John Luers

American prelate

His Excellency, The Most Reverend John Henry Luers
Bishop of Fort Wayne

Church	Roman Catholic Church
See	Diocese of Fort Wayne
In office	January 10, 1858 to June 29, 1871
Successor	Joseph Gregory Dwenger
Orders
Ordination	November 11, 1846
Consecration	by James Whitfield
Personal details
Born	(1819-09-29)September 29, 1819 Münster, Westphalia, Germany
Died	June 29, 1871(1871-06-29) (aged 51) Cleveland, Ohio, US
Nationality	German
Education	Athenaeum of Ohio

Styles of John Henry Luers

Reference style	The Most Reverend
Spoken style	Your Excellency
Religious style	Monsignor
Posthumous style	not applicable

John Henry Luers (September 29, 1819 – June 29, 1871) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as the first bishop of the new Diocese of Fort Wayne in Indiana from 1858 until his death in 1871.

Biography

Early life

Luers was born on September 29, 1819, near Münster in the Kingdom of Westphalia (now part of Germany). His family emigrated to the United States in 1831, settling on a farm near Piqua, Ohio. John Luers worked a store clerk in town. According to contemporary accounts, Luers, as a young man, was not religious and led a wild life.^[1] His father severely admonished him for neglecting his prayers.^[2]

In 1835, Luers' outlook towards Catholicism and service to others changed after meeting Archbishop John Baptist Purcell. Luers soon decided to become a priest. Purcell sent him to St. Francis Xavier Seminary in Cincinnati.^[2]

Priesthood

Luers was ordained a priest by Purcell for the Diocese of Cincinnati on November 11, 1846. ^[3] After his ordination, Luers was appointed pastor of St. Joseph's parish in Cincinnati. While there, he finished construction of the church and constructed several schools while eliminating the parish's debts. It soon became one of the largest and most important German congregations in the city.^[2]

Bishop of Fort Wayne

Pope Pius IX appointed Luers as the first bishop of the Diocese of Fort Wayne on September 22, 1857. He was consecrated in Cincinnati, Ohio, on January 10, 1858,^[3] by Archbishop James Whitfield. "In the evening, at nearby St. Joseph Church, Luers’ parishioners hosted a reception for their longtime pastor. On this occasion, they presented him with a mitre, crosier, pectoral cross, bishop’s cassock, ambry with episcopal seal, three pairs of pontifical shoes, and $1,200."^[4]

In 1863, Luers held a synod of priests in the diocese at the University of Notre Dame in which he established the laws and constitution for the diocese. Luers attended the Second Plenary Council in Baltimore in 1866.^[1]

As bishop, Luers founded several new parishes and missions, established an orphanage, and built a cathedral.^[3] In 1868, due to the large German-speaking population in the diocese, he invited the Poor Handmaids of Jesus Christ (PHJC) of Dernbach / Westerwald, a German religious order, to come to the diocese. The sisters established St. Joseph Hospital in Fort Wayne in 1869. In 1868, Luers established an orphanage in Rensselaer, Indiana, for children who had lost their parent during the American Civil War.^[1]

Death and legacy

In June 1871, during a vacancy of the See of Cleveland, Luers traveled to Cleveland, Ohio, to ordain a seminarian. While returning to the Cleveland train station on June 29, John Luers suffered a fatal stroke. He was age 51.^[5] Bishop Luers is buried in the crypt at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception.

At the time of Luers' death, the Diocese of Fort Wayne had 69 priests, 75 churches, ten chapels, one hospital, one orphan asylum, one college, 11 academies for girls, 40 parochial schools, and a Catholic population estimated at 50,000.^[3] The Franciscan Order founded Bishop Luers High School in 1958 in Fort Wayne.^[6]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c Wilson, James Grant; Fiske, John (1888). Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography. D. Appleton.
^ ^a ^b ^c Alerding, H. J., The Diocese of Fort Wayne, 1857-September 22, 1907, A Book of Historical Reference, 1669-1907, Fort Wayne: The Archer Printing Co. 1907, p. 30
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Hammer, Bonaventure. "Fort Wayne." The Catholic Encyclopedia Vol. 6. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1909. 20 October 2022 This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
^ Marlin, Jodi. "Items used by early bishops on loan to Diocesan Museum", Today's Catholic, December 18, 2019, Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend
^ "Bishop John Henry Luers [Catholic-Hierarchy]". www.catholic-hierarchy.org. Retrieved 2022-08-08.
^ Bishop Luers High School

This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Fort Wayne". Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.

External links

Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend

Catholic Church titles
Preceded by Founder	Bishop of Fort Wayne 1855–1871	Succeeded by Joseph Dwenger

Roman Catholic Diocese of Fort Wayne–South Bend

Bishops

Ordinaries: John Henry Luers; Joseph Gregory Dwenger; Joseph Rademacher; Herman Joseph Alerding; John F. Noll; Leo Aloysius Pursley; William Edward McManus; John Michael D'Arcy; Kevin C. Rhoades

Auxiliary bishops: Joseph Robert Crowley; John Richard Sheets; Daniel R. Jenky

Churches

Cathedrals: Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, Fort Wayne; St. Matthew Cathedral, South Bend

Basilica: Basilica of the Sacred Heart, Notre Dame

Parishes: St. Mary of the Assumption Church, Avilla; St. Mary's Catholic Church, Huntington; St. Adalbert Church, South Bend; St. Casimir Church, South Bend

Education

Higher education: Ancilla Domini College, Donaldson; University of Saint Francis, Fort Wayne; Holy Cross College, Notre Dame; Saint Mary's College, Notre Dame; University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame

High schools: Bishop Dwenger High School, Fort Wayne; Bishop Luers High School, Fort Wayne; Marian High School, Mishawaka; St. Joseph High School, South Bend

Priests

John George Bennett

John Paul Elford

Andrew Gregory Grutka

Miscellany

Our Sunday Visitor

Catholicism portal

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cincinnati

v t e Ordinaries of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati
Bishop	Edward Fenwick
Archbishops	John Baptist Purcell William Henry Elder Henry K. Moeller John T. McNicholas Karl Joseph Alter Paul Francis Leibold Joseph Bernardin Daniel Edward Pilarczyk Dennis Marion Schnurr
Catholicism portal

v t e Churches in the Archdiocese of Cincinnati
Cathedral	Cathedral Basilica of Saint Peter in Chains
Parishes	Cincinnati Church of the Annunciation Immaculata Church Old St. Mary's Church St. Aloysius on the Ohio St. Francis De Sales Church Saint Francis Seraph Church St. Francis Xavier Church St. Lawrence Church St. Pius X Church St. Rose Church Dayton Holy Cross Church Sacred Heart Church St. Adalbert Church St. Mary's Church Springfield St. Joseph's Church St. Raphael's Church Other Immaculate Conception Church, Botkins St. Aloysius Church, Carthagena Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary Church, Cassella Immaculate Conception Church, Celina Precious Blood Church, Chickasaw Our Lady of Victory Church, Delhi Township St. Joseph's Church, Egypt Holy Family Church, Frenchtown St. John's Church, Fryburg St. Patrick's Church, Glynwood St. John the Baptist Church, Maria Stein Sacred Heart Church, McCartyville St. Michael's Church, Mechanicsburg St. Augustine's Church, Minster St. Louis Church, North Star St. Nicholas Church, Osgood St. Anthony's Church, Padua St. Remy's Church, Russia St. Henry's Church, St. Henry Holy Rosary Church, St. Marys St. Rose's Church, St. Rose St. Sebastian's Church, Sebastian St. Joseph's Church, Wapakoneta
Former parishes	All Saints Church, Cincinnati Holy Trinity Church, Cincinnati St. Augustine Church, Cincinnati St. George's Church, Cincinnati St. Michael the Archangel Church, Cincinnati St. Paul Church, Cincinnati St. Philomena's Church, Cincinnati St. Patrick's Church, St. Patrick
Shrine	Shrine of the Holy Relics

v t e Education in the Archdiocese of Cincinnati
Higher education	Chatfield College University of Dayton Edgecliff College Mount St. Joseph University Xavier University
Seminary	Athenaeum of Ohio – Mount St. Mary's Seminary of the West
High schools	Cincinnati DePaul Cristo Rey High School Elder High School La Salle High School Mercy McAuley High School Archbishop McNicholas High School Purcell Marian High School Seton High School St. Ursula Academy St. Xavier High School Summit Country Day School Ursuline Academy Dayton Carroll High School Chaminade Julienne High School Other Archbishop Alter High School, Kettering Father Stephen T. Badin High School, Hamilton Catholic Central School, Springfield Bishop Fenwick High School, Franklin Lehman Catholic High School, Sidney Moeller High School, Kenwood Mount Notre Dame High School, Reading Royalmont Academy, Mason Roger Bacon High School, St. Bernard St. Rita School for the Deaf, Evendale

v t e Clergy of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati
Auxiliary bishops	Sylvester Horton Rosecrans Joseph H. Albers George John Rehring Paul Francis Leibold Edward A. McCarthy Nicholas Elko Daniel Edward Pilarczyk James Henry Garland Carl K. Moeddel Joseph R. Binzer
Priests	John Martin Henni Edward Fitzgerald Clarence George Issenmann Henry Damian Juncker Joshua Maria Young John Baptist Lamy James Frederick Wood John Henry Luers Caspar Henry Borgess Richard Gilmour John Quinlan Augustus Toebbe Joseph Gregory Dwenger Henry Richter Francis Beckman Urban John Vehr Francis Augustine Thill Anthony John King Mussio John Joseph Kaising Robert Daniel Conlon Michael William Warfel Earl K. Fernandes