'LONG BEARD" FUTURE SAINT OF MINNESOTA?

 

In 1971, Sisters Bernard Coleman and Verona La Bud from St. Scholastica's Benedictine Abbey in Duluth,  published a comprehensive 368-page biography of the missionary titled Masinaigans, meaning “little book.” This nickname, given by the Chippewa, referred to the priest’s constant companion, his diary. They also called him Meshidong, meaning “Long Beard.” Who is this pioneer missionary?

 MONSIGNOR JOSEPH BUH (pronounced Boo) was a pioneering missionary whose remarkable life and enduring legacy continues to inspire many. He was born on the feast of St. Patrick in 1833, in present-day Slovenia. He dedicated his life to serving Native American communities and immigrant populations in Minnesota, leaving a mark on the region’s spiritual and cultural landscape. Even the secular paper calls him a “patriarch of the Diocese of Duluth.

Coming to the United States in 1864, his extraordinary ministry was characterized by a profound commitment to the spiritual and physical well-being of those he served. He was instrumental in establishing 57 parishes and played a pivotal role as the vicar general of the Diocese of Duluth.     

Msgr. Buh’s life showed great humility, zeal, and unwavering faith. His dedication to the sacraments of the Church was profound, but equally inspiring was his dedication to the communities he served. In the 1880s, the iron ore mining boom brought a flood of new immigrants to the area.

In addition to being familiar with various Native dialects, Msgr. Buh could preach fluently in German, Polish, French and English, making him a very effective missionary to the various European immigrants settling in northern Minnesota mining towns.

He also became an advocate for the immigrant workers, who were often being subjected to unfair wages and dangerous working conditions. He tirelessly worked to meet their spiritual needs as well as advocate for better working conditions and just treatment.

In 1891, he established what would become the first Slovenian newspaper in the United States. From 1892 to 1898, he served as the editor and publisher of Amerikanski Slovenec. Initially, he managed everything for the paper, from creating layout copy to overseeing typesetting and printing. He put in long hours to ensure the newspaper’s success, driven by his goal to “better the Slovenians in America.”

His efforts in founding the American Slovene Catholic Union and his work among the Native American tribes underscore his commitment to fostering communities and supporting those in need.

During Msgr. Buh’s funeral Mass, the second bishop of Duluth, Timothy McNicholas, said that Msgr. Buh’s “love for souls was beyond our power to measure...

The casual observer would not even direct his attention to the extraordinary zeal of this gentle apostle. It is only when one realizes the great harvest that he has reaped that one is forced to take into account the many and deep furrows that he plowed in the harvest fields of Christ.

His zeal for souls was ever a burning fire. No journey on foot, no distance by horseback was too long or too trying provided a soul was to be helped at the journey’s end. He would set out with a trust in God realizing that God’s love of souls was infinite and that he was but the dispenser of the riches of God’s sacramental graces. He was ever willing to make every sacrifice in the performance of duty for the salvation of souls.”

The bishop had instructed the funeral director to make the casket metal-lined, as he considered his vicar general ‘a saint’. Even though he died over 100 years ago, many still come to the Duluth cathedral of Our Lady of the Rosary, laying flowers at his tomb and asking intercession for various needs.  We pray we will soon have another American saint..