You are here:   Cambria > Books > History of Cambria County, V.2
History of Cambria County, V.2

HISTORY OF CAMBRIA COUNTY 987

much affected by the needs of the struggling Catholic Church. Upon the opening of St. Mary's Seminary in Baltimore, he was enrolled as one of its first students. He was ordained March 18, 1795, and enjoyed the unique honor of being the first priest to receive all the orders within the limits of the new republic, and the first to receive all orders from Bishop Carroll.
    Father Gallitzin's first residence in Pennsylvania was at Conewago, Adams County. While here he had charge of all the missions in Southern Pennsylvania and Northern Maryland and Virginia. It was during this time that he planned to establish a Catholic settlement on the summit of the Alleghenies. With the permission of his superior, Bishop Carroll of Baltimore, he took up his residence in the colony, now Cambria County, in the year 1797. It was a period of genuine self-sacrifice, whole-hearted devotedness and paternal guardianship toward his flock. No personal sacrifice was considered too great, no task too difficult or arduous. Personally he directed and even assisted in erecting the rude log structures which served as dwellings. From his own resources he expended $150,000 in buying land for his people, erecting saw mills, grist mills, and a tannery in order to give them employment. In 1816 he laid out and made the present city of Loretto, after the celebrated Holy Family town in Italy. His field of missionary activities extended over all the territory which is now included in the three dioceses of Altoona, Pittsburgh and Erie. For 20 years he alone ministered to the spiritual needs of the flock in that extensive fold. Several times his name was mentioned in connection with new dioceses which were being formed, but he strongly resisted the proposals to nominate him for bishop, preferring to remain among those whom he knew and loved so well. He died as he lived, poor, on May 6, 1840.
    Brother Lawrence O'Donnell, T. O. R., was one of the first two brothers that came to Loretto, and he was the one that was instrumental in the founding of a college here. He was the pilot of the college for many years, and it was under his administration that many of the buildings that now compose St. Francis College were built. Having died in 1902, he lived to see the seed of knowledge that he had planted grow to be a strong tree of education.
    Rev. John P. M. Doyle, T. O. R., is the minister provincial of the Sacred Heart Province of the Third Order Regular of St. Francis and is at present at this institution. He was elected to this responsible position of provincial during the summer of 1921 and has very satisfactorily per-


Previous page Title Page Index Image Next page

Page Created: 01 Apr 2004
Last Updated:
Copyright © 2000-2004, All Rights Reserved
Lynne Canterbury, Diann Olsen and contributors