Memoirs of a Frontier Missionary Priest

By Samuel Mazzuchelli

Born in Milan, Italy, Samuel Mazzuchelli (b. 1806, d. 1864) joined the Order of Saint Dominic and while still a teenager asked to be sent to the American mission territories. As a freshly-ordained priest of 22, Father Mazzuchelli was sent to the frontier outpost Mackinac Island in northern Michigan. Humility, warmth, evangelical poverty, manly courage, industry and zeal made him exactly the right bridegroom for the vast "parish" territory he was assigned, which initially also included all of Wisconsin and parts of other states. Right away he was rebutting the local Calvinist preacher and winning Catholics back to the Faith. He soon organized construction of the first Catholic church in Wisconsin, at Green Bay, and went on to build 20 more. He evangelized and baptized over 1500 Indians. On July 6, 1993 Pope John Paul II declared the heroic virtue of Samuel Mazzuchelli, conferring on him the title Venerable.Father Mazzuchelli's heroic and Christlike witness cannot not fail to inspire today's Catholic readers for the New Evangelization. Some of the most difficult religious problems of our time were recognized by Mazzuchelli in their initial stages. He wrote: "One in whose heart burns the flame of pure love for Truth, and who understands the position of our holy Religion in America cannot but tremble for its future." However, the missionary's inspiring stories, his confidence in Divine Providence and joyfully serene determination will have an entirely encouraging effect on the reader. And if you have ever felt that pious books do not have enough bears and wolves, or enough of Holy Mass celebrated beautifully and reverently in a wigwam erected in the forest for the occasion, or if Christianity had stopped seeming for you the adventure it truly is, this book will give joy!These "historical and edifying" memories were first published in Italian in 1844. The author was 37 and in the middle of his missionary work. Sr. Mary Benedicta Kennedy's admirable 1915 translation is offered anew by the Father Mazzuchelli Society, a grassroots lay initiative.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0615887066
• ISBN13: 9780615887067
• Release Date: October 2013
• Publisher: The Father Mazzuchelli Society
• Length: 322 Pages
• Weight: 1.16 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.0" x 0.8" x 6.0"