On this feast of St John Marie Vianney, patron of priests, I think it appropriate to introduce a priest little known in our area, but not the midwest.
After College I was associated with the Benedictines of Perpetual Adoration atClyde , MO
After College I was associated with the Benedictines of Perpetual Adoration at
Born Albert Etlin in Sarnen ,Switzerland America who was asking for young men to come to the United States , so in 1886 he left for the US , where he joined the Benedictines in Conception Abbey, Missouri
A talented artist, he painted several of the abbey’s murals. From 1892 until his death he was chaplain to the Benedictine Sisters two miles away from his Abbey. He would daily make the walk, but in the severe winter of 1894 he became lost in a snowstorm. After this he resided at the nuns convent.
His great love for the Eucharist was expressed in a magazine he had the nuns start, “Tabernacle and Purgatory” (today “Spirit & Life”). He had a great love for the Sacred Heart of Jesus and promoted the devotion, which he hoped would be in every Catholic home. He was instrumental in persuading the Sisters to embrace a more monastic way of life with primacy given to the celebration of the Divine Office and to perpetual adoration of the Blessed Sacrament.
Through the journal he collected funds for European relief during World War I and after the war started a relief service, known as Caritas. Within two months he raised almost $25,000 ( a lot of money in those days) and between 1920 & 1927 over two million dollars were sent to monasteries and convents, seminaries & orphanages, ravaged by the war.  |
On December 16, 1927, Father Lukas offered Mass at the convent in Clyde, and at 8:30 a.m. taught a religion class to the girls of St. Joseph
Eight hours later, Father Lukas lay dead at the side of the highway in Stanberry , Missouri
Since his death, Father Lukas has obtained numerous graces and favors for those who have recourse to his intercession.