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Frederic Baraga, Servant of God (June 29, 1797 – January 19, 1868) was a Slovenian American Roman Catholic missionary, bishop, and grammarian.

Bishop Frederic Baraga - c. 1853-1860

Frederic Baraga was born Irenej Friderik Baraga in the castle at Mala Vas near Dobrnič (Lower Carniola), in present-day Slovenia.

As a child during the Napoleonic Wars, Slovenia was changing hands between France and the Austrian Empire. The official language of instruction in his schools changed several times during his childhood between French and German, neither of which was his native tongue. In addition, Latin and Greek were required subjects for all students. Thus, by age 16, Frederic Baraga was multilingual - a skill that would serve him well in later life.

He attended law school at the University of Vienna prior to entering the seminary, and was ordained as Roman Catholic priest on September 21, 1823 in the Cathedral of St. Nicholas in Ljubljana. As a young priest, he was a staunch opponent of Jansenism. During this time his also wrote “Dushna Pasha” (Soul’s Pasture), a spiritual work.

In 1830, he answered the request of Bishop Edward Fenwick of Cincinnati for priests to aid in ministering to his growing flock, which included a large amount of mission territory. A year later Fr. Baraga was sent to the Ottawa Indian mission at Arbre Croche (now Cross Village, Michigan) to finish his mastery of the Ottawa language, which he had begun in Cincinnati.

This resulted in the publishing of "Otawa Anamie-Misinaigan", the first book written in the Ottawa language, which was a catechism and prayer book, in 1832. After a brief stay at a mission in present-day Grand Rapids, Michigan, he moved north to minister to the Ojibway (Chippewa) Indians at La Pointe, Wisconsin, an old Jesuit mission on Lake Superior, in 1835.

In 1843 he founded a mission at L'Anse, Michigan. During this time he earned the nickname “the Snowshoe Priest” because he would travel hundreds of miles each year on snowshoes during the harsh winters. He also worked to protect the Indians from being forced to relocate, as well as publishing a dictionary and grammar of the Ojibway language, which are still used to this day.

In 1853, he was elevated to bishop by Pope Pius IX, and consecrated November 1st in Cincinnati, Ohio by Archbishop John Purcell. He was the first bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Sault Sainte Marie, Michigan, now the Diocese of Marquette. At about this time he began to keep a diary, written in several languages, preserving accounts of his missionary travels and his relationship with his sister Amalia. During this time, the area experienced a population explosion, as immigrants arrived to work in the copper and iron mines near Houghton, Ontonagon, and Marquette, Michigan. This presented a challenge, since he had few priests, and would now have to tend to the needs of the miners and the native population. On the other hand, it signaled the increased development of the area, particularly improving travel on Lake Superior.

Nonetheless, the only way to travel in winter was on snowshoes, which he continued to manage into his sixties. A final challenge was the diversity of the region, which included the native inhabitants, the original French settlers, and the new German and Irish miners. Difficulties arose because of language problems: while Bishop Baraga himself spoke eight languages fluently, he had trouble recruiting priests who could do the same.

Bishop Baraga traveled twice to Europe to raise money for his diocese, on one trip he was presented a jeweled cross and episcopal ring by Austrian Emperor Franz Joseph I, which the bishop sold.

In addition, he wrote numerous letters to the Society for the Propagation of the Faith describing his missionary activities. These letters were widely published at the time, and were instrumental in inspiring both Saint John Neumann and Father Francis Xavier Pierz to come to the United States. In time, Baraga became renowned throughout Europe for his work. In his last ten years, his health gradually declined; he became intermittently deaf and suffering a series of strokes. He died January 19, 1868 in Marquette, Michigan. He is buried there in the crypt beneath the Cathedral of Saint Peter.

Bishop Frederic Baraga has been declared a Servant of God by the Roman Catholic Church. The village of Baraga, Baraga Township, Baraga County, and Baraga State Park (all in Michigan) bear his name.

• Baraga, Frederic. The Diary of Bishop Frederic Baraga: First Bishop of Marquette, Michigan. Translated by Joseph Gregorich and Rev. Paul Prud'homme, S.J. (Great Lakes Books, 1990).
• Lambert, Bernard J. Shepherd of the Wilderness: A Biography of Bishop Frederic Baraga. (Chicago:Franciscan Herald Press, 1974).
• Ceglar, Charles A. Baragiana Collection. (Hamilton: Baragiana Publishing, 1991).

• Biography at the Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online
• Biography from the Catholic Encyclopedia
• St. Peter Cathedral and Bishop Baraga