Venerable Nelson Baker: A Man of Great Faith
In the city of Lackawanna, New York, near Buffalo, there is an incredibly beautiful basilica dedicated to Our Lady of Victory. This church was built as an act of love and thanksgiving to Jesus and the Blessed Mother by a priest who lived a life of great faith.
Nelson Baker was born on February 16, 1842 in Buffalo, New York to a Catholic mother and a Lutheran father. Nelson and his two brothers were brought up as Lutheran, but when he was nine years old, he was baptized as a Catholic and later received Holy Communion and Confirmation. From a young age, he was devoted to the Blessed Mother. Nelson attended the local public schools and after graduating from high school, he worked for his father in his general store and grocery. He was in the military for a brief time, as a private in the New York State militia for six weeks during the Civil War in 1863; his unit was sent to end the New York draft riots. Afterwards, Nelson and another man started a grain and feed business which became quite successful. Nelson also began volunteering with Father Joseph Hines at St. Joseph’s orphanage. He began to discern a call to the priesthood and received instruction in Latin from a Jesuit priest who was the pastor of St. Michael’s Church in Buffalo. After going on an Ignatian retreat, he asked the Bishop of Buffalo if he could be admitted into the seminary. The following year, in 1869, he went to Our Lady of the Angels Seminary in Niagara, New York.
While in seminary, Nelson became very ill. He developed erysipelas, a skin disease and had to be hospitalized for eleven weeks. In 1874, he learned of an American pilgrimage to Rome led by the Bishop of Fort Wayne, Indiana, and asked his bishop and the rector of the seminary if he could go as an act of thanksgiving for his recovery. They agreed. The pilgrimage began in Paris and it was there that Nelson had an experience that would have a great influence on his life. When visiting the Church of Notre Dame des Victoires, Nelson felt great love for Our Lady under that title and promised to dedicate his life to her service and to promote devotion to her. After two more years of seminary, Nelson Baker was ordained a priest on St. Joseph’s Day, March 19, 1876, at age thirty–four.
