Venerable Frederic Baraga (1797-1868)

Jan. 1, 2025

By Columbia staff

Jan. 1, 2025

Photo by Matthew Brady Studio/Library of Congress

Nothing could stop Father Frederic Baraga from sharing the truth of his Catholic faith. As a young priest in Slovenia, he defended the faith against the Jansenist heresy. As a missionary, he later traveled hundreds of miles on foot throughout northern Michigan, where he became known as the “Snowshoe Priest” and the “Apostle of the Lakelands.”

Baraga was the fourth of five siblings, born in 1797 to a wealthy family in Slovenia. Both of his parents died by the time he turned 16. A gifted student, fluent in several languages, he went on to study law at the University of Vienna. Inspired by St. Clement Hofbauer, then living in Vienna, he entered seminary and was ordained for the Diocese of Ljubljana two years later, in 1823. After ministering in Slovenia for seven years, he was drawn to serve in mission territories and arrived in the United States on New Year’s Eve 1830.

Among Father Baraga’s first assignments was serving an Odawa Indigenous community in present-day Cross Village, Michigan. He used his legal background in defense of Native Americans and would publish 20 books in Indigenous languages over the course of his ministry. On one occasion, he walked 57 miles through the snow to baptize an Indigenous girl who was dying.

Beginning in 1840, he also served immigrants to Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. He would start each day at 3 or 4 a.m., praying for several hours before embarking on his missionary duties. He once wrote, “What a consolation, what ineffable bliss, to gain immortal souls for Jesus Christ.”

In 1853, Father Baraga was named bishop of the Diocese of Marquette, where he served until his death on Jan. 19, 1868, at age 70. He was declared venerable in 2012.

Venerable Frederic Baraga (1797-1868)

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