J. Mich(a)el Flamming - St. Donatus Church Cemetery - St. Donatus, Iowa - Grave of a Famous Person on Waymarking.com

My Commentary:
One walks behind this unadorned gem of a Gothic Revival Church and is met by a cemetery for the faithful. The cemetery contains approximately 850 graves at the moment. The headstones range from the fancy artwork to zinc markers to the more modern slab types. This cemetery, with the town originally founded by people from Luxembourg, has many headstones in German. It is a fascinating walk to stroll through this cemetery. One must walk along the eastern edge of the cemetery to get to the gate for the Stations of the Cross.

J. Michael Flamming was the creator of this very famous version of the Way of the Cross. Normally indoors, this version was one of the first versions to be in an outdoor setting. The Reverend Flamming was also responsible for getting the original St. Donatus Church built, along with a high school that attracted pupils from all over the area. Reverend Flamming is buried in the only fenced off area in the St. Donatus Cemetery under a statue of the Good Shepherd, Jesus Christ.

Located at the rear of the Church, the cemetery contains monuments of varying quality. Early headstones were made in Dubuque. Others were designed and carved from Ohio sandstone by O. Wenzler of Milwaukee. Elaborate iron crosses mark the graves of some of the parish's early members. An unusual wood monument (undated) with iron ornamentation is located in the cemetery. Perhaps the most notable monuments are those erected in memory of Father Flammang (1825 - 1883 ) and his mother, Elizabeth Schulte Flammang (1800 - 1877).

Father J. Mich(a)el Flammang ( 1825-1883 ):
Flammang, born in Koerck (Koerich), Canton of Capellen, Luxembourg on December 6, 1825, immigrated to the United States in 1853 in response to a plea from Bishop Mathias Loras for German speaking priests. He was ordained the following year after completing his studies at Mt, St, Bernard Seminary in Key West, Iowa. By the mid 1860s, his parish included the mission churches of St. Catherine Springbrook, Spruce Creek and Bellevue. The parish was bordered to the east by the Mississippi River; its southern boundary was located thirteen miles from St. Donatus; the western boundary 14 miles from the village and the northern boundary was five miles distant from the settlement. Like St. Donatus, this rural area was dominated by Luxembourg families. The "high water mark" of parish membership was the year 1862 with two thousand affiliated members and 134 baptisms. Flammang would lead the community until his death on December 6, 1883. He organized church societies, founded local traditions of religious celebrations, feasts and devotions, and organized the local parochial educational system.

St. Mary's Academy, a massive four story stone structure that would dominate the landscape until its destruction in 1969, was proposed in by Flammang in 1863. Its construction (1864-1866) represented a tremendous community sacrifice in terms of labor and materials. When completed, the academy, under the patronage of Maria Sedes Sapientia, became a boarding school for girls, specializing in training in the domestic arts. Between 1870 and 1890 as many as 225 students were enrolled in the program.

A boy's secondary school (Site 43) was established by Flammang east of the church on land donated by Nicholas Cass (Kass). The one and one half story stone structure with an attached teacher's residence was constructed on the site in 1874-1875. This institution, the "Tete des Morts High School for Young Men", was only in session during the months of November through March. The building is currently used as a private residence and commercial bakery.

Another of Flammang's projects was the construction on Calvary Mound of the Way of the Cross (Site 38). Blessed on August 15, 1862, the fourteen brick alcoves bear inscriptions in French, Spanish and English, Built in "traditional Luxembourg fashion/' the brick structures are located adjacent to a meandering path that winds up to the top of the bluff. Sheep are allowed to graze the hillside, keeping maintenance costs to a minimum. The stations were repaired by the parishioners in 1925.

A Pieta chapel (Site 37), named for an altar piece in the chapel — a wooden statute of Mary holding her dying son — was erected in 1885 at the bequest of Father Flammang. The stone chapel, located at the top of Calvary Mound, was modeled after the Chapel du Bildchen in Vianden, Canton of Diekirch-Vianden, Luxembourg. The du Bildchen murals which originally covered the interior walls of the Chapel were painted over in 1954-1955.

Flammang was one of the original founders and stockholders of the Luxembourger Gazette, as were fellow St. Donatus residents Dr. Peter Schwind and Peter Heuertz, The most "thoroughly Luxembourger newspaper in the U.S.", the Gazette was published in Dubuque, Iowa by the Catholic Printing Company from 1871-1918, Its mission was "to instruct, advise and admonish in all things Luxembourger." Flammang served as president of the paper in 1871, the result of a proviso in the by-laws of the company which declared that as long as a priest was stockholder, such priest would act as president. Flammang contributed articles and editorials to the Gazette for many years under the pseudonym, "Peregrinus". (History of the Catholic Press of Iowa, p, 18) By 1874; the Gazette was ranked seventh among Catholic newspapers with a circulation of approximately 3,000.

-National Registry Entry

- Marker Text

Description: See long description - Michael Flamming was the long serving priest of St. Donatus Parish and responsible for the construction of the famous St. Donatus Way of the Cross. Date of birth: 12/06/1825 Date of death: 12/06/1883 Area of notoriety: Religion Marker Type: Headstone Setting: Outdoor Visiting Hours/Restrictions: Daylight Hours Fee required?: No Web site: [Web Link]

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