Peter Joseph Baltes | |
|---|---|
| Bishop of Alton | |
 | |
| Diocese | Diocese of Alton |
| Appointed | September 24, 1869 |
| Predecessor | Henry Damian Juncker |
| Successor | James Ryan |
| Orders | |
| Ordination | May 21, 1853 by Ignace Bourget |
| Consecration | January 23, 1870 by John Luers |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1827-04-07)April 7, 1827 Ensheim,Rhenish Palatinate,Kingdom of Bavaria (now Germany) |
| Died | February 15, 1886(1886-02-15) (aged 58) Alton, Illinois, USA |
| Denomination | Roman Catholic Church |
| Education | College of the Holy Cross Saint Mary of the Lake Seminary Grand Seminary of Montreal |
Peter Joseph Baltes (April 7, 1827 – February 15, 1886) was a German-born American prelate of theCatholic Church. He served asbishop of Alton in Illinois from 1870 until his death in 1886.
Peter Bates was born on April 7, 1827, in Ensheim,Rhenish Palatinate in theKingdom of Bavaria (today a part of Germany). He was the fourth child of the carpenter andtinsmith Andreas Baltes and his wife Susanna née Walljan. In 1833, the family emigrated to the United States, settling inOswego, New York.[1]
After attending theCollege of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts, to studyclassics, Baltes enteredSaint Mary of the Lake Seminary in Chicago, Illinois. He completed his studies for the priesthood at theGrand Seminary of Montreal in Montreal, Quebec.[1]
Baltes wasordained to the priesthood in Montreal for theDiocese of Chicago on May 21, 1853.[2] After his ordination, Baltes returned to Chicago, where he received a pastoral assignment to a parish inWaterloo, Illinois.[1]
In 1855, Baltes wasincardinated, or transferred, to theDiocese of Quincy, with a pastoral assignment at a parish inBelleville, Illinois. While in Belleville, he placed both the localparochial school and the Young Ladies' Academy of the Immaculate Conception under the care of theSchool Sisters of Notre Dame, He also constructed St. Peter's Church in Belleville.[3] In a reorganization in 1857, Belleville became part of the new Diocese of Alton and Baltes was incardinated there.[3]
In 1866, BishopHenry Juncker named Baltes asvicar general of Alton. He attended theSecond Plenary Council of Baltimore that year with Juncker.[1] Following Juncker's death in October 1868, Baltes becameapostolic administrator of the diocese. In 1868 or 1869, he persuaded theIllinois General Assembly to pass a law allowing Catholic congregations and institutions toincorporate.[3]
On September 24, 1869, Baltes was named the second bishop of Alton byPope Pius IX.[2] He received hisepiscopal consecration on January 23, 1870, from BishopJohn Luers, assisted by BishopsAugustus Toebbe andPatrick Ryan as co-consecrators, at St. Peter's inBelleville, Illinois.[2] As bishop, Baltes quickly instituted a constitution that outline practices with all the parishes.[3]
In 1870, Baltes issued apastoral letter criticizing theFreeman Journal, a Pittsburgh Catholic newspaper that supported the rights of priests. He said that by allegedly supporting discord between priest and their bishops, theJournal editors and readers were opening themselves up to divine punishment. Baltes issued another pastoral letter in 1879 that banned Catholics in his diocese from reading newspapers or journals that criticized the Catholic Church. The ban on theFreeman Journal was rescinded a few years later.[4]
Baltes held annualspiritual retreats with his clergy. Contemporary accounts described him as an enthusiastic teacher, a tough disciplinarian and a strong defended of church doctrine. He banned contemporary music from church services, replacing it with theGregorian chant andCecilian music.[3] By the end of his tenure, the diocese included 109,000 Catholics, 177 priests, 126 parishes and 77missions, 13 hospitals, threeorphanages, two homes for the elderly, two men's colleges, a boys' high school, nine girls'academies, and 102parochial schools with 11,000 students.[5][3]
In 1878, Baltes went to Germany to visit Ensheim. While there, he celebrated a mass in theSpeyer Cathedral in Speyer, Germany.[6] In January 1884, 27 nuns died in a fire at the Convent of the Sisters of Notre Dame in Belleville. Baltes attended the funeral mass there, but was too sick to celebrate it.[7] Long suffering from diseases of thekidneys, bladder, andliver, Baltes was also unable to attend theThird Plenary Council of Baltimore in 1884.[3]
In the summer of 1885, Baltes traveled to a resort on the Atlantic coast at his doctor's recommendation. However, he soon became incapacitated and spent two months in hospitals in New York City and Montreal. In September 1885, Baltes was well enough to return to Alton, but then suffered a relapse. He recovered again, but on February 12, 1886, became very ill.[3]
Peter Baltes died fromliver disease on February 15, 1886, in Alton at age 58.[3]
Johnson, Rossiter, ed. (1906). "Baltes, Peter Joseph".The Biographical Dictionary of America. Vol. 1. Boston: American Biographical Society. p. 201.| Catholic Church titles | ||
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| Preceded by | Bishop of Alton 1876–1878 | Succeeded by |
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