Many years ago Mr. Karl Jestaedt of Petersberg/Fulda/Germany sent
researcher Elizabeth Ginsberg a copy of the newspaper Fuldaer
Zeitung dated January 8, 1874. In it a thank-you letter from the
Bishop's Office in Fulda was published, gratefully acknowledging a
donation from Father Demetrius J. Klueber in the amount of $133.
This sum was given by the parishioners of St. Mary Church in
Fulda/Ohio where Fr. Klueber, a native of Fulda/Germany, was pastor
since 1860.
The purpose of the donation was to alleviate the sufferings the
German bishop and his priests had to endure during the Kulturkampf
when the Catholic Church was harassed, and worse, by the German
government.
On the day the letter from Fulda, Ohio was mailed, the bishop was
buried. He did not know of the consolation that emigrants from his
diocese in the faraway parish of St. Mary were sending him. The
following is a translation of the letter issued by the Bishop's
Office the end of December 1873:
To Reverend Father Klueber
Neufulda, North America
We have received the 133 dollars sent by Your Reverence
and have bestowed it upon the designated purpose. The
sympathy which you and your pious parishioners have
manifested, has touched not only us, but all the
faithful far beyond the boundaries of our diocese.
Sufferings which call forth this love and a readiness to
make sacrifices, surely serve the good of the Church.
We regret very much, that the demonstration of such a
magnanimous love could not gladden the heart of His
Grace the Bishop anymore here on earth. On the day when
your gifts were directed towards him, we had consigned
his earthly remains to the grave.
Rich in merits and with the crown of the confessor, the
Lord called him on Oct. 14 [1873] to a better world,
after grievous sufferings. During the hard afflictions
of the last days of his life, the numerous proofs of the
most faithful devotion from his beloved former
parishioners in a faraway continent, would have been the
sweetest consolation. May he, now resting in God, bless
you from Heaven.
Again we convey to you, Reverend Sir, and to your
parishioners who gladdened our hearts with their
sacrifice and love, our most heartfelt thanks. We pray
to God, that He may reward you abundantly. |
Father Klueber stayed in touch with his native city. In the
Fuldaer Zeitung dated September 4, 1875, a small notice says:
|
From a letter by Reverend Pastor Klueber from Neufulda
[America] we learn that on August 22 [1875] a new church
dedicated to St. Mary was consecrated. |
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