John W. Beschter
SJ | |
---|---|
16th President of Georgetown College | |
In office March 31, 1829 – September 14, 1829 | |
Preceded by | William Feiner |
Succeeded by | Thomas F. Mulledy |
Personal details | |
Born | Johann Wilhelm Beschter May 20, 1763 Duchy of Luxembourg, Austrian Netherlands |
Died | January 6, 1842 Paradise, Pennsylvania, U.S. | (aged 78)
Resting place | Conewago Chapel |
John William Beschter
Beschter's ministerial work was punctuated by a time as
Early life
Johann Wilhelm Beschter was born on May 20, 1763,
After arriving in the United States, he was admitted to the
Missionary in the United States
Pennsylvania
In the year of his arrival in the United States, Beschter was assigned as a priest to St. Mary's Church in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.[7] By the following year, he had been made pastor of the church,[1] making him the only Jesuit pastor of St. Mary's following the restoration of the Society in America.[8] Though assigned to St. Mary's, he drew the praise of Archbishop Carroll for simultaneously ministering to three congregations in the area, which comprised American, German, and Irish parishioners.[9] His appointment as pastor quieted an existing quarrel within the parish over the nationality and language of the pastor. Beschter's predecessor, Herman J. Stoecker, was not proficient in English, to the consternation of the Irish congregants. Stoecker had succeeded Francis Fitzsimons, an Irishman who could not speak German, which ruffled the German majority of parishioners. Beschter's proficiency in English as well as his native German made him a satisfactory solution to the dispute.[10]
During his pastorate, the church established a
Maryland
Beschter then became involved in the establishment of the Jesuit
He is next noted as having been an assistant curate to Louis de Barth in Conewago in Adams County, Pennsylvania, in 1816.[19] As the Catholic community surrounding Conewago grew, the initially dependent mission churches were granted greater degrees of autonomy, though still retaining an association with Conewago. Beschter was placed in charge of one of these – Brandt Chapel – in the Pigeon Hills area of Paradise in York County.[20] Later that year, he was stationed in Frederick, where he remained for two years.[21] By 1818, Beschter had fallen ill and became involved in disagreements with Bishop Michael Egan of Philadelphia,[9] and so left for Georgetown in Washington, D.C.[1] To mark the tercentenary of Martin Luther's writing of the Ninety-five Theses, a pamphlet was published in Philadelphia under Beschter's name titled "The Blessed Reformation – Martin Luther portrayed by himself". In reality, the pamphlet was written by Anthony Kohlmann, who used Beschter's name as a pseudonym.[22]
In 1820, Beschter was appointed pastor of St. John the Evangelist Church in
Georgetown College
In 1828, Beschter was transferred to
The school fared well during his presidency, compared to the several preceding years, and counted 45 enrolled students.
Later years
After retiring from Georgetown in 1830, Beschter returned to the Brandt Chapel at Paradise, Pennsylvania, which continued to be a mission of Conewago. He lived out the remainder of his life in Paradise.[1] In his last year, Beschter was assisted by Phillip Sacchi, who lived with him in Paradise.[38] Beschter died there on January 6, 1842,[39] and his body was taken to the Conewago Chapel to be interred.[40]
Notes
References
Citations
- ^ a b c d e f g h Devitt 1911, p. 242
- ^ Buckley 2013, p. 127
- ^ Woodstock Letters 1901, pp. 350, 352
- ^ a b "Lancaster County, Pennsylvania Naturalization Index 1800–1906". Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. Archived from the original on February 28, 2019. Retrieved February 28, 2019.
- ^ Woodstock Letters 1901, pp. 350–351
- ^ Woodstock Letters 1901, p. 351
- ^ a b Sener 1894, p. 327
- ^ Devitt 1933, p. 185
- ^ a b c d Häberlein 2009, p. 198
- ^ Häberlein 2009, pp. 197–198
- ^ Nolt 2002, p. 185
- ^ Sener 1894, p. 337
- ^ Chinnici 1979, p. 727
- ^ Burson & Wright 2015, p. 210
- ^ Burson & Wright 2015, p. 213
- ^ Devitt 1933, p. 173
- ^ Devitt 1933, p. 175
- ^ Devitt 1933, p. 181
- ^ Reily 1885, p. 63
- ^ Reily 1885, p. 68
- ^ Reily 1885, p. 200
- ^ Devitt 1911, p. 243
- ^ a b Scharf 1881, p. 540
- ^ Gramatowski 2013, p. 27
- ^ Kuzniewski 1992, p. 54
- ^ Kuzniewski 1992, p. 55
- ^ Gramatowski 2013, p. 15
- ^ Mendizabal 1972, p. 21
- ^ Burson & Wright 2015, p. 214
- ^ Curran 1993, p. 99
- ^ Shea 1891, p. 79
- ^ a b Curran 1993, p. 101
- ^ Lee 2010, p. 34
- ^ Easby-Smith 1907, p. 65
- ^ Shea 1891, p. 81
- ^ Warner 1994, p. 199
- ^ Shea 1891, p. 90
- ^ Devitt 1932, p. 363
- ^ Reily 1885, p. 69
- ^ Devitt 1932, p. 344
Sources
- Buckley, Cornelius Michael (2013). Stephen Larigaudelle Dubuisson, S.J. (1786–1864) and the Reform of the American Jesuits. Lanham, Maryland: ISBN 9780761862321. Archived from the original on March 30, 2019. Retrieved March 30, 2019 – via Google Books.
- Burson, Jeffrey D.; Wright, Jonathan, eds. (2015). The Jesuit Suppression in Global Context: Causes, Events, and Consequences. New York: ISBN 9781107030589. Archived from the original on February 26, 2019. Retrieved February 26, 2019 – via Google Books.
- Chinnici, Joseph P. (Fall 1979). "American Catholics and Religious Pluralism, 1775–1820". Journal of Ecumenical Studies. 16 (4): 727–746 – via EBSCOhost.
- Curran, Robert Emmett (1993). The Bicentennial History of Georgetown University: From Academy to University (1789–1889). Vol. 1. Washington, D.C.: ISBN 978-0-87840-485-8. Archived from the original on February 26, 2019. Retrieved February 26, 2019 – via Google Books.
- OCLC 15220148. Archived from the original on February 26, 2019. Retrieved February 26, 2019 – via Google Books.
- Devitt, Edward I. (October 1, 1932). "History of the Maryland-New York Province: V, Conewago (1741–1901)" (PDF). Woodstock Letters. 61 (3): 335–374. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 10, 2020. Retrieved February 27, 2019 – via Jesuit Archives.
- Devitt, Edward I. (June 1933). "History of the Maryland-New York Province: VII Goshenhoppen (1741–1889)" (PDF). Woodstock Letters. 62 (2): 3–15. Archived (PDF) from the original on February 26, 2019. Retrieved February 26, 2019 – via Jesuit Archives.
- Easby-Smith, James Stanislaus (1907). Georgetown University in the District of Columbia, 1789–1907. Vol. 1. New York: Lewis Publishing Company. OCLC 633425041. Archived from the original on March 4, 2019. Retrieved March 4, 2019 – via Google Books.
- "Father John Beschter" (PDF). Woodstock Letters. 30 (3): 350–352. December 1, 1901. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 10, 2020. Retrieved February 27, 2019 – via Jesuit Archives.
- Gramatowski, Wiktor (2013). Jesuit Glossary: Guide to understanding the documents (PDF). Translated by Russell, Camilla. Rome: Archivum Romanum Societatis Iesu. Archived (PDF) from the original on May 17, 2017. Retrieved April 17, 2020.
- Häberlein, Mark (2009). The Practice of Pluralism: Congregational Life and Religious Diversity in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, 1730–1820. University Park, Pennsylvania: .
- Kuzniewski, Anthony J. (January 1992). "Francis Dzierozynski and the Jesuit Restoration in the United States". The Catholic Historical Review. 78 (1): 51–73. JSTOR 25023700.
- Lee, Shin Ja (2010). The Practice of Spiritual Direction in the Life and Writings of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton (Thesis). Vol. 24. Vincentian Digital Books. from the original on February 28, 2019. Retrieved February 27, 2019.
- Mendizabal, Rufo (1972). Catalogus Defunctorum: Numerical Range 0.1 through 1.600 (in Latin). Jesuit Archives: Central United States. pp. 1–29. Archived from the original on March 27, 2019. Retrieved March 27, 2019.
- Nolt, Steven M. (2002). Foreigners in Their Own Land: Pennsylvania Germans in the Early Republic. University Park, Pennsylvania: ISBN 0271021993. Archived from the original on March 4, 2019. Retrieved March 4, 2019 – via Google Books.
- Reily, John Timon (1885). Conewago: A Collection of Catholic Local History. Martinsburg, West Virginia: Herald Print. p. 69. .
- Scharf, J. Thomas (1881). History of Baltimore City and County: From the Earliest Period to the Present Day. Philadelphia: Louis H. Everts. from the original on April 19, 2020. Retrieved April 19, 2020 – via Google Books.
- Sener, S. M. (September 1894). Middleton, Thomas C. (ed.). "The Catholic Church at Lancaster, Penn'a". Records of the American Catholic Historical Society of Philadelphia. 5 (3): 305–356. JSTOR 44208769.
- OCLC 612832863. Archived from the original on February 26, 2019. Retrieved February 26, 2019 – via Google Books.
- Warner, William W. (1994). At Peace With All Their Neighbors: Catholics and Catholicism in the National Capital, 1787–1860. Washington, D.C.: .
External links
John W. Beschter at Find a Grave