Fr. Demetrius Gallitzin - Loretto, PA - Statues of Religious Figures on Waymarking.com

This statue of Father Demetrius Gallitzin is located above his tomb in the yard in front of the Basilica of Saint Michael the Archangel on Saint Mary Street in Loretto, Pennsylvania. The statue depicts Father Gallitzin wearing a cassock, holding a book in one hand and a cane in the other. On the base of the statue is says, "1799 - Demetrius Augustine, Prince Gallitzin, Born at the Hague December 22, 1770. Founded Loretto, 1799. Died May 6, 1840. This statue erected to his memory, 1899."

Demetrius Gallitzin was born a Russian Prince in 1770 in the Netherlands, where his father was the Russian Ambassador. He was baptized in the Russian Orthodox Church, with the Empress Catherine the Great as his godmother. After his mother converted to the Roman Catholic Church in 1787, Demertius did the same, taking the name of Augustine as his confirmation name. In 1792, Demetrius travelled to the United States, where he decided to enter Saint Mary's Seminary in Baltimore. He was ordained a priest in 1795 and became a missionary in Pennsylvania, Maryland, and West Virginia. He was named pastor of the McGuire Settlement in the Allegheny mountains in 1799, where he helped build up the community, renamed it Loretto, and built Saint Michael Church (now the Basilica of Saint Michael the Archangel). After many years of service to his community, Gallitzin died in 1840. In 2005, Gallitzin was declared a "Servant of God," and in 2007 his official cause for canonization was opened.

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Associated Religion(s): Roman Catholic Statue Location: Basilica of St. Michael the Archangel Entrance Fee: None Website: [Web Link] Artist: Not listed

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