on the Feast of Corpus Christi in 1854, on two separate ships. One of the voyages lasted 52 days, and the other took 55 days. By the time they arrived in Milwaukee by train, several of the group members had died. Oschwald bought 3840 acres (15.5 km²) of land in Manitowoc County for $3.50 per acre. His down payment was $1,500, with the rest paid in five installments.
In late August 1854, Father Oschwald sent six men to locate the land he had purchased, and they took a boat on Lake Michigan
from Milwaukee to Manitowoc
, the county seat
. They then headed west by oxcart
, getting as far as the place where Valders now stands. They cut their way through the dense forest and arrived at their destination on August 27. The men named the site St. Nazianz, in honor of St. Gregory Nazianzus. Oschwald followed on September 1st with more men, and the group began working to clear the land and build log houses. Soon after, work started on the community's first church--named for the village's patron saint
--a 32-by-24-foot structure, which was built by hand. By October 21, the church was half completed, and Oschwald presided over the first Mass
. Like a monastery
, members of the colony would gather there daily to pray the Divine Office
in their native German
.
The settlers began going by the name "The Association" and agreed to share everything in common and work without pay, in imitation of the lives of the first Christians as depicted in the Acts of the Apostles
. This arrangement lasted until 1896. The Association built many shops and mills and the community was thriving within just a few years after its start. People began practicing many trades, including blacksmithing, carpentry
, masonry
, shoemaking
, woodworking
, tailoring, barrel making, rope making, tanning
, weaving
, brick-making, baking
, brewing
, and others. In preparation for the great move, Oschwald had studied medicine at the University of Munich, thus he served as both the spiritual guide and healer of bodies for the community.
Following a pattern of life seen in some earlier attempts at Christian utopianism, the celibate
members of the community lived in two separate communal residences, and their inhabitants came to follow the Rule of the Third Order of St. Francis
. The residence of the men, called the Brothers, was called the Loretto Monastery. In 1858 the Sisters were able to occupy the Holy Ghost Convent (familiarly known as the "Pink Convent"). By 1869, five of the Sisters living in this situation had decided to take formal religious vows
. They went on to form the Franciscan Sisters of Christian Charity
.
Oschwald died on February 27, 1873, and was buried under the altar
at the old St. Ambrose Church at the Loretto Monastery. Several years later his body was moved to a shrine near the Loretto Chapel in the village.
The Salvatorian Fathers to come to St. Nazianz in 1896, just fifteen years after their founding by Father Francis Mary of the Cross Jordan
in Rome
.
The Fathers and Sisters continued to work to improve the holding of the former association, and built St. Ambrose Church
in 1898. For many years, they operated a minor seminary
on the property.
Baden
Baden is a historical state on the east bank of the Rhine in the southwest of Germany, now the western part of the Baden-Württemberg of Germany....
- February 27, 1873 in St. Nazianz, Wisconsin
St. Nazianz, Wisconsin
St. Nazianz is a village in Manitowoc County, Wisconsin, United States founded in 1854.The population was 749 at the 2000 census.-The first 100 years:...
) was a Roman Catholic priest. Ordained to the priesthood on August 1, 1833, Oschwald came to Wisconsin to form a religious haven for the members of his congregation
Congregation
A congregation is a large gathering of people, often for the purpose of worship:* Local church* Congregation , an administrative body of the Roman Catholic Church...
in August 1854 which became the town of St. Nazianz, Wisconsin
St. Nazianz, Wisconsin
St. Nazianz is a village in Manitowoc County, Wisconsin, United States founded in 1854.The population was 749 at the 2000 census.-The first 100 years:...
, located at what became the John F. Kennedy Preparatory High School property.
Oschwald led a group of German immigrants to St. Nazianz in 1854 as a religious colony. The first settlers in the Oschwald group numbered 113 and came to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
from the Black Forest
Black Forest
The Black Forest is a wooded mountain range in Baden-Württemberg, southwestern Germany. It is bordered by the Rhine valley to the west and south. The highest peak is the Feldberg with an elevation of 1,493 metres ....
region of Baden, Germany seeking religious freedom.
The group sailed for America from Strassbourg on the Feast of Corpus Christi in 1854, on two separate ships. One of the voyages lasted 52 days, and the other took 55 days. By the time they arrived in Milwaukee by train, several of the group members had died. Oschwald bought 3840 acres (15.5 km²) of land in Manitowoc County for $3.50 per acre. His down payment was $1,500, with the rest paid in five installments.
In late August 1854, Father Oschwald sent six men to locate the land he had purchased, and they took a boat on Lake Michigan
Lake Michigan
Lake Michigan is one of the five Great Lakes of North America and the only one located entirely within the United States. It is the second largest of the Great Lakes by volume and the third largest by surface area, after Lake Superior and Lake Huron...
from Milwaukee to Manitowoc
Manitowoc, Wisconsin
Manitowoc is a city in and the county seat of Manitowoc County, Wisconsin, United States. The city is located on Lake Michigan at the mouth of the Manitowoc River. According to the 2000 census, Manitowoc had a population of 34,053, with over 50,000 residents in the surrounding communities...
, the county seat
County seat
A county seat is an administrative center, or seat of government, for a county or civil parish. The term is primarily used in the United States....
. They then headed west by oxcart
Oxcart
Oxcart or ox cart can mean:*Bullock cart, a cart pulled by oxen*CIA codename for the program to produce the Lockheed A-12 spyplaneSee also:*Ox-Cart Library*Ox-Cart Man*Red River ox cart...
, getting as far as the place where Valders now stands. They cut their way through the dense forest and arrived at their destination on August 27. The men named the site St. Nazianz, in honor of St. Gregory Nazianzus. Oschwald followed on September 1st with more men, and the group began working to clear the land and build log houses. Soon after, work started on the community's first church--named for the village's patron saint
Patron saint
A patron saint is a saint who is regarded as the intercessor and advocate in heaven of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, family, or person...
--a 32-by-24-foot structure, which was built by hand. By October 21, the church was half completed, and Oschwald presided over the first Mass
Mass (liturgy)
"Mass" is one of the names by which the sacrament of the Eucharist is called in the Roman Catholic Church: others are "Eucharist", the "Lord's Supper", the "Breaking of Bread", the "Eucharistic assembly ", the "memorial of the Lord's Passion and Resurrection", the "Holy Sacrifice", the "Holy and...
. Like a monastery
Monastery
Monastery denotes the building, or complex of buildings, that houses a room reserved for prayer as well as the domestic quarters and workplace of monastics, whether monks or nuns, and whether living in community or alone .Monasteries may vary greatly in size – a small dwelling accommodating only...
, members of the colony would gather there daily to pray the Divine Office
Divine Office
Divine Office may refer to:* Liturgy of the Hours, the recitation of certain Christian prayers at fixed hours according to the discipline of the Roman Catholic Church* Canonical hours, the recitation of such prayers in Christianity more generally...
in their native German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
.
The settlers began going by the name "The Association" and agreed to share everything in common and work without pay, in imitation of the lives of the first Christians as depicted in the Acts of the Apostles
Acts of the Apostles
The Acts of the Apostles , usually referred to simply as Acts, is the fifth book of the New Testament; Acts outlines the history of the Apostolic Age...
. This arrangement lasted until 1896. The Association built many shops and mills and the community was thriving within just a few years after its start. People began practicing many trades, including blacksmithing, carpentry
Carpentry
A carpenter is a skilled craftsperson who works with timber to construct, install and maintain buildings, furniture, and other objects. The work, known as carpentry, may involve manual labor and work outdoors....
, masonry
Masonry
Masonry is the building of structures from individual units laid in and bound together by mortar; the term masonry can also refer to the units themselves. The common materials of masonry construction are brick, stone, marble, granite, travertine, limestone; concrete block, glass block, stucco, and...
, shoemaking
Shoemaking
Shoemaking is the process of making footwear. Originally, shoes were made one at a time by hand. Traditional handicraft shoemaking has now been largely superseded in volume of shoes produced by industrial mass production of footwear, but not necessarily in quality, attention to detail, or...
, woodworking
Woodworking
Woodworking is the process of building, making or carving something using wood.-History:Along with stone, mud, and animal parts, wood was one of the first materials worked by early humans. Microwear analysis of the Mousterian stone tools used by the Neanderthals show that many were used to work wood...
, tailoring, barrel making, rope making, tanning
Tanning
Tanning is the making of leather from the skins of animals which does not easily decompose. Traditionally, tanning used tannin, an acidic chemical compound from which the tanning process draws its name . Coloring may occur during tanning...
, weaving
Weaving
Weaving is a method of fabric production in which two distinct sets of yarns or threads are interlaced at right angles to form a fabric or cloth. The other methods are knitting, lace making and felting. The longitudinal threads are called the warp and the lateral threads are the weft or filling...
, brick-making, baking
Baking
Baking is the technique of prolonged cooking of food by dry heat acting by convection, and not by radiation, normally in an oven, but also in hot ashes, or on hot stones. It is primarily used for the preparation of bread, cakes, pastries and pies, tarts, quiches, cookies and crackers. Such items...
, brewing
Brewing
Brewing is the production of beer through steeping a starch source in water and then fermenting with yeast. Brewing has taken place since around the 6th millennium BCE, and archeological evidence suggests that this technique was used in ancient Egypt...
, and others. In preparation for the great move, Oschwald had studied medicine at the University of Munich, thus he served as both the spiritual guide and healer of bodies for the community.
Following a pattern of life seen in some earlier attempts at Christian utopianism, the celibate
Celibacy
Celibacy is a personal commitment to avoiding sexual relations, in particular a vow from marriage. Typically celibacy involves avoiding all romantic relationships of any kind. An individual may choose celibacy for religious reasons, such as is the case for priests in some religions, for reasons of...
members of the community lived in two separate communal residences, and their inhabitants came to follow the Rule of the Third Order of St. Francis
Third Order of St. Francis
The Third Order of St. Francis is a third order within the Franciscan movement of the Roman Catholic Church. It includes both congregations of vowed men and women and fraternities of men and women living standard lives in the world, usually married...
. The residence of the men, called the Brothers, was called the Loretto Monastery. In 1858 the Sisters were able to occupy the Holy Ghost Convent (familiarly known as the "Pink Convent"). By 1869, five of the Sisters living in this situation had decided to take formal religious vows
Religious vows
Religious vows are the public vows made by the members of religious communities pertaining to their conduct, practices and views.In the Buddhist tradition, in particular within the Mahayana and Vajrayana tradition, many different kinds of religious vows are taken by the lay community as well as by...
. They went on to form the Franciscan Sisters of Christian Charity
Franciscan Sisters of Christian Charity
The Franciscan Sisters of Christian Charity are a Congregation of Roman Catholic apostolic religious women. The congregation was founded in 1869 in Manitowoc, Wisconsin in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Milwaukee--later part of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Green Bay. They follow St...
.
Oschwald died on February 27, 1873, and was buried under the altar
Altar
An altar is any structure upon which offerings such as sacrifices are made for religious purposes. Altars are usually found at shrines, and they can be located in temples, churches and other places of worship...
at the old St. Ambrose Church at the Loretto Monastery. Several years later his body was moved to a shrine near the Loretto Chapel in the village.
The Salvatorian Fathers to come to St. Nazianz in 1896, just fifteen years after their founding by Father Francis Mary of the Cross Jordan
Francis Mary of the Cross Jordan
Francis Mary of the Cross Jordan was a Roman Catholic priest and the founder of the Salvatorian Roman Catholic religious order – The Society of the Divine Savior....
in Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
.
The Fathers and Sisters continued to work to improve the holding of the former association, and built St. Ambrose Church
St. Ambrose Church
St. Ambrose Church is a Roman Catholic church in St. Nazianz, Wisconsin. It was built in 1898. In 1854 An entire Catholic parish in a small German village uprooted under the leadership of its priest, Father Ambrose Oschwald, and departed for America....
in 1898. For many years, they operated a minor seminary
Minor seminary
A minor seminary is a secondary boarding school created for the specific purpose of enrolling teenage boys who have expressed interest in becoming priests. They are generally Roman Catholic institutions, and designed to prepare boys both academically and spiritually for vocations to the priesthood...
on the property.