May 25: America's Proto-Priest

Welcome to the American Catholic Daily Reader podcast. Today is May 25th, and our story is America's Proto-Priest. When Stephen Baden entered seminary in his native France, he didn't know that revolution soon would come to his country and, along with it, a hatred for the Catholic Church.

Nor did he know that in 1791, while still a seminarian, he would flee to America with two companions, the fathers and future bishops, Joseph Flajet and J.B. David. And he most certainly didn't know that on May 25, 1793, he would receive the sacrament of holy orders from Bishop John Carroll, becoming the first priest ordained in the United States.

If he had known, perhaps he would have followed a different path, but most likely not. For in the decades that followed, America's proto-priest served his adopted homeland faithfully and well. First, Father Baden served it from a base in Kentucky, riding more than 100,000 miles in the 26 years he ministered to Catholics in the Northwest Territory. Then, for a short while, he served the church in America from France, where he raised money for the American missions.

Finally, he served it as vicar general for the Diocese of Cincinnati. There, he grew old on horseback, regularly traveling as far north as Chicago to minister to Native Americans and European immigrants. On one of those trips, Baden spotted 524 acres of land that he thought well-suited for a mission. He paid $655 for the land and built a small log chapel there by the lake he named St. Mary's. A few years later, when the Diocese of Vincennes was created, he sold it to the new bishop for $1.

The bishop, in turn, sold it to the Holy Cross Fathers. There, they founded the University of Notre Dame. Baden hung up his saddle in 1850, at age 82, and retired to the bishop's residence in Cincinnati. He died three years later. His remains, however, found their final resting place by St. Mary's Lake in a replica of the chapel Baden built there long ago.

Baden's faith and perseverance were not motivated by fame or wealth, but by service and devotion. We are called to be diligent and faithful in our responsibilities, trusting that God can use our work to bless generations we will never meet. This week, identify a task or ministry that may seem small, but can have long-term impact.

Thank you for listening to the American Catholic Daily Reader Podcast. Join us tomorrow, May 26th, for another story of faith and courage in America.