Evening Republican, Volume 20, Number 20, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 24 January 1916 — FATHER HELDMAN A NOTED MISSIONARY [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

FATHER HELDMAN A NOTED MISSIONARY

Regarded One of the Ablest Priests in the Society of The Most Precious Blood ' ’. Z I

The Indiana Catholic, published in Indianapolis, contained the following article about Rev. George D. Heldmann, C. PP. S. ,who was so long identified with the publication of The Messenger and Der Botschafter, at the Indian school here. The article was sent to Indianapolis from Fort Wayne. It reads: Rev. George D. Heldmann, C.PP.S., one of the most widely-known missionaries of the congregation of the Most Precious Blood, died suddenly at 11:30 o'clock Sunday morning in Chicago. To scores of friends among clergy and laity, and in all sections of the country the -announcement of the death of this beloved priest will come as a profound shock. For several months “Father George,” as he was best known, had been in declining health, suffering especially from valvular heart trouble, and had been a patient since last fall at the Kneipp Sanitarium, Rome City, Ind. He had recently manifested some improvement and Jan. sth left on a business trip to the Mission House at Collegeville, Ind. As editor and publisher of two monthly magazines, “The Messenger” and “Der Bottschafer,” he was actively engaged in his literary activities there until the latter part of last ( week, wheh he left for Chicago and was to come to Fort Wayne this week, prior to returning to the sanitarium.

spite his ill health he continued to write for his magazines and was hopefully looking forward to the time when he would be able to resume his missionary activities. In the death of Father George there is taken from th§ ranks of the congregation, to which he belonged, one of its ablest members; from the missi on field a worker, whose apostolic zeal and Christ-like solicitude for the welfare of souls must redound to his eternal glory; from the midst of the clergy a brother priest whose name shall live in their hearts and shall be hallowed in memory; from the laity a generous-hearted, noble-mind-ed, kindly priest, a counsellor, sincerl and true. He was always remarked for hjs punctuality and exactness in the work ministry. Unselfish in his aims, unsparing of his own care and comfort, he was generous, sympathetic and a source of inspiration to all who capie within the circle of hist beneficial influence. He was a priest of no ordinary attainments and merits. He was gifted with extraordinary and varied talents, untiring application to work and whose lips were unsullied with the stain of fraternal faults. His kindly maimer, sincere piety and devotion to duty won the hearts of all. ’Ere he has reached his three-score years the Master has deemed his life work complete. May the Great High Priest, to Whom is given the judgment, enter his narW in the Book of Eternal "Life; and may his memory abide with us forever in grateful recollection. Surviving relatives of Father Heldmann include three brothers, a sister, Miss Elizabeth Heldmann, and several nieces and nephews. The remains arrived Monday evening at St. Joseph’s College, ■Collegeville, Ind., where Solemn Requiem High Mass, attended by faculty and students was celebrated Tuesday, morning in the college chapel. Later the remains were taken io the mother-house, St. .Charles I Seminary, Carthagena, 0., where on Thursday momihg at 9 o’clock the final services were held and then the remains were laid to rest, inthe Community Cemetery. Very Rev. George .Kindling, C.PP.S., of Celina, 0., Provincial of the order, and others of tjie clergy, religious and secular, were in attendance. Blessed are the dead: they are at peace, and their works shall riot perish.

In scores of churches, not only in the Diocese of Fort Wayne, but throughout the country, Father George has.. conducted missions, retreats and forty hours and his apostolic work found great favor with pastors and parishioners. The deceased priest was born and reared in Chicago, where he also received his early education. His classical, philosophical and theological studies were pursued and completed at St. Francis Seminary, Milwaukee, Wis. Following his ordination he appointed as an assistant and later bfecame pastor of one of the parishes in Chioago.' Later he decided on a missionary career and entered the Congregation of the Most Precious Blood. His labors led him to all sections of the country and- his untiring activity, combined with his priestly zeal for souls’'and his ability as a pulpit orator made him a fawritfe with pastors generally. He was? in ‘great demand and it was overwork which finally resulted in his physical breakdown. For a time his robust constitution withstood the demands made upon it through his incessant labors as missionary and editor, but it was, not until within the past year that he relinquished his mission work, realizing the seriousness of his condition.. De-

FATHER GEORGE D. HELDMANN