Cause for the Canonization of 

Servant of God 

Demetrius Gallitzin

"Apostle of the Alleghenies"

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Bishop Names Roman Postulator For Gallitzin Cause

Father Luis Escalante Will Present Documentation To Congregation For Causes Of Saints

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Loretto couple among those pulling for Gallitzin sainthood

- read the story in the Altoona Mirror (click here)

Effort on for Pa. priest's sainthood

- read the story from The Edmond Sun (click here)

Click here to see this 1945 comic book version of Servant of God Gallitzin's life.

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Servant of God Demetrius Augustine Gallitzin

 (1770-1840)

Demetrius Augustine Gallitzin was born of a Russian prince of Lithuanuan roots and a German countess in the Hauge, Netherlands on December 22, 1770.  He left his claim to nobility and came to America in 1792.  Wishing to serve God as a priest, he became a student at Saint Mary's Seminary in Baltimore.  On March 18, 1795, Bishop John Carroll  ordained Father Gallitzin, the first priest to receive all his orders in preparation for priesthood in the United States of America.

He initially arrived in the mountains of west central Pennsylvania on a sick call to the McGuire Settlement.  He persistently sought his bishop's permission to serve as this community's pastor.  On March 1, 1799, Bishop Carroll assigned Father Gallitzin as resident pastor of the settlement in the mountains.  The pioneer priest later renamed the place Loretto after the Marian shrine in Italy.

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