Edward Leo Krumpelmann
Encyclopedia
Father Edward Leo Krumpelmann was an American Maryknoll
Catholic priest
, missionary
, relief worker, medical aid worker and educator working in Kongmoon (now Jiangmen
), Guangdong Province, China
and Hong Kong in the mid 20th century. He served as vice rector
of Mountain View, California
, and established the Catholic parish of Kwun Tong
, Hong Kong
, and the local Catholic school whose buildings hosted the parish church.
. He graduated from St. Thomas Military Academy in St. Paul in 1926, with training in electrical and mechanical engineering, then entered University of Minnesota
in 1927. He stayed in University of Minnesota for only three years and went to work. In January 1931, he began his studies at the Nazareth Hall Seminary. Subsequently, he entered Maryknoll on August 1, 1934, and studied at The Venard, Bedford, and Maryknoll Seminary. He was ordained to priesthood on June 22, 1941. Until his studies away from St Paul, he had been a parishioner in the Church of St Mark.
. He was immediately sent to the Roman Catholic Diocese of Jiangmen in the city of Kongmoon
. He stayed in China throughout the Second World War.
Among the many missionary work, medical care is an important category of aid the Maryknoll Fathers provided to those in need. This was no exception in China, and medical aid was part of Krumpelmann's job and a tool for his preaching. Krumpelmann was much praised for his ability to offer medical assistance when there was no medical practitioner available on the spot to help. Jean-Paul Wiest recorded that “Fr Krumplemann went on a mission trip 50 miles up the road and the barber of the town said to him, ‘My son has gone crazy, he is only 15 years old. We have got him tied up.’ So Fr Krumpelmann gave the kid one grain of santonin with one grain of calomel which was a purgative. In three or four days the child was all cured. Of course the father was delighted and the story went around the village and the neighbourhood, and the promotion of that accidental cure was worth hundreds of hours of preaching.”
Shortly after the war ended, Krumpelmann suffered from tuberculosis, and had to return to the United States in April 1947. He continued to serve as a Maryknoll priest after his return to the States, and was Vice Rector at Mountain View
between 1949 and 1958.
In 1958, Krumpelmann was assigned by the Maryknoll to Hong Kong
. He founded St John the Baptist Parish of Kwun Tong
along with Fr Peter Alphonsus Reilly in June 1962. Later in the same year, Krumpelmann also founded St John the Baptist School (now St John the Baptist Catholic Primary School) in Kwun Tong. The parish initially covered all of Kwun Tong, and was subdivided into three parishes in 1967. Both the parish and the school were established to meet demands caused by the rapid population growth of Kwun Tong in the 1950s and 1960s.
Between 1966 and 1975, Krumpelmann worked as Auxiliary Chaplain in the Servicemen's Guides' Association, an organisation which supported United States Navy
servicemen in Hong Kong founded by Father George Gilligan and a committee of American businessmen in Fenwick Street Pier, Wanchai, Hong Kong in 1953. In a report he wrote to the Stanley House, headquarters of Maryknoll in Hong Kong, he reported that since 1965, 2488 American Navy ships had come to Hong Kong carrying well over a million servicemen. He had offered more than 1,000 Sunday Masses on the ships. Fr Krumpelmann became the last Maryknoll Father to serve the pier when he died in 1975; since then, an Irish
Jesuit in Hong Kong has taken over.
) in Minneapolis on June 23. Krumpelmann's body was transported to the Maryknoll
headquarters in New York
, and was buried in the Maryknoll Cemetery on June 26, 1975.
According to the Maryknoll Hong Kong Chronicle that in November 1975, "the fruits of Fr Krumpelmann's efforts before his death, 62 tons of medical supplies, arrived on the USS Niagara Falls with the cooperation of Operation Hanclasp. The supplies were handed over to the St. Paul's Hospital Sisters in a simple ceremony on board the ship, with officials from the American Consulate and the US Navy present."
Maryknoll
Maryknoll is a name shared by three organizations that are part of the Roman Catholic Church and whose joint focus is on the overseas mission activity of the Catholic Church in the United States...
Catholic priest
Priest
A priest is a person authorized to perform the sacred rites of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particular, rites of sacrifice to, and propitiation of, a deity or deities...
, missionary
Missionary
A missionary is a member of a religious group sent into an area to do evangelism or ministries of service, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care and economic development. The word "mission" originates from 1598 when the Jesuits sent members abroad, derived from the Latin...
, relief worker, medical aid worker and educator working in Kongmoon (now Jiangmen
Jiangmen
Jiangmen , is a prefecture-level city in Guangdong province in southern China with a population of about 4.48 million in 2010. The 3 urban districts are now part of Guangzhou - Shenzhen built up area.-Names:...
), Guangdong Province, China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
and Hong Kong in the mid 20th century. He served as vice rector
Rector
The word rector has a number of different meanings; it is widely used to refer to an academic, religious or political administrator...
of Mountain View, California
Mountain View, California
-Downtown:Mountain View has a pedestrian-friendly downtown centered on Castro Street. The downtown area consists of the seven blocks of Castro Street from the Downtown Mountain View Station transit center in the north to the intersection with El Camino Real in the south...
, and established the Catholic parish of Kwun Tong
Kwun Tong
Kwun Tong is an area in Kwun Tong District, situated at the eastern part of the Kowloon Peninsula, and its boundary stretches from Lion Rock in the north to Lei Yue Mun in the south, and from the winding paths of Kowloon Peak in the east to the north coast of the former Kai Tak Airport runway in...
, Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
, and the local Catholic school whose buildings hosted the parish church.
Early life
Krumpelmann was born on January 30, 1909 in Saint Paul, MinnesotaSaint Paul, Minnesota
Saint Paul is the capital and second-most populous city of the U.S. state of Minnesota. The city lies mostly on the east bank of the Mississippi River in the area surrounding its point of confluence with the Minnesota River, and adjoins Minneapolis, the state's largest city...
. He graduated from St. Thomas Military Academy in St. Paul in 1926, with training in electrical and mechanical engineering, then entered University of Minnesota
University of Minnesota
The University of Minnesota, Twin Cities is a public research university located in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota, United States. It is the oldest and largest part of the University of Minnesota system and has the fourth-largest main campus student body in the United States, with 52,557...
in 1927. He stayed in University of Minnesota for only three years and went to work. In January 1931, he began his studies at the Nazareth Hall Seminary. Subsequently, he entered Maryknoll on August 1, 1934, and studied at The Venard, Bedford, and Maryknoll Seminary. He was ordained to priesthood on June 22, 1941. Until his studies away from St Paul, he had been a parishioner in the Church of St Mark.
Missionary
Together with Fathers Warren Brennan, Winkels, and Sibert, Krumpelmann arrived in Hong Kong on October 15, 1941 aboard the Pan-Am Clipper from ManilaManila
Manila is the capital of the Philippines. It is one of the sixteen cities forming Metro Manila.Manila is located on the eastern shores of Manila Bay and is bordered by Navotas and Caloocan to the north, Quezon City to the northeast, San Juan and Mandaluyong to the east, Makati on the southeast,...
. He was immediately sent to the Roman Catholic Diocese of Jiangmen in the city of Kongmoon
Jiangmen
Jiangmen , is a prefecture-level city in Guangdong province in southern China with a population of about 4.48 million in 2010. The 3 urban districts are now part of Guangzhou - Shenzhen built up area.-Names:...
. He stayed in China throughout the Second World War.
Among the many missionary work, medical care is an important category of aid the Maryknoll Fathers provided to those in need. This was no exception in China, and medical aid was part of Krumpelmann's job and a tool for his preaching. Krumpelmann was much praised for his ability to offer medical assistance when there was no medical practitioner available on the spot to help. Jean-Paul Wiest recorded that “Fr Krumplemann went on a mission trip 50 miles up the road and the barber of the town said to him, ‘My son has gone crazy, he is only 15 years old. We have got him tied up.’ So Fr Krumpelmann gave the kid one grain of santonin with one grain of calomel which was a purgative. In three or four days the child was all cured. Of course the father was delighted and the story went around the village and the neighbourhood, and the promotion of that accidental cure was worth hundreds of hours of preaching.”
Shortly after the war ended, Krumpelmann suffered from tuberculosis, and had to return to the United States in April 1947. He continued to serve as a Maryknoll priest after his return to the States, and was Vice Rector at Mountain View
Mountain View, California
-Downtown:Mountain View has a pedestrian-friendly downtown centered on Castro Street. The downtown area consists of the seven blocks of Castro Street from the Downtown Mountain View Station transit center in the north to the intersection with El Camino Real in the south...
between 1949 and 1958.
In 1958, Krumpelmann was assigned by the Maryknoll to Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
. He founded St John the Baptist Parish of Kwun Tong
Kwun Tong
Kwun Tong is an area in Kwun Tong District, situated at the eastern part of the Kowloon Peninsula, and its boundary stretches from Lion Rock in the north to Lei Yue Mun in the south, and from the winding paths of Kowloon Peak in the east to the north coast of the former Kai Tak Airport runway in...
along with Fr Peter Alphonsus Reilly in June 1962. Later in the same year, Krumpelmann also founded St John the Baptist School (now St John the Baptist Catholic Primary School) in Kwun Tong. The parish initially covered all of Kwun Tong, and was subdivided into three parishes in 1967. Both the parish and the school were established to meet demands caused by the rapid population growth of Kwun Tong in the 1950s and 1960s.
Between 1966 and 1975, Krumpelmann worked as Auxiliary Chaplain in the Servicemen's Guides' Association, an organisation which supported United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
servicemen in Hong Kong founded by Father George Gilligan and a committee of American businessmen in Fenwick Street Pier, Wanchai, Hong Kong in 1953. In a report he wrote to the Stanley House, headquarters of Maryknoll in Hong Kong, he reported that since 1965, 2488 American Navy ships had come to Hong Kong carrying well over a million servicemen. He had offered more than 1,000 Sunday Masses on the ships. Fr Krumpelmann became the last Maryknoll Father to serve the pier when he died in 1975; since then, an Irish
Irish people
The Irish people are an ethnic group who originate in Ireland, an island in northwestern Europe. Ireland has been populated for around 9,000 years , with the Irish people's earliest ancestors recorded having legends of being descended from groups such as the Nemedians, Fomorians, Fir Bolg, Tuatha...
Jesuit in Hong Kong has taken over.
Death
In early 1975, Krumpelmann suffered from a blood clot in his left lung and returned to the U.S. on March 31. His condition improved in the following two months, but deteriorated suddenly in late June. He died shortly after his admission to Hennepin General Hospital (now Hennepin County Medical CenterHennepin County Medical Center
Hennepin County Medical Center is a Level I trauma center based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, the county seat of Hennepin County. The primary 422-bed facility is located on five city blocks across the street from the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, with satellite clinics in Minneapolis, Brooklyn...
) in Minneapolis on June 23. Krumpelmann's body was transported to the Maryknoll
Maryknoll
Maryknoll is a name shared by three organizations that are part of the Roman Catholic Church and whose joint focus is on the overseas mission activity of the Catholic Church in the United States...
headquarters in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, and was buried in the Maryknoll Cemetery on June 26, 1975.
According to the Maryknoll Hong Kong Chronicle that in November 1975, "the fruits of Fr Krumpelmann's efforts before his death, 62 tons of medical supplies, arrived on the USS Niagara Falls with the cooperation of Operation Hanclasp. The supplies were handed over to the St. Paul's Hospital Sisters in a simple ceremony on board the ship, with officials from the American Consulate and the US Navy present."