The saintly life of one person following God's will can have ripple effects generations later. Two current causes for people who ministered in the United States are one striking example.
Growing up in the small Diocese of Gaylord, Michigan, I was familiar with Bishop Frederic Baraga, “the snowshoe priest.” I recall visiting Michigan’s Upper Peninsula one summer as a child when my family visited a site on the shores of Indian Lake in Manistique honoring his missionary work in the area.
Having frequented the paperback books of the lives of the saints written by Fr. Lawrence G. Lovasik, I was inspired to realize that such a man of God had lived and worked in the same place I was standing. Without knowing it, I had been on my very first pilgrimage.
It wasn’t until I was an adult living in northern Wisconsin that I understood the scope of Bishop Baraga’s missionary endeavors. Working for our diocesan newspaper, I have been assigned numerous stories related to sites in the Northwestern Wisconsin Diocese of Superior and have come to have quite a devotion to him.
Declared Venerable by Pope Benedict XVI in 2012, Bishop Frederic Baraga (1797-1868) was multi-lingual by the age of 16 thanks to education afforded him by his family’s fortune. He attended law school in Vienna but felt called to the priesthood and was ordained in 1823.
He was recruited by then-Bishop of Cincinnati Edward Fenwick to minister to German immigrants. After his arrival to the States, he quickly learned the Ottawa language and was sent to the native mission at L’Arbre Croche (now called Cross Village). From there he travelled hundreds of miles on snowshoe and by canoe throughout Northern Michigan, Wisconsin, and even to the western shore of Lake Superior in Minnesota.
The sites connected to his life throughout the Upper Great Lakes are all remote and incredibly beautiful — more off-the-beaten-path discoveries than what you imagine as either pilgrimage or tourist destinations.
One, in Goodhart, Michigan, is a spot I discovered thanks only to a weathered wooden “Historic Church” sign. St. Ignatius Mission Church, built in 1889, was the third church to stand near the Native American “Middle Village,” which had been established as a mission by the Jesuits in 1741, about 10 miles from Cross Village.
As I have visited other mission sites where Bishop Baraga worked, the pattern of how his travels traced those of his missionary predecessors emerged. Along with that dot-to-dot connecting has been the prayerful reflections on how just one life lived for God and following his will truly ripples out into the future.
In June 2024, my husband and I took our kids to Two Harbors, Minnesota, for a day along Lake Superior’s North Shore. We found a local Catholic church with afternoon confessions and while waiting, I found a holy card for a priest whose name I had never heard of before. I wouldn’t have even recalled his name until I saw the headline that his cause for canonization was approved.
Saints beget saints
At their June 2026 assembly, the U.S. Bishops “expressed their support” for advancing the cause towards potential canonization of Monsignor Joseph Buh. “If canonized, Msgr. Buh would be the first priest who ministered in Minnesota to be recognized a saint,” Aleteia reported.
Msgr. Joseph Francis Buh (1833-1922) was a Catholic priest from Slovenia who came to Minnesota as a missionary in 1864. The cause will now officially initiate in the Diocese of Duluth where he served. One of that diocese’s priests, Fr. Richard Kunst, summarized the Slovenian missionary’s holiness:
“It is only when one realizes the great harvest that he has reaped that one is forced to take into account the many and deep furrows that he plowed in the harvest fields of Christ. His zeal for souls was ever a burning fire. No journey on foot, no distance by horseback was too long or too trying provided a soul was to be helped at the journey’s end. He would set out with a trust in God realizing that God’s love of souls was infinite and that he was but the dispenser of the riches of God’s sacramental graces. He was ever willing to make every sacrifice in the performance of duty for the salvation of souls.”
I was curious about any possible connection between this Slovenian missionary and my beloved Slovene, Bishop Baraga. Come to find out, as reported by the Detroit Catholic, young Joseph Buh “was inspired as a child by reading about the missionary adventures of his fellow countryman Venerable Frederic Baraga, the first bishop of Michigan’s upper peninsula.” It noted that Buh had even requested permission to join Baraga but was refused because of the need for priests in his home country.
While the two men never worked together, Msgr. Buh’s life followed his example of integration into Native communities and extensive travel bringing him into contact — much like Baraga — with the spiritual needs of Catholic immigrants from Europe.
Continued ripple effects
On June 24. 2026, the Catholic Extension Society announced 46 nominees for their annual Lumen Christi Award. To my surprise and delight, one of these was the Bishop Baraga Association (BBA) from the Diocese of Marquette, Michigan.
Founded in 1930 “to educate others about the life and labor of Bishop Frederic Baraga in the U.P. and beyond, and to promote his cause for sainthood,” the organization is led by Lenora McKeen, Executive Director.
McKeen shared with Aleteia that she submitted the nomination at the request of the Association’s Development Director and Bishop of Marquette John Doerfler. Financially, it could be a huge boost to the donor-funded non-profit as finalists receive $15,000, and $100,000 goes to the winner.
“For the BBA, it means more people have the opportunity to learn about the saintly Venerable Frederic Baraga and his ministry of bringing the faith to the people of the Upper Peninsula and beyond,” McKeen affirmed. She added that Baraga spent 38 years ministering to Native Americans and later miners and fur traders, and continues to be an inspiration to many.
It has been a busy summer for McKeen. The BBA participated in the Catholic Saints of America event in Champion, Wisconsin, in early July. Coinciding with national events celebrating the United States’ 250th anniversary. Some 10,000 pilgrims visited this unique celebration focused on American saints and future saints.
She said the gathering was “incredible” and “a great opportunity to see our faith in action."
“So many causes at all levels were represented. We were able to talk to many people who knew about Bishop Baraga and many who were not from the area and did not know about him.”
McKeen also travels frequently sharing about Bishop Baraga and continuing to promote his cause for canonization. Two of these travels were annual Masses in the northwestern region of Michigan’s lower peninsula — not far from the Middle Village site near Good Hart — in Petoskey at the St. Francis Solanus Indian Mission and on Sugar Island at Holy Angels.
The Sugar Island site is east of Sault Ste. Marie and just south of the St. Mary’s River, the border between Michigan and Ontario, Canada. Baraga traveled across the island between 1853-1864, the Holy Angels (officially called Church of our Saviour, Friend of Children) church being built by a local settler with lumber the priest provided. No longer an active church, the building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1982.
There were 50 attendees at Sugar Island, and 25 received private blessings with Baraga's crucifix.
McKeen shared,
It is remarkable that 158 years after his death we continue to talk about this saintly man. His zeal for the faith continues to inspire people today. He is an incredible role model for the laity but also for our priests and bishops.
Bishop Baraga lived during a time of great hardship. For many, that hardship continues today, just in different ways. He can show us how to navigate the challenges by remembering his motto, "Unum est Necessarium” (Only One Thing is Necessary).
To know, love, and serve the Lord is all we need. If we have God in our hearts, he will provide everything else.
She recounted that this missionary bishop “worked tirelessly day in and day out” and started his day with three hours of prayer. McKeen wondered, “What would our world look like today if we incorporated a small amount of his zeal and passion for the Lord in our lives?”
There is currently a cure awaiting review in Rome that, if found to be miraculous, could move the venerable’s cause forward toward canonization. If accepted, a beatification would take place in Marquette, Michigan, the seat of the diocese Baraga was the first bishop of.
Eight years ago this month, Marquette’s current Bishop John Doerfler blessed a new museum dedicated to Bishop Baraga’s life, preserving artifacts and important documents and moving forward the cause for his canonization.
I wonder, what young man or woman might next come across Bishop Baraga’s story and bear fruit as another wave of dynamic ripple evangelization?
