John Willms

Rev. John S. Willms, C.S.Sp.
Rev. John S. Willms, C.S.Sp.
2nd Rector of the; Pittsburgh Catholic College
	In office; 1885–1886
Preceded by	Rev. William P. Power
Succeeded by	Rev. John T. Murphy
Personal details
Born	March 22, 1849; Nideggen, Germany
Died	January 3, 1914 (aged 63); Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

John S. Willms, C.S.Sp. (March 22, 1849 – January 3, 1914)

Congregation of the Holy Ghost. He worked in a missionary capacity among the Catholic population in the United States, serving as the second rector of the Pittsburgh Catholic College of the Holy Ghost in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (known today as Duquesne University), and as the director of the Holy Childhood Association

in America.

Biography

Early life

John Willms was born to a large family in

brothers in the order, and another died as a seminarian.^[2] Willms made preparatory studies for the priesthood in Marienstatt (Hachenburg), though because of the Kulturkampf and the subsequent expulsion of the Holy Ghost Fathers from Germany, he finished those studies in France.^[2]

Missionary service in America

In 1876 or 1877, after his ordination, he was sent to the United States, where he performed various pastoral duties in Morrilton, Arkansas and Sharpsburg, Pennsylvania, a community near Pittsburgh.^[2]

Willms succeeded Father William Patrick Power as the second rector of the Pittsburgh Catholic College in 1885.^[3] Willms led the fledgling college for a single year, before being transferred to a parish in Pittsburgh's suburb of Millvale.^[3]^[4]

Subsequently, Willms was one of two delegates from the American Province of the Holy Ghost Fathers to attend their General Chapter meeting in 1896; in 1897 he was appointed to the office of National Director of the Association of the Holy Childhood, a Catholic children's association for the benefit of foreign missions.^[2]

Willms narrowly avoided an untimely death in 1898. He had planned to take the steamer La Bourgogne to Paris to attend a meeting of the Holy Childhood Association, but when he arrived at the dock it was discovered that his second-class seat had been erroneously given to another passenger. Willms was offered a first-class cabin, but he considered that level of luxury incompatible with his vow of poverty, and he decided to wait for another ship.^[5] It was to be the La Bourgogne's last voyage; the vessel collided with the British ship Cromartyshire, with near complete loss of life.^[5] Since Willm's name had still been on the ship's passenger list, his fellow priests assumed he had perished in the disaster. They had already offered masses for the repose of his soul before he was able to make it known that he was, in fact, alive.^[5]

Willms died at Mercy Hospital in Pittsburgh on January 3, 1914, at the age of 63.^[6]^[5]

Personality

Two anecdotes illustrating Willms's personality were remembered in the February 1941 edition of the American Province of the Congregation of the Holy Ghost's monthly bulletin:

As director of the Holy Childhood Association, Willms resided in the rectory of

St. Stanislaus Church. A Polish prelate was visiting from Rome one Sunday, and had decided to give a sermon. A locomotive, however, arrived on the tracks outside the church and began to shift its cars back and forward, completely drowning out the speaker's words. Willms left the church immediately and stood on the tracks, refusing to let the engineer pass with the noisy train until the sermon was finished.^[5]

The other story relates how Willms suffered from a

diabetic disease in his later years. When his toe became gangrenous, his doctor reportedly told him, "Your Reverence, your big toe has to be amputated in order to save your life." Willm's answer was spontaneous: "Father Willms will die with his toe!"^[5]

Notes and references

References

^ The Catholic Encyclopedia and its makers. New York: The Encyclopedia Press. 1917. pp. 187.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Our Province 1941, p. 19.
^ ^a ^b Rishel & Demilio 1997, p. 5.
^ Rishel & Demilio 1997, p. 302.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Our Province 1941, p. 20.
^ Our Province 1949, p. 111.

Works cited

"Lest We Forget: Father John Willms", Our Province, vol. IX, no. 2, Holy Ghost Fathers of the Province of the United States, February 1941, retrieved 19 June 2010
"Requiescant in Pace", Our Province, vol. XVIII, no. 1, Holy Ghost Fathers of the Province of the United States, January 1949, retrieved 19 June 2010
Rishel, Joseph F.; Demilio, Paul (1997), "The Spirit That Gives Life": The History of Duquesne University, 1878-1996,
ISBN 0-8207-0268-4

External links

A brief history of Duquesne University

Catholic Church titles
Preceded by Rev. William P. Power	Rector of Pittsburgh Catholic College of the Holy Ghost 1885–1886	Succeeded by Rev. John T. Murphy

[1] The Catholic Encyclopedia and its makers. New York: The Encyclopedia Press. 1917. pp. 187.

[FOOTNOTEOur_Province194119-2] Our Province 1941, p. 19.

[FOOTNOTERishelDemilio19975-3] Rishel & Demilio 1997, p. 5.

[FOOTNOTERishelDemilio1997302-4] Rishel & Demilio 1997, p. 302.

[FOOTNOTEOur_Province194120-5] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Our Province 1941, p. 20.

[FOOTNOTEOur_Province1949111-6] Our Province 1949, p. 111.

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v t e Rectors and Presidents of Duquesne University
Rectors	Power (1878–1885) Willms (1885–1886)
Presidents	Murphy (1886–1899) Hehir (1899–1931) Callahan (1931–1940) Kirk (1940–1946) Smith (1946–1950) Gallagher (1950–1959) McAnulty (1959–1980) Nesti (1980–1988) Murray (1988–2001) Dougherty (2001–2016) Gormley (2016– )