The following information about the Fathers from the Second Edition of the Society of the Divine Savior, "On Whose Shoulders We Stand", published 2005. Salvatorian Archives, 2506 N. Wauwatosa Ave., Wauwatosa, WI 53213-1135
Collection compiled by Michael R. Hoffman SDS
Submitted by Bob Domagalski, contact information on contributors page.
FATHER THEODORE FASCHINGBAUR SDS Born December 9, 1919 - Died January 13, 1982 Father Theodore Faschingbaur (birth name: Bernard Henry) was born in 1919 in Bloomer, Wisconsin, a farming community in the northwest part of the state. After high school, he decided to enter religious life and enrolled in the Specials’ class at Salvatorian Seminary in St. Nazianz. He entered the Novitiate there in 1941. On September 8, 1942, he made his profession of vows, after which he completed his studies for the priesthood at Divine Savior Seminary in Lanham, Maryland, and Catholic University in Washington, DC. He was ordained in St. Ambrose Chapel in St. Nazianz on June 4, 1948. His early ministries included helping in the local parishes around the Salvatorian Mission House in Elkton, Maryland; and serving as associate pastor of Mother of Good Counsel Parish in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. For four years, he worked in the missions in Macao, China, before the Communists expelled all the missionaries. After spending a year at St. Pius X Parish in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin, he was sent to the missions in Tanzania, East Africa, where he remained until 1970. The early detection of bone cancer forced Fr. Ted to return to the United States. During the next five years, he underwent medical treatments while he ministered in several parishes: St. Joseph’s Parish in Huntsville, Alabama; St. Bernard’s in Scio, Oregon; and St. Joseph’s Parish in Elko, Nevada. But these treatments only delayed the cancer’s effects. From 1975 until his death in 1982, he was able to help only occasionally in hospitals and nursing homes in California and Nevada before returning to Wisconsin. He died on January 13, 1982, at the University Hospital in Madison, and he was buried in the community cemetery in St. Nazianz. Fr. Ted is remembered as a dedicated worker, especially during his years of ministry in the missions. He worked tirelessly to bring the message of salvation to the world while living among the poorest of peoples.
BROTHER FLORENTINE FEDERSPIEL SDS Born December 3, 1895 - Died September 9, 1993 Brother Florentine Federspiel (birth name: Georg Phillip) was born on December 3, 1895, in Saarlouis Roden, Germany. He entered the Society as a Brother candidate in Hamont, Belgium. In 1914, he came to the United States to begin his Novitiate year in St. Nazianz, Wisconsin. The following year, on September 8, 1915, he made his profession of vows. For most of his religious life, he devoted himself to carpentry and cabinet- making. A gifted and talented wood carver, his bas-relief statues, altars, communion railings, and baldachins graced many of the Society’s chapels and churches around the country. His list of assignments reads a bit like a travelogue of short-term trips, but it was because of his indispensable talents that he was sent to so many places around the country, most especially when they were in the process of building or remodeling: Salvatorian Seminary and JFK Prep in St. Nazianz, Wisconsin; Mother of Good Counsel Parish and the Provincial offices in Milwaukee; Mount St. Paul College in Waukesha; Mother of the Savior Seminary in Blackwood, New Jersey; Divine Savior Seminary in Lanham, Maryland, and the Salvatorian Mission House in Elkton; Jordan Seminary in Menominee, Michigan; and the Novitiate in Colfax, Iowa. Bro. Florentine’s greatest desire, however, was to serve in the foreign missions. His wish was granted in 1963, when he went to Tanzania, Africa, to supervise and help in the construction and renovation of numerous churches, schools, and community houses in the various mission stations. With a heavy heart, he returned to the United States in 1965, but he was happy that he was able to realize his dream for those two years. In his final years, he had retired to the Jordan Hall community in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Later, health needs demanded greater care at St. Mary’s Nursing Home. He died on September 9, 1993, in St. Joseph’s Hospital, just one day after completing his seventy-eighth year in religious life. He was buried in the community cemetery in St. Nazianz. At the time of his death at 98 years of age he was the oldest member of the Society in the world, and he was the last member of the USA Province to have been born in the 1800’s. His brother, Father Alfons, was a Salvatorian priest in the Belgian Province, and his sister, Sister Agape, was a Salvatorian Sister in the German Province. Bro. Florentine is remembered as a soft-spoken and deeply spiritual man, with a delightful and gentle manner that was always present. A true artist in his craft, he left a legacy of beauty in the many places in which he lived and worked.
FATHER MATTHEW FEHRING SDS Born February 22, 1907 - Died July 29, 1969 Father Matthew Fehring (birth name: Bernard Ferdinand) was born in 1907 in Carroll, Iowa, a small community northwest of Des Moines. At the age of 22, he began his studies for the priesthood at Salvatorian Seminary in St. Nazianz, Wisconsin. He entered the Novitiate there, and made his profession of vows on September 8, 1935. He took his first year of philosophy studies in the seminary there, and then the scholastics were sent to the newly-founded Divine Savior Seminary in Lanham, Maryland, for his second year. His theology studies were taken at Catholic University in Washington, DC, and at the Gregorian University in Rome, Italy. He was ordained in the Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, DC, on June 11, 1940. For one year, he taught in the seminary in Lanham, and was then sent as teacher and Superior of Jordan Seminary in Menominee, Michigan. When World War II was already underway, Fr. Matthew entered the service as a military chaplain, and was in numerous battles in Belgium and Germany. Following the war, he returned to Lanham as teacher and Superior. He then taught at Mother of the Savior Seminary in Blackwood, New Jersey; at Salvatorian Seminary in St. Nazianz; and at the newly founded Mount St. Paul College in Waukesha, Wisconsin, where he remained until ill health forced him to retire to St. Nazianz in 1967. He died in Holy Family Hospital in Manitowoc on July 29, 1969, and was buried in the community cemetery in St. Nazianz. Fr. Matthew is remembered as a strict and somewhat demanding teacher, and those who learned dogmatic theology and liturgy under him were expected to remember well what he had taught them.
FATHER PAUL FIERRO SDS Born January 24, 1945 - Died July 20, 1997 Father Paul Reyna Fierro was born in 1945 in San Antonio, Texas. After graduating from high school, he entered the Society’s candidature program in Jordan Seminary in Menominee, Michigan. In June of 1965, he began his Novitiate year in Colfax, Iowa, and he made his profession of vows as a Brother on June 29, 1966. He then attended Mount St. Paul College in Waukesha, Wisconsin, and Dominican College in Racine. He decided to become a priest and so he pursued further studies at Washington Theological Coalition in Washington, DC. He was ordained in his home parish in San Antonio on May 16, 1975. He ministered as associate pastor of Holy Cross Parish in Bryte (West Sacramento), California; administrator of San Mateo Parish in Fort Worth, Texas; associate pastor of St. Mary’s Parish in the same city; as pastor of Holy Cross Parish in Bryte (West Sacramento); and finally as pastor of Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish in downtown Sacramento. In early 1997, he suffered a stroke, and he moved to the Jordan Hall community in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Never recovering fully from the stroke’s effects, he died on July 20, 1997. He was buried in the community cemetery in St. Nazianz. Fr. Paul is remembered as a kind priest whose sole interest was in serving God’s people, especially among the poor in the Latino parishes. He brought joy and comfort into the lives of the people to whom he ministered and to his brothers and sisters in community. His Novitiate class, incidentally, was the first not to receive religious names.
BROTHER GRANT-MICHAEL FITZGERALD SDS Born September 11, 1947 - Died November 10, 1986 Brother Grant-Michael Fitzgerald was born in 1947 in Kingston, New York. His family later moved to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He entered as a candidate for the Society in Lanham, Maryland, and then moved to Mount St. Paul College in Waukesha, Wisconsin, where he spent his Novitiate year. He made his profession of vows on July 26, 1969. He continued his college studies at Mount St. Paul and at Dominican College in Racine. The years of ministry were, for Bro. Grant-Michael, quite an odyssey. He provided pastoral services in a group home in Milwaukee; he supervised a child care center for the United States Army in Germany; he was a counselor in a Catholic Charities youth home in Washington, DC; he provided social services for the elderly and the needy in Philadelphia, and he was involved in the establishment of a group home for African- American gay teens in that city. Beginning in 1982, he did pastoral services for the community in St. Joseph’s Parish in Huntsville, Alabama, until he was diagnosed as terminal ill in 1984, when he moved to St. Nazianz, Wisconsin, to be with the retirement community there. Later that year, he was hospitalized in Milwaukee and several weeks before his death he was placed in hospice care. He died on November 10, 1986. His body was cremated and his ashes were buried in the community cemetery in St. Nazianz. Deeply committed to issues of social justice and equality, Bro. Grant-Michael sought to bring the values of the gospel into the world through his ministries. For him, the message of the gospel was not simply an intellectual one, but one to be lived in concrete ways. He was very active in peace and justice issues of the Renewal Commission in the province, and was an advocate for the Gay Ministry Task Force.
FATHER BRENDAN FLANAGAN SDS Born July 23, 1926 - Died December 4, 1986 Father Brendan Flanagan (birth name: Michael James) was born in 1926 in New London, Wisconsin. For high school and the first two years of college, he attended Salvatorian Seminary in St. Nazianz. He entered the Society’s Novitiate there in 1945, and he made his profession of vows on October 18, 1946. He then attended Divine Savior Seminary in Lanham, Maryland, and Catholic University in Washington, DC, to complete his studies for the priesthood. He was ordained in the Shrine of the Immaculate Conception on June 9, 1952. In his earlier years of ministry, Fr. Brendan was at Mother of the Savior Seminary in Blackwood, New Jersey, where he taught and was dean of students; he was at St. Mary’s High School in Lancaster, New York, as teacher, assistant principal and director of guidance; and he was the local Superior and high school principal of Mother Mary Mission in Phenix City, Alabama. In 1964, he returned to Lancaster for a year, and then returned to the seminary in Blackwood until the school closed in 1967. He then became dean of students and rector of seminarians at Mount St. Paul College in Waukesha, Wisconsin. The school merged with Dominican College in Racine where he continued to work until 1973, when he was elected Vicar Provincial and Director of Personnel. He held these posts until 1982. He then was chaplain of St. Nicholas Hospital in Sheboygan until his death on December 4, 1986, after suffering a massive stroke a week earlier. Fr. Brendan is remembered as a pleasant, humorous, and playful man, who enjoyed the company of everyone – community members, students, and families. He was generous to all with both his time and his joy.
FATHER SOLANUS FREISCHMIDT SDS Born September 8, 1888 - Died October 31, 1942 Father Solanus Freischmidt (birth name: Bernard) was born on September 8, 1888, in Hellenthal, Germany. At the age of 16, he came to the United States and lived in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where he studied at St. Francis Seminary and Marquette University. In 1917, he entered the Society as a candidate in St. Nazianz, where he also spent his Novitiate year. He made his profession of vows on October 24, 1921. After taking some courses in St. Nazianz, he was sent to the Salvatorian College in Passau, Bavaria, where he finished his studies for the priesthood and was ordained in 1923. He went to Wealdstone, England, to help with pastoral duties for a year. He then came back to Salvatorian Seminary in St. Nazianz, to teach. During his years there, he also served as dean of discipline and later as rector of the seminary. Fr. Solanus excelled as a teacher of Gregorian Chant and he promoted a liturgical spirit that inspired the entire institution. He did his utmost to foster greater congregational singing in the local parishes and to help them understand and have a greater appreciation for liturgical chant. He authored and directed the first Passion Play for the seminary, a tradition that continued through the years of the school’s existence, as well as at several other Salvatorian minor seminaries across the country. While serving as rector of the seminary, Fr. Solanus died suddenly and unexpectedly of a cerebral hemorrhage at the seminary on October 31, 1942. He was buried in the community cemetery.
FATHER BEDE FRIEDRICH SDS Born November 2, 1894 - Died February 19, 1966 Father Bede Friedrich (birth name: Francis Joseph) was born in 1894 in Amsterdam, New York, northwest of Albany. In 1909, he entered Salvatorian Seminary in St. Nazianz, Wisconsin, the day the school opened its doors for the first time. He began his Novitiate year there in 1914, and he made his profession of vows on September 8, 1915. During these early years in the seminary, he helped to write and to raise funds for “Manna,” a Salvatorian publication. He was ordained a priest in St. Nazianz in 1921, and was named director of the Publishing Department, a position which he held until 1953. He was also the Superior at St. Nazianz and rector of the seminary for several years. Fr. Bede served as Provincial of the USA Province from 1931 – 1936, and again from 1939 – 1947. Other ministries included years at Mother of the Savior Seminary in Blackwood, New Jersey, where he was spiritual director, and also ran the fundraising department, “The Student Apostolate.” He was at Divine Savior Seminary in Lanham, Maryland, serving as the scholastics’ spiritual director, and also as community procurator and provincial consultor. He ministered to St. Pius X Parish in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin, while serving as advising editor of Newman Press, which was located in Westminster, Maryland. In 1965, he returned to Blackwood, and helped at St. Pius X Retreat Center. He died in Blackwood, on February 19, 1966, and he was buried in the Salvatorian cemetery in Lanham, Maryland. Later when the seminary there closed, his body was transferred to the community cemetery in St. Nazianz. Fr. Bede is remembered as a strong-willed and decisive leader, a shrewd finance manager, and a man who was deeply committed to the work of the Society and the province.
FATHER CLEMENT GESELL SDS Born January 9, 1906 - Died May 3, 1962 Father Clement Gesell (birth name: Herman Gerard) was born in 1906 in Detroit, Michigan. He studied in the diocese’s Sacred Heart Seminary, at the Detroit Institute of Technology, and at the Detroit College of Law, after which he was a banker for nine years. He entered the Society in St. Nazianz, Wisconsin, where he began his Novitiate in 1933, and professed his vows a year later, on September 8, 1934. He continued studying for the priesthood at Salvatorian Seminary, and then at Catholic University in Washington, DC. He was ordained in the Shrine of the Immaculate Conception on May 30, 1939. He taught at the seminary in St. Nazianz, and then at Divine Savior Seminary in Lanham, Maryland. Lingering problems with acute arthritis brought Fr. Clement to an Alexian Brothers’ hospital in Signal Mountain, Tennessee, for several months of treatments. He then went to Mother of the Savior Seminary in Blackwood, New Jersey, to assist with pastoral duties in the area, and also to serve as confessor and spiritual director of the Brothers. In 1950, he went to St. Nazianz to teach, but within a couple years, the recurring arthritic problems began to increase, and medical help was sought once again. On the advice of his doctors, he accepted less tiring work assisting in the mission parishes in Oregon. In 1960, he returned to Blackwood, to be of service in whatever ways he could. On May 3, 1962, while taking a stroll around the small campus lake, Fr. Clement apparently slipped on the embankment and fell into the water. His arthritic condition made it impossible for him to lift himself from the shallow water and he drowned. It was hours later when students found his body along the edge of the lake. He was buried in the cemetery at Divine Savior Seminary in Lanham, Maryland, but when the seminary there closed, his body was transferred to the community cemetery in St. Nazianz.
FATHER LANDELIN GLASS SDS Born September 5, 1885 - Died October 20, 1949 Father Landelin Glass (birth name: Joseph) was born in 1885 in Daiting, Germany, a small village near Augsburg. After completing his studies in the Salvatorian seminary in Hamont, Belgium, he was sent to the United States in 1911 with a few of his classmates, to continue their studies in St. Nazianz, Wisconsin. He entered the Novitiate there in 1914, and he made his profession of vows on September 8, 1915. He was ordained on August 28, 1921, in St. Ambrose Chapel. Fr. Landelin remained in St. Nazianz, teaching both classical and modern languages in the seminary. For many years, he also served as the school's disciplinarian. for several years, he was also the director of the Brother candidates. He ministered in the neighboring parishes on the weekends and became well known throughout the Diocese of Green Bay. Fr. Landelin was one of the most active fundraisers when the new seminary building was under construction in the late 1930's. Well liked and respected by his students, it was difficult for him to give up teaching when his health began to grow weaker. He suffered a fatal heart attack on October 20, 1949, at the age of 64, and he was buried in the community cemetery.
BROTHER SIMON GRANT SDS Born July 8, 1929 - Died December 10, 1987 Brother Simon Grant (birth name: Ronald John) was born in 1929 in Spring Valley, Wisconsin, a farming community in the northwest part of the state. After graduating from high school in his hometown, he entered the Society’s Novitiate in 1948 in Menominee, Michigan, where he made his profession of vows on September 8, 1949. He remained in Menominee for a year, assisting as cook in the seminary; he was then assigned to St. Nazianz, Wisconsin where he worked in the boiler room; and then Divine Savior Seminary in Lanham, Maryland, caring for the farm and the community house. In 1955, Bro. Simon entered into the field of missionary work, and spent the next twenty-seven years in Tanzania, East Africa, building and caring for many of the mission properties there, and teaching the people to be self-reliant in his very down-to-earth, practical style. He returned to the United States in 1982, and received training as an alcohol rehabilitation counselor, working at a center in Madison, Wisconsin. In mid-1987, he was diagnosed with terminal cancer and he retired to the Jordan House community in Milwaukee. In the final weeks of his life, he resided in the Hospice unit of St. Joseph’s Hospital, where he approached his impending death with calm faith and courage. He died on December 10, 1987, and was buried in the community cemetery in St. Nazianz. Strong in his faith and committed to doing his best in helping others, Bro. Simon is remembered as a man who lived religious life by quiet example.
BROTHER STANISLAUS GUMIENY SDS Born March 5, 1896 - Died February 28, 1989 Brother Stanislaus Gumieny (birth name: Adelbert George Joseph) was born in 1896 in Manistee, Michigan, a city on the shores of Lake Michigan, almost directly across the lake from Manitowoc, Wisconsin. He joined the community in St. Nazianz, Wisconsin, in 1928, and he began his Novitiate that same year. He made his profession of vows on November 1, 1929. A carpenter by trade, this was the primary ministry of Bro. Stanislaus for many years, though he also helped in farming, landscaping and gardening work when needed. His assignments included Mother of Good Counsel Parish in Milwaukee; the Salvatorian Mission House in Elkton, Maryland; the mission parishes in Jordan, Oregon; Mother of the Savior Seminary in Blackwood, New Jersey; St. Joseph's Parish in Huntsville, Alabama; and the retreat center in Colfax, Iowa, after the Novitiate there closed. In 1973, he retired in St. Nazianz. In 1982, health needs required him to move to St. Mary's Home in Manitowoc, where he lived until his death on February 28, 1989, just five days short of his 93rd birthday. He is remembered as a man who knew the value of hard labor, and his skills at carpentry gave the province many solidly-built structures throughout his many years of service. Bro. Stanislaus was outspoken and expressive, often struggling with his temperament, but he was a faithful religious who was proud to use his gifts and talents for the good of the community and the Church.
