The first cemetery at Saint John's (c.1869), a plot of about thirty square feet, was located in the area in front of the present Abbot Peter Engel Science Center.
In 1875, Wolfgang Northman, OSB, drew up plans for the layout of a new cemetery to be located on an acre of a hill lying a quarter mile south of the monastery. In the winter of 1875-76, Abbot Alexius Edelbrock, OSB, ordered that the hill be cleared of timber, and a worthy cemetery laid out on its eastern slope for the members of the community and the local parish of Saint John the Baptist. Ironically, Wolfgang died on February 8, 1876, at the age of 33, and was the first to be interred in the new cemetery. On February 10, following a solemn Requiem Mass, a procession lead by the mournful sounds of the Saint John's College Band, accompanied a large number of monks and mourners to the cemetery to bury Wolfgang.
On September 12, 1876, a large white cross was raised on the hill and on November 2, the monks buried in the original cemetery were re-interred: Demetrius de Marogna, OSB, the first prior of St. John's (†March 27, 1869); Placid Brixius, OSB, a carpenter who helped build the first convent for the Benedictine Sisters at St. Joseph (†June 28, 1871); and Othmar Wirtz, OSB, the prior who oversaw the move of the monastery from St. Cloud to Collegeville (†June 8, 1874). Three students from the college also were re-interred in the new cemetery: Max Schmoeger (†January 1, 1870); Martin McIntire (†March 4, 1871); and John Bonne (†April 7, 1872). Two monks who had been buried in the parish cemetery in St. Joseph, were re-interred on November 9, 1876: Benno Muckenthaler (†March 27, 1859), one of the pioneer monks whose relatives in Bavaria sent him the first church bell in Stearns County, and Novice Gall Kederly (†November 5, 1864). Benno and Gall died before the community was located at the present site and are considered monks of Saint Vincent's Archabbey, Latrobe, Pennsylvania.
Transporting the coffins of deceased monks to the cemetery in the early years was by an open surrey. In 1932 a horse-drawn hearse, equipped with side-lantern and heavy black curtains, was given to Saint John's by the Wenner Funeral Home of Cold Spring. For 21 years this stately carriage, pulled by two horses, transported the remains of over seventy monks to the cemetery. On July 22, 1953, following the funeral of Innocent Gertken, OSB, the hearse was retired and given to the St. Cloud Chamber of Commerce.
Over the years, landscaping improvements were made in the abbey cemetery. In 1915, a wall of cement blocks was built along the front of the cemetery. At the entrance, a large double gate of ornamental wrought iron was installed flanked by two metal sculptured angels with trumpets. Other parts of the cemetery were cleared and arbor vitae hedges planted. In 1932 the cemetery was seeded with grass and an "avenue of pines" was planted. In 1989, Benedict Leuthner, OSB, lined the driveway with 53 poplar trees.
In 1952, Abbot Baldwin Dworschak, OSB, asked for plans to renovate the cemetery as a way to "honor the first abbots and pioneer monks." On September 9, 1953, a new granite stone designed by Frank Kacmarcik, OblSB, was installed over the grave of Abbot Alcuin Deutsch, OSB, and a design to replace the crumbling limestone monuments with Cold Spring granite was approved.
On June 18, 1964, coordinated by John Anderl, OSB, and Charles Wenner, the graves of the five deceased abbots were moved to new vaults at the west end of the cemetery. Under the direction of Roger Klassen, OSB, twelve novices helped with the project. Cloud Meinberg, OSB, designed the center granite turnabout.
The original layout of the cemetery contained separate sections for brothers and priests. After Vatican Council II, this practice was discontinued and the monks were buried in the order in which they died. On March 16, 1967, Kevin Brush, OSB, was the first brother to be buried in the priests' section. On that same date the tradition of a morning funeral service was changed to an afternoon service.
In 2007 a renovation of the cemetery was begun. The poplars lining the center road were removed, as were the entrance walls nearest the lake and the evergreen trees immediately behind it. The cemetery was expanded to the south and landscaped to provide options such as hillside columbaria as well as traditional burials to both parishioners and friends of St. John's.
Further Notes on President Northmann
Father Wolfgang Northman (1842-1876) was appointed president of Saint John's College in 1867 for a five year term. The college had been chartered ten years earlier as St. John's Seminary but had continued to enroll students year by year under the direction of whoever happened to be in charge of the small monastic community. Unlike the 1854 charter of Hamline University which included details of organizational structure and programs, the St. John's charter merely named the officers of the corporation—president, secretary, and procurator (treasurer)—and provided that they should serve as its trustees.
When the first abbot, Rupert Seidenbusch, arrived from Pennsylvania in 1867 he immediately appointed Father Wolfgang president and inaugurated a building program. He found the entire community, monks and students, newly located at what was to be its permanent site on the high ground at the north end of the lake. Monks and students lived in a hastily constructed fieldstone house and two adjoining wooden structures taken apart and moved there from a temporary site more than a mile away through the woods.
Abbot Rupert called for brick yards on the property and projected a new two-storey brick residence 100 x 40 feet adjoining the stone house to the north to be completed in 1868. He also called for two more monks from Pennsylvania to bolster the faculty. In August he left for Europe on a begging tour and was gone until the following March.
When classes started in the fall Father Wolfgang found himself with fifty-two students and a faculty of eleven full and part-time instructors including himself. He had had all of his education at St. Vincent Abbey in Pennsylvania. His field was music but he also taught church history, Greek, Latin, mathematics, and bookkeeping. At the time of his death only eight years later it was noted that he was a fine organist and accompanied the choir on important liturgical occasions. The instrument would have been a harmonium; the first pipe organ at Saint John's would be installed in 1891.
No year-by-year records of his administration survive but two milestone events stand out. In 1869 the school was authorized to grant college degrees and in 1870 the college published its first catalog.
The catalog was a dignified sixteen-page booklet printed by The Wanderer in St. Paul. One page sufficed to list the course of studies for the elementary school, the six years of the classical and commercial course which would eventually become separate high school and college programs, and the ecclesiastical course for seminarians. Naming the officers and the faculty took up three pages. Listing all ninety-four students—twelve seminarians and eighty-two college students—filled three pages. Nearly half the catalog, seven pages, carried an itemized list of premiums distributed at Commencement on June 28, 1870, for distinction in everything from Latin to elocution to bookkeeping.
Most entertaining is a high-flown and highly imaginative introduction describing the sylvan glory of this new Athens. After a boost for Benedictine education down the ages the writer gives directions about how to get to the place, eighty-six miles from St. Paul, all but the last twelve by the St. Paul & Pacific Rail Road. Effort to get to the "highly picturesque grounds of the College" is amply rewarded. The lake, six miles in circumference, abounds in fish. On the west side of the campus flows the Watab River, "beautiful in its windings through the valleys as the Peneus through the Thessalian Tempe of old." If esthetic superlatives are not enough, it is good to know that "the location is undoubtedly one of the healthiest in the Union, as many who have regained health and vigor testify."
Getting down to business, the school year comprises two five-month sessions, tuition and board is $90 a session, and students who make unusual progress may abbreviate the six years usually required to complete the Classical and Commercial course.
Wolfgang Northman completed his five-year term as president in 1872 and was followed by Alexius Edelbrock, who kept the title when he was elected abbot three years later and appointed a vice-president to direct the abbey's academic enterprise. Father Wolfgang continued to teach music and do parish work until he died unexpectedly on a winter morning in 1876. He was the first monk to be buried in the abbey cemetery.
On February 8, 1876 came the saddening news that Father Wolfgang Northman, the former President of the College, had suddenly died at Meier's Grove. He was born at St. Louis, Missouri, March 15, 1842, made the simple vows of the Order at St. Vincent's, where he had also pursued the classical course, in 1860. A few years later he had left for Minnesota, and was followed at later periods by his two brothers, Fathers Ulric and Bede. Since 1875 he had been employed in the missions in the western part of Stearns County. His remains were brought to the abbey for burial. On February 10, after the community had recited the Office of the Dead, a solemn Requiem was sung at which Father Ulric, brother of the deceased, officiated and a funeral sermon was delivered by the Rt. Rev. Abbot. Bishop Seidenbusch, officiated at the final ceremonies in the presence of the entire community, visiting clergy, and several hundreds of former parishioners of Father Wolfgang. His memory is revered to this day by all who enjoyed the privilege of his acquaintance.
"From the St. Cloud Journal, dated February 10, 1876:
FOUND DEAD IN BED
The Rev. Wolfgang Northman, O.S.B.
Tuesday Coroner Overbook received a dispatch that the Rev. Wolfgang Northman, O.S.B., (better known as Father Wolfgang) had been found dead in his bed that morning at Meyer's Grove, about five miles from Melrose. The Coroner went by that afternoon's train, accompanied by F.E. Searle, Esq. A Coroner's jury was empaneled, consisting of J. Marthaler, John Weber, J. Nate, A. Nate, J. Kramer, and P. Philipsen, and from the evidence taken it appears that the deceased had called at the house of John Heimert about five o'clock Monday afternoon and remained until eight o'clock, being apparently in good health. Mr. H. Then accompanied him to his room, the two remaining together until half-past nine, playing the organ and singing, when Mr. H. Returned home. The next morning, the priest not appearing at the time appointed for mass, Mr. Heimert want to his room and found him lying on the bed dead. Dr. Campbell, of Melrose, was present at the inquest and gave it as his opinion that death had been caused by heart disease, and the verdict of theory was to this effect. Father Wolfgang was about 46 years of age, and had been for several years, before going to Meyer's Grove, a professor at St. John's College. He was well and favorably known in this city. The remains were followed to Melrose yesterday morning by a large concourse of people, and were brought to St. Jo. and taken thence to St. John's College, where the funeral will take place today. A number of persons went from this city to the College this morning to attend the funeral." --Added by contributor: Pithecanthropus (50908722)
In 1875, Wolfgang Northman, OSB, drew up plans for the layout of a new cemetery to be located on an acre of a hill lying a quarter mile south of the monastery. In the winter of 1875-76, Abbot Alexius Edelbrock, OSB, ordered that the hill be cleared of timber, and a worthy cemetery laid out on its eastern slope for the members of the community and the local parish of Saint John the Baptist. Ironically, Wolfgang died on February 8, 1876, at the age of 33, and was the first to be interred in the new cemetery. On February 10, following a solemn Requiem Mass, a procession lead by the mournful sounds of the Saint John's College Band, accompanied a large number of monks and mourners to the cemetery to bury Wolfgang.
On September 12, 1876, a large white cross was raised on the hill and on November 2, the monks buried in the original cemetery were re-interred: Demetrius de Marogna, OSB, the first prior of St. John's (†March 27, 1869); Placid Brixius, OSB, a carpenter who helped build the first convent for the Benedictine Sisters at St. Joseph (†June 28, 1871); and Othmar Wirtz, OSB, the prior who oversaw the move of the monastery from St. Cloud to Collegeville (†June 8, 1874). Three students from the college also were re-interred in the new cemetery: Max Schmoeger (†January 1, 1870); Martin McIntire (†March 4, 1871); and John Bonne (†April 7, 1872). Two monks who had been buried in the parish cemetery in St. Joseph, were re-interred on November 9, 1876: Benno Muckenthaler (†March 27, 1859), one of the pioneer monks whose relatives in Bavaria sent him the first church bell in Stearns County, and Novice Gall Kederly (†November 5, 1864). Benno and Gall died before the community was located at the present site and are considered monks of Saint Vincent's Archabbey, Latrobe, Pennsylvania.
Transporting the coffins of deceased monks to the cemetery in the early years was by an open surrey. In 1932 a horse-drawn hearse, equipped with side-lantern and heavy black curtains, was given to Saint John's by the Wenner Funeral Home of Cold Spring. For 21 years this stately carriage, pulled by two horses, transported the remains of over seventy monks to the cemetery. On July 22, 1953, following the funeral of Innocent Gertken, OSB, the hearse was retired and given to the St. Cloud Chamber of Commerce.
Over the years, landscaping improvements were made in the abbey cemetery. In 1915, a wall of cement blocks was built along the front of the cemetery. At the entrance, a large double gate of ornamental wrought iron was installed flanked by two metal sculptured angels with trumpets. Other parts of the cemetery were cleared and arbor vitae hedges planted. In 1932 the cemetery was seeded with grass and an "avenue of pines" was planted. In 1989, Benedict Leuthner, OSB, lined the driveway with 53 poplar trees.
In 1952, Abbot Baldwin Dworschak, OSB, asked for plans to renovate the cemetery as a way to "honor the first abbots and pioneer monks." On September 9, 1953, a new granite stone designed by Frank Kacmarcik, OblSB, was installed over the grave of Abbot Alcuin Deutsch, OSB, and a design to replace the crumbling limestone monuments with Cold Spring granite was approved.
On June 18, 1964, coordinated by John Anderl, OSB, and Charles Wenner, the graves of the five deceased abbots were moved to new vaults at the west end of the cemetery. Under the direction of Roger Klassen, OSB, twelve novices helped with the project. Cloud Meinberg, OSB, designed the center granite turnabout.
The original layout of the cemetery contained separate sections for brothers and priests. After Vatican Council II, this practice was discontinued and the monks were buried in the order in which they died. On March 16, 1967, Kevin Brush, OSB, was the first brother to be buried in the priests' section. On that same date the tradition of a morning funeral service was changed to an afternoon service.
In 2007 a renovation of the cemetery was begun. The poplars lining the center road were removed, as were the entrance walls nearest the lake and the evergreen trees immediately behind it. The cemetery was expanded to the south and landscaped to provide options such as hillside columbaria as well as traditional burials to both parishioners and friends of St. John's.
Further Notes on President Northmann
Father Wolfgang Northman (1842-1876) was appointed president of Saint John's College in 1867 for a five year term. The college had been chartered ten years earlier as St. John's Seminary but had continued to enroll students year by year under the direction of whoever happened to be in charge of the small monastic community. Unlike the 1854 charter of Hamline University which included details of organizational structure and programs, the St. John's charter merely named the officers of the corporation—president, secretary, and procurator (treasurer)—and provided that they should serve as its trustees.
When the first abbot, Rupert Seidenbusch, arrived from Pennsylvania in 1867 he immediately appointed Father Wolfgang president and inaugurated a building program. He found the entire community, monks and students, newly located at what was to be its permanent site on the high ground at the north end of the lake. Monks and students lived in a hastily constructed fieldstone house and two adjoining wooden structures taken apart and moved there from a temporary site more than a mile away through the woods.
Abbot Rupert called for brick yards on the property and projected a new two-storey brick residence 100 x 40 feet adjoining the stone house to the north to be completed in 1868. He also called for two more monks from Pennsylvania to bolster the faculty. In August he left for Europe on a begging tour and was gone until the following March.
When classes started in the fall Father Wolfgang found himself with fifty-two students and a faculty of eleven full and part-time instructors including himself. He had had all of his education at St. Vincent Abbey in Pennsylvania. His field was music but he also taught church history, Greek, Latin, mathematics, and bookkeeping. At the time of his death only eight years later it was noted that he was a fine organist and accompanied the choir on important liturgical occasions. The instrument would have been a harmonium; the first pipe organ at Saint John's would be installed in 1891.
No year-by-year records of his administration survive but two milestone events stand out. In 1869 the school was authorized to grant college degrees and in 1870 the college published its first catalog.
The catalog was a dignified sixteen-page booklet printed by The Wanderer in St. Paul. One page sufficed to list the course of studies for the elementary school, the six years of the classical and commercial course which would eventually become separate high school and college programs, and the ecclesiastical course for seminarians. Naming the officers and the faculty took up three pages. Listing all ninety-four students—twelve seminarians and eighty-two college students—filled three pages. Nearly half the catalog, seven pages, carried an itemized list of premiums distributed at Commencement on June 28, 1870, for distinction in everything from Latin to elocution to bookkeeping.
Most entertaining is a high-flown and highly imaginative introduction describing the sylvan glory of this new Athens. After a boost for Benedictine education down the ages the writer gives directions about how to get to the place, eighty-six miles from St. Paul, all but the last twelve by the St. Paul & Pacific Rail Road. Effort to get to the "highly picturesque grounds of the College" is amply rewarded. The lake, six miles in circumference, abounds in fish. On the west side of the campus flows the Watab River, "beautiful in its windings through the valleys as the Peneus through the Thessalian Tempe of old." If esthetic superlatives are not enough, it is good to know that "the location is undoubtedly one of the healthiest in the Union, as many who have regained health and vigor testify."
Getting down to business, the school year comprises two five-month sessions, tuition and board is $90 a session, and students who make unusual progress may abbreviate the six years usually required to complete the Classical and Commercial course.
Wolfgang Northman completed his five-year term as president in 1872 and was followed by Alexius Edelbrock, who kept the title when he was elected abbot three years later and appointed a vice-president to direct the abbey's academic enterprise. Father Wolfgang continued to teach music and do parish work until he died unexpectedly on a winter morning in 1876. He was the first monk to be buried in the abbey cemetery.
On February 8, 1876 came the saddening news that Father Wolfgang Northman, the former President of the College, had suddenly died at Meier's Grove. He was born at St. Louis, Missouri, March 15, 1842, made the simple vows of the Order at St. Vincent's, where he had also pursued the classical course, in 1860. A few years later he had left for Minnesota, and was followed at later periods by his two brothers, Fathers Ulric and Bede. Since 1875 he had been employed in the missions in the western part of Stearns County. His remains were brought to the abbey for burial. On February 10, after the community had recited the Office of the Dead, a solemn Requiem was sung at which Father Ulric, brother of the deceased, officiated and a funeral sermon was delivered by the Rt. Rev. Abbot. Bishop Seidenbusch, officiated at the final ceremonies in the presence of the entire community, visiting clergy, and several hundreds of former parishioners of Father Wolfgang. His memory is revered to this day by all who enjoyed the privilege of his acquaintance.
"From the St. Cloud Journal, dated February 10, 1876:
FOUND DEAD IN BED
The Rev. Wolfgang Northman, O.S.B.
Tuesday Coroner Overbook received a dispatch that the Rev. Wolfgang Northman, O.S.B., (better known as Father Wolfgang) had been found dead in his bed that morning at Meyer's Grove, about five miles from Melrose. The Coroner went by that afternoon's train, accompanied by F.E. Searle, Esq. A Coroner's jury was empaneled, consisting of J. Marthaler, John Weber, J. Nate, A. Nate, J. Kramer, and P. Philipsen, and from the evidence taken it appears that the deceased had called at the house of John Heimert about five o'clock Monday afternoon and remained until eight o'clock, being apparently in good health. Mr. H. Then accompanied him to his room, the two remaining together until half-past nine, playing the organ and singing, when Mr. H. Returned home. The next morning, the priest not appearing at the time appointed for mass, Mr. Heimert want to his room and found him lying on the bed dead. Dr. Campbell, of Melrose, was present at the inquest and gave it as his opinion that death had been caused by heart disease, and the verdict of theory was to this effect. Father Wolfgang was about 46 years of age, and had been for several years, before going to Meyer's Grove, a professor at St. John's College. He was well and favorably known in this city. The remains were followed to Melrose yesterday morning by a large concourse of people, and were brought to St. Jo. and taken thence to St. John's College, where the funeral will take place today. A number of persons went from this city to the College this morning to attend the funeral." --Added by contributor: Pithecanthropus (50908722)
The first cemetery at Saint John's (c.1869), a plot of about thirty square feet, was located in the area in front of the present Abbot Peter Engel Science Center.
In 1875, Wolfgang Northman, OSB, drew up plans for the layout of a new cemetery to be located on an acre of a hill lying a quarter mile south of the monastery. In the winter of 1875-76, Abbot Alexius Edelbrock, OSB, ordered that the hill be cleared of timber, and a worthy cemetery laid out on its eastern slope for the members of the community and the local parish of Saint John the Baptist. Ironically, Wolfgang died on February 8, 1876, at the age of 33, and was the first to be interred in the new cemetery. On February 10, following a solemn Requiem Mass, a procession lead by the mournful sounds of the Saint John's College Band, accompanied a large number of monks and mourners to the cemetery to bury Wolfgang.
On September 12, 1876, a large white cross was raised on the hill and on November 2, the monks buried in the original cemetery were re-interred: Demetrius de Marogna, OSB, the first prior of St. John's (†March 27, 1869); Placid Brixius, OSB, a carpenter who helped build the first convent for the Benedictine Sisters at St. Joseph (†June 28, 1871); and Othmar Wirtz, OSB, the prior who oversaw the move of the monastery from St. Cloud to Collegeville (†June 8, 1874). Three students from the college also were re-interred in the new cemetery: Max Schmoeger (†January 1, 1870); Martin McIntire (†March 4, 1871); and John Bonne (†April 7, 1872). Two monks who had been buried in the parish cemetery in St. Joseph, were re-interred on November 9, 1876: Benno Muckenthaler (†March 27, 1859), one of the pioneer monks whose relatives in Bavaria sent him the first church bell in Stearns County, and Novice Gall Kederly (†November 5, 1864). Benno and Gall died before the community was located at the present site and are considered monks of Saint Vincent's Archabbey, Latrobe, Pennsylvania.
Transporting the coffins of deceased monks to the cemetery in the early years was by an open surrey. In 1932 a horse-drawn hearse, equipped with side-lantern and heavy black curtains, was given to Saint John's by the Wenner Funeral Home of Cold Spring. For 21 years this stately carriage, pulled by two horses, transported the remains of over seventy monks to the cemetery. On July 22, 1953, following the funeral of Innocent Gertken, OSB, the hearse was retired and given to the St. Cloud Chamber of Commerce.
Over the years, landscaping improvements were made in the abbey cemetery. In 1915, a wall of cement blocks was built along the front of the cemetery. At the entrance, a large double gate of ornamental wrought iron was installed flanked by two metal sculptured angels with trumpets. Other parts of the cemetery were cleared and arbor vitae hedges planted. In 1932 the cemetery was seeded with grass and an "avenue of pines" was planted. In 1989, Benedict Leuthner, OSB, lined the driveway with 53 poplar trees.
In 1952, Abbot Baldwin Dworschak, OSB, asked for plans to renovate the cemetery as a way to "honor the first abbots and pioneer monks." On September 9, 1953, a new granite stone designed by Frank Kacmarcik, OblSB, was installed over the grave of Abbot Alcuin Deutsch, OSB, and a design to replace the crumbling limestone monuments with Cold Spring granite was approved.
On June 18, 1964, coordinated by John Anderl, OSB, and Charles Wenner, the graves of the five deceased abbots were moved to new vaults at the west end of the cemetery. Under the direction of Roger Klassen, OSB, twelve novices helped with the project. Cloud Meinberg, OSB, designed the center granite turnabout.
The original layout of the cemetery contained separate sections for brothers and priests. After Vatican Council II, this practice was discontinued and the monks were buried in the order in which they died. On March 16, 1967, Kevin Brush, OSB, was the first brother to be buried in the priests' section. On that same date the tradition of a morning funeral service was changed to an afternoon service.
In 2007 a renovation of the cemetery was begun. The poplars lining the center road were removed, as were the entrance walls nearest the lake and the evergreen trees immediately behind it. The cemetery was expanded to the south and landscaped to provide options such as hillside columbaria as well as traditional burials to both parishioners and friends of St. John's.
Further Notes on President Northmann
Father Wolfgang Northman (1842-1876) was appointed president of Saint John's College in 1867 for a five year term. The college had been chartered ten years earlier as St. John's Seminary but had continued to enroll students year by year under the direction of whoever happened to be in charge of the small monastic community. Unlike the 1854 charter of Hamline University which included details of organizational structure and programs, the St. John's charter merely named the officers of the corporation—president, secretary, and procurator (treasurer)—and provided that they should serve as its trustees.
When the first abbot, Rupert Seidenbusch, arrived from Pennsylvania in 1867 he immediately appointed Father Wolfgang president and inaugurated a building program. He found the entire community, monks and students, newly located at what was to be its permanent site on the high ground at the north end of the lake. Monks and students lived in a hastily constructed fieldstone house and two adjoining wooden structures taken apart and moved there from a temporary site more than a mile away through the woods.
Abbot Rupert called for brick yards on the property and projected a new two-storey brick residence 100 x 40 feet adjoining the stone house to the north to be completed in 1868. He also called for two more monks from Pennsylvania to bolster the faculty. In August he left for Europe on a begging tour and was gone until the following March.
When classes started in the fall Father Wolfgang found himself with fifty-two students and a faculty of eleven full and part-time instructors including himself. He had had all of his education at St. Vincent Abbey in Pennsylvania. His field was music but he also taught church history, Greek, Latin, mathematics, and bookkeeping. At the time of his death only eight years later it was noted that he was a fine organist and accompanied the choir on important liturgical occasions. The instrument would have been a harmonium; the first pipe organ at Saint John's would be installed in 1891.
No year-by-year records of his administration survive but two milestone events stand out. In 1869 the school was authorized to grant college degrees and in 1870 the college published its first catalog.
The catalog was a dignified sixteen-page booklet printed by The Wanderer in St. Paul. One page sufficed to list the course of studies for the elementary school, the six years of the classical and commercial course which would eventually become separate high school and college programs, and the ecclesiastical course for seminarians. Naming the officers and the faculty took up three pages. Listing all ninety-four students—twelve seminarians and eighty-two college students—filled three pages. Nearly half the catalog, seven pages, carried an itemized list of premiums distributed at Commencement on June 28, 1870, for distinction in everything from Latin to elocution to bookkeeping.
Most entertaining is a high-flown and highly imaginative introduction describing the sylvan glory of this new Athens. After a boost for Benedictine education down the ages the writer gives directions about how to get to the place, eighty-six miles from St. Paul, all but the last twelve by the St. Paul & Pacific Rail Road. Effort to get to the "highly picturesque grounds of the College" is amply rewarded. The lake, six miles in circumference, abounds in fish. On the west side of the campus flows the Watab River, "beautiful in its windings through the valleys as the Peneus through the Thessalian Tempe of old." If esthetic superlatives are not enough, it is good to know that "the location is undoubtedly one of the healthiest in the Union, as many who have regained health and vigor testify."
Getting down to business, the school year comprises two five-month sessions, tuition and board is $90 a session, and students who make unusual progress may abbreviate the six years usually required to complete the Classical and Commercial course.
Wolfgang Northman completed his five-year term as president in 1872 and was followed by Alexius Edelbrock, who kept the title when he was elected abbot three years later and appointed a vice-president to direct the abbey's academic enterprise. Father Wolfgang continued to teach music and do parish work until he died unexpectedly on a winter morning in 1876. He was the first monk to be buried in the abbey cemetery.
On February 8, 1876 came the saddening news that Father Wolfgang Northman, the former President of the College, had suddenly died at Meier's Grove. He was born at St. Louis, Missouri, March 15, 1842, made the simple vows of the Order at St. Vincent's, where he had also pursued the classical course, in 1860. A few years later he had left for Minnesota, and was followed at later periods by his two brothers, Fathers Ulric and Bede. Since 1875 he had been employed in the missions in the western part of Stearns County. His remains were brought to the abbey for burial. On February 10, after the community had recited the Office of the Dead, a solemn Requiem was sung at which Father Ulric, brother of the deceased, officiated and a funeral sermon was delivered by the Rt. Rev. Abbot. Bishop Seidenbusch, officiated at the final ceremonies in the presence of the entire community, visiting clergy, and several hundreds of former parishioners of Father Wolfgang. His memory is revered to this day by all who enjoyed the privilege of his acquaintance.
"From the St. Cloud Journal, dated February 10, 1876:
FOUND DEAD IN BED
The Rev. Wolfgang Northman, O.S.B.
Tuesday Coroner Overbook received a dispatch that the Rev. Wolfgang Northman, O.S.B., (better known as Father Wolfgang) had been found dead in his bed that morning at Meyer's Grove, about five miles from Melrose. The Coroner went by that afternoon's train, accompanied by F.E. Searle, Esq. A Coroner's jury was empaneled, consisting of J. Marthaler, John Weber, J. Nate, A. Nate, J. Kramer, and P. Philipsen, and from the evidence taken it appears that the deceased had called at the house of John Heimert about five o'clock Monday afternoon and remained until eight o'clock, being apparently in good health. Mr. H. Then accompanied him to his room, the two remaining together until half-past nine, playing the organ and singing, when Mr. H. Returned home. The next morning, the priest not appearing at the time appointed for mass, Mr. Heimert want to his room and found him lying on the bed dead. Dr. Campbell, of Melrose, was present at the inquest and gave it as his opinion that death had been caused by heart disease, and the verdict of theory was to this effect. Father Wolfgang was about 46 years of age, and had been for several years, before going to Meyer's Grove, a professor at St. John's College. He was well and favorably known in this city. The remains were followed to Melrose yesterday morning by a large concourse of people, and were brought to St. Jo. and taken thence to St. John's College, where the funeral will take place today. A number of persons went from this city to the College this morning to attend the funeral." --Added by contributor: Pithecanthropus (50908722)
In 1875, Wolfgang Northman, OSB, drew up plans for the layout of a new cemetery to be located on an acre of a hill lying a quarter mile south of the monastery. In the winter of 1875-76, Abbot Alexius Edelbrock, OSB, ordered that the hill be cleared of timber, and a worthy cemetery laid out on its eastern slope for the members of the community and the local parish of Saint John the Baptist. Ironically, Wolfgang died on February 8, 1876, at the age of 33, and was the first to be interred in the new cemetery. On February 10, following a solemn Requiem Mass, a procession lead by the mournful sounds of the Saint John's College Band, accompanied a large number of monks and mourners to the cemetery to bury Wolfgang.
On September 12, 1876, a large white cross was raised on the hill and on November 2, the monks buried in the original cemetery were re-interred: Demetrius de Marogna, OSB, the first prior of St. John's (†March 27, 1869); Placid Brixius, OSB, a carpenter who helped build the first convent for the Benedictine Sisters at St. Joseph (†June 28, 1871); and Othmar Wirtz, OSB, the prior who oversaw the move of the monastery from St. Cloud to Collegeville (†June 8, 1874). Three students from the college also were re-interred in the new cemetery: Max Schmoeger (†January 1, 1870); Martin McIntire (†March 4, 1871); and John Bonne (†April 7, 1872). Two monks who had been buried in the parish cemetery in St. Joseph, were re-interred on November 9, 1876: Benno Muckenthaler (†March 27, 1859), one of the pioneer monks whose relatives in Bavaria sent him the first church bell in Stearns County, and Novice Gall Kederly (†November 5, 1864). Benno and Gall died before the community was located at the present site and are considered monks of Saint Vincent's Archabbey, Latrobe, Pennsylvania.
Transporting the coffins of deceased monks to the cemetery in the early years was by an open surrey. In 1932 a horse-drawn hearse, equipped with side-lantern and heavy black curtains, was given to Saint John's by the Wenner Funeral Home of Cold Spring. For 21 years this stately carriage, pulled by two horses, transported the remains of over seventy monks to the cemetery. On July 22, 1953, following the funeral of Innocent Gertken, OSB, the hearse was retired and given to the St. Cloud Chamber of Commerce.
Over the years, landscaping improvements were made in the abbey cemetery. In 1915, a wall of cement blocks was built along the front of the cemetery. At the entrance, a large double gate of ornamental wrought iron was installed flanked by two metal sculptured angels with trumpets. Other parts of the cemetery were cleared and arbor vitae hedges planted. In 1932 the cemetery was seeded with grass and an "avenue of pines" was planted. In 1989, Benedict Leuthner, OSB, lined the driveway with 53 poplar trees.
In 1952, Abbot Baldwin Dworschak, OSB, asked for plans to renovate the cemetery as a way to "honor the first abbots and pioneer monks." On September 9, 1953, a new granite stone designed by Frank Kacmarcik, OblSB, was installed over the grave of Abbot Alcuin Deutsch, OSB, and a design to replace the crumbling limestone monuments with Cold Spring granite was approved.
On June 18, 1964, coordinated by John Anderl, OSB, and Charles Wenner, the graves of the five deceased abbots were moved to new vaults at the west end of the cemetery. Under the direction of Roger Klassen, OSB, twelve novices helped with the project. Cloud Meinberg, OSB, designed the center granite turnabout.
The original layout of the cemetery contained separate sections for brothers and priests. After Vatican Council II, this practice was discontinued and the monks were buried in the order in which they died. On March 16, 1967, Kevin Brush, OSB, was the first brother to be buried in the priests' section. On that same date the tradition of a morning funeral service was changed to an afternoon service.
In 2007 a renovation of the cemetery was begun. The poplars lining the center road were removed, as were the entrance walls nearest the lake and the evergreen trees immediately behind it. The cemetery was expanded to the south and landscaped to provide options such as hillside columbaria as well as traditional burials to both parishioners and friends of St. John's.
Further Notes on President Northmann
Father Wolfgang Northman (1842-1876) was appointed president of Saint John's College in 1867 for a five year term. The college had been chartered ten years earlier as St. John's Seminary but had continued to enroll students year by year under the direction of whoever happened to be in charge of the small monastic community. Unlike the 1854 charter of Hamline University which included details of organizational structure and programs, the St. John's charter merely named the officers of the corporation—president, secretary, and procurator (treasurer)—and provided that they should serve as its trustees.
When the first abbot, Rupert Seidenbusch, arrived from Pennsylvania in 1867 he immediately appointed Father Wolfgang president and inaugurated a building program. He found the entire community, monks and students, newly located at what was to be its permanent site on the high ground at the north end of the lake. Monks and students lived in a hastily constructed fieldstone house and two adjoining wooden structures taken apart and moved there from a temporary site more than a mile away through the woods.
Abbot Rupert called for brick yards on the property and projected a new two-storey brick residence 100 x 40 feet adjoining the stone house to the north to be completed in 1868. He also called for two more monks from Pennsylvania to bolster the faculty. In August he left for Europe on a begging tour and was gone until the following March.
When classes started in the fall Father Wolfgang found himself with fifty-two students and a faculty of eleven full and part-time instructors including himself. He had had all of his education at St. Vincent Abbey in Pennsylvania. His field was music but he also taught church history, Greek, Latin, mathematics, and bookkeeping. At the time of his death only eight years later it was noted that he was a fine organist and accompanied the choir on important liturgical occasions. The instrument would have been a harmonium; the first pipe organ at Saint John's would be installed in 1891.
No year-by-year records of his administration survive but two milestone events stand out. In 1869 the school was authorized to grant college degrees and in 1870 the college published its first catalog.
The catalog was a dignified sixteen-page booklet printed by The Wanderer in St. Paul. One page sufficed to list the course of studies for the elementary school, the six years of the classical and commercial course which would eventually become separate high school and college programs, and the ecclesiastical course for seminarians. Naming the officers and the faculty took up three pages. Listing all ninety-four students—twelve seminarians and eighty-two college students—filled three pages. Nearly half the catalog, seven pages, carried an itemized list of premiums distributed at Commencement on June 28, 1870, for distinction in everything from Latin to elocution to bookkeeping.
Most entertaining is a high-flown and highly imaginative introduction describing the sylvan glory of this new Athens. After a boost for Benedictine education down the ages the writer gives directions about how to get to the place, eighty-six miles from St. Paul, all but the last twelve by the St. Paul & Pacific Rail Road. Effort to get to the "highly picturesque grounds of the College" is amply rewarded. The lake, six miles in circumference, abounds in fish. On the west side of the campus flows the Watab River, "beautiful in its windings through the valleys as the Peneus through the Thessalian Tempe of old." If esthetic superlatives are not enough, it is good to know that "the location is undoubtedly one of the healthiest in the Union, as many who have regained health and vigor testify."
Getting down to business, the school year comprises two five-month sessions, tuition and board is $90 a session, and students who make unusual progress may abbreviate the six years usually required to complete the Classical and Commercial course.
Wolfgang Northman completed his five-year term as president in 1872 and was followed by Alexius Edelbrock, who kept the title when he was elected abbot three years later and appointed a vice-president to direct the abbey's academic enterprise. Father Wolfgang continued to teach music and do parish work until he died unexpectedly on a winter morning in 1876. He was the first monk to be buried in the abbey cemetery.
On February 8, 1876 came the saddening news that Father Wolfgang Northman, the former President of the College, had suddenly died at Meier's Grove. He was born at St. Louis, Missouri, March 15, 1842, made the simple vows of the Order at St. Vincent's, where he had also pursued the classical course, in 1860. A few years later he had left for Minnesota, and was followed at later periods by his two brothers, Fathers Ulric and Bede. Since 1875 he had been employed in the missions in the western part of Stearns County. His remains were brought to the abbey for burial. On February 10, after the community had recited the Office of the Dead, a solemn Requiem was sung at which Father Ulric, brother of the deceased, officiated and a funeral sermon was delivered by the Rt. Rev. Abbot. Bishop Seidenbusch, officiated at the final ceremonies in the presence of the entire community, visiting clergy, and several hundreds of former parishioners of Father Wolfgang. His memory is revered to this day by all who enjoyed the privilege of his acquaintance.
"From the St. Cloud Journal, dated February 10, 1876:
FOUND DEAD IN BED
The Rev. Wolfgang Northman, O.S.B.
Tuesday Coroner Overbook received a dispatch that the Rev. Wolfgang Northman, O.S.B., (better known as Father Wolfgang) had been found dead in his bed that morning at Meyer's Grove, about five miles from Melrose. The Coroner went by that afternoon's train, accompanied by F.E. Searle, Esq. A Coroner's jury was empaneled, consisting of J. Marthaler, John Weber, J. Nate, A. Nate, J. Kramer, and P. Philipsen, and from the evidence taken it appears that the deceased had called at the house of John Heimert about five o'clock Monday afternoon and remained until eight o'clock, being apparently in good health. Mr. H. Then accompanied him to his room, the two remaining together until half-past nine, playing the organ and singing, when Mr. H. Returned home. The next morning, the priest not appearing at the time appointed for mass, Mr. Heimert want to his room and found him lying on the bed dead. Dr. Campbell, of Melrose, was present at the inquest and gave it as his opinion that death had been caused by heart disease, and the verdict of theory was to this effect. Father Wolfgang was about 46 years of age, and had been for several years, before going to Meyer's Grove, a professor at St. John's College. He was well and favorably known in this city. The remains were followed to Melrose yesterday morning by a large concourse of people, and were brought to St. Jo. and taken thence to St. John's College, where the funeral will take place today. A number of persons went from this city to the College this morning to attend the funeral." --Added by contributor: Pithecanthropus (50908722)
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