Father Geling/Gehling

GELINGGEHLING

Posted By: David Reineke (email)
Date: 8/11/2003 at 16:35:41

Translated From: Der Carroll Demokrat, Special 25th Anniversary Edition, Friday 29 September 1899 (Original in German)

Willey and Pleasant Valley Township

Johann Heinrich Geling
Rector at Saint Mary's Church in Willey

The Reverend Joh. H. Geling was born in Wessum, County Ahrhaus, Government District Muenster to brave and Christian parents. There he attended elementary school and received First Holy Communion in the village church. Then his parents traveled to America and settled in Festina, Winneshiek County, Iowa where the father pursued farming. The son worked part time with his father on the parents' farm and part time on various other farms until he was 21 years old.

Then feeling in himself the high calling of the holy priesthood, he entered the priest seminary, where he surrendered himself with eagerness to his studies and completed the classical curriculum. Thereafter, he entered St. Joseph College where he studied Theology for one year. Then he turned to the Grand Seminary in Montreal Canada, an outstanding and renowned educational institution, where he once again for two years performed his studies and then attained the goal of his desire by being ordained a priest on 14 July 1884. On 16 July of the same year, the young pastor celebrated his first Mass in his dear hometown, Festina. At the moment, there was no position available there, so during this time he visited the Reverend Father Wegmann in Roselle and the present town of Willey. Soon thereafter he received the call to Festina where he should work as assistant priest with the Reverend Father Sauter. For three years he remained in the community, whereupon the Reverend Archbishop named him as Rector of Saint Mary's Church in Willey. In the Fall of the same year, due to the eagerness of the young priest, the community was able to build itself a church school, and during the Winter months he himself participated in the instruction of the youngsters until Fall of the next year when the nuns came from La Crosse, Wisconsin. In the year 1895 the school was enlarged through the addition of a second wing.

The church was built in the year 1882. In the year 1886, the Reverend Peter Hoffman arrived, who was the first Rector of the Saint Mary's community in Willey, and was from Christmas 1886 until September 1887. At that time the Reverend Father Geling took over the community. In the year 1893, the church was significantly enlarged, on which occasion three bells were also obtained. A second school building was constructed in the year 1895. There exist now three schoolrooms with 125 school children under the capable leadership of the esteemed Sisters of the Holy Franciscan Order of LaCrosse.

In the year 1890, the Crucifixion Chapel was constructed; a second to the honor of the Suffering Mother in the year 1898. Both chapels resulted from the very skillful hand of the Reverend Father who certainly single-handedly took care of almost the entire interior ornamentation of the church. The Dear Reader can hardly imagine the artistic skill of this gentleman in vestments. Certainly should anyone come to the friendly town of Willey, they should not neglect to visit the splendid chapels and visit the interior of Saint Mary's Church. The exquisite pulpit, constructed in Gothic style, a beautiful baptismal font, confessionals as well as many other items dedicated to this holy place, endure due to the outstanding genius of this priest-artist.

Notes: I translated this from a scanned copy of Der Carroll Demokrat, a German-language newspaper printed in Carroll, Iowa in the late 1800's and early 1900's. I have spelled the names and locations as they were in the original. I think the name might correctly be spelled "Gehling" instead of "Geling," but I am not certain. The name of the county in Germany is "Ahaus," which is today near the border with Holland.