Another laborer in the early mission fields of the USA is SERVANT of GOD DEMETRIUS AUGUSTINE GALLITZIN
, who was born at The Hague Russia Holland at the time of his son's birth.For 14 years previously he had been the Russian ambassador to France
Though nominally an Orthodox Russian, he accepted and openly professed the principles of an infidel philosophy. In 1768, he married the Countess Amalie, the only daughter of the then celebrated Prussian Field-Marshal von Schmettau. Her mother, Baroness von Ruffert, being a Catholic, Amalie was baptized in the Catholic Church, but her religious education was neglected, and it was not until 1786 that she became a fervent Catholic, which she remained until her death on April 27, 1806.
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| With Father Peter Helbron- St. Peter's Church |
Though nominally an Orthodox Russian, he accepted and openly professed the principles of an infidel philosophy. In 1768, he married the Countess Amalie, the only daughter of the then celebrated Prussian Field-Marshal von Schmettau. Her mother, Baroness von Ruffert, being a Catholic, Amalie was baptized in the Catholic Church, but her religious education was neglected, and it was not until 1786 that she became a fervent Catholic, which she remained until her death on April 27, 1806.
In his youth his most constant companion was William Frederick, son of William V, then reigning Stadtholder of the Netherlands Netherlands
After his mother's return to Catholicism in 1786, he was greatly influenced by her circle of intellectuals, priests, and aristocrats. At the age of 17, Prince Dimitri was formally received into the Church. To please his mother, whose birth and marriage occurred on 28 August, the feast of St Augustine, he assumed that name when he was confirmed, and thereafter wrote his name Demetrius Augustine. A cousin, Elizabeth Gallitzin, would also eventually convert and join the Society of the Sacred Heart, founding a number of religious houses in the United States
His father, who had been planning a military career for him, was quite unhappy with the change and was barely dissuaded from sending his son to Saint Petersburg, where he hoped a stint in a Russian Guards Regiment would force his son back into Orthodoxy. In 1792, his son was appointed aide-de-camp to General von Lillien, the commander of the Austrian troops in the Duchy of Brabant but, after the death of Leopold II of Austria and the murder of King Gustav III of Sweden, Prince Dimitri, like all other foreigners, was dismissed from Austrian Service.
As was the custom among young aristocrats at the time, he then set out to complete his education by travel. The French Revolution had made European tours unsafe, so his parents decided that he should spend two years in traveling through America , the West Indies , and other foreign lands. His mother provided him with letters of introduction from the prince-bishops of Hildesheim and Paderborn to Bishop John Carroll of Baltimore United States , he embarked from Rotterdam in 1792, landing in Baltimore
Not long after his arrival, he became interested in the needs of the Church in the United States
Demetrius Augustine entered the newly established Seminary of St. Sulpice in Baltimore being the first to make all his theological studies in the United States
In the Allegheny Mountains, in 1799, Father Demetrius founded the settlement of Loretto, Pennsylvania. His military training had taught him engineering fundamentals. He named the town after the place of Marian devotion in Italy
With Father Gallitzin in the lead, Loretto became the first English-speaking Catholic settlement in the United States Lancaster , Pennsylvania and St. Louis , Missouri
In 1802, Father Gallitzin became a naturalized citizen of the United States under the name Augustine Smith. Seven years after he was naturalized and became a citizen of the United States
For twenty years Father Gallitzin labored alone in a vast mission whose Catholic population was constantly increasing. In 1834 Father Lemke was sent to his assistance, assigned the northern part of Cambria County
In the meantime Father Gallitzin's reputation for sanctity, the fame of his talents, and the account of his labors had spread far and wide. It was his deep humility as well as his love for his community that prevented his advancement to the honors of the Church. He accepted the office of Vicar-General for Western Pennsylvania, conferred on him by Bishop Conwell of Philadelphia
For many years before his death he lived in the hope of seeing Loretto made an episcopal see, for Loretto was then a flourishing mission and the centre of a constantly increasing Catholic population, while Pittsburgh was a small town containing but few Catholics. After forty-one years spent on the rugged heights of the Alleghenies, he died as he had lived, poor. On coming to McGuire's Settlement he found a dense wilderness; he left it dotted with fertile farms.
Servant of God Demetrius Gallitzin was buried, according to his desire, midway between his residence and the church (they were about thirty feet apart); in 1847 his remains were transferred to a vault in a field nearer the town, over which a humble monument was erected out of squared blocks of rough mountain stone. In 1891 his remains were taken from the decayed coffin of cherry wood and placed in a metallic casket. Iin 1899, on the occasion of the centenary celebration of the foundation of the Loretto Mission, the rude monument was capped by a pedestal of granite, and this in turn by a bronze statue of the prince-priest, donated by Charles M. Schwab, who also built the large stone church, which was solemnly consecrated October 2, 1901.
This great missionary, in spite of his noble early life, chose a path to God that has led to his sanctity, once again showing that anyone can become a saint!