1. John Vertin was a Slovenian-born American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church.
20 Facts About John Vertin
1. 2.
John Vertin served as the third bishop of the Diocese of Sault Sainte Marie and Marquette in Michigan from 1879 until his death in 1899.
3.
John Vertin was born on July 17,1844, in Doblice in the Duchy of Carniola in the Austrian Empire and baptized Johann Vertin.
4.
John Vertin was the second of four children of Joseph and Mary Vertin.
5.
Joseph John Vertin was a merchant who came to the United States in 1852.
6.
John Vertin settled in Michigan and opened general stores in Hancock and Calumet.
7.
At age 18, John Vertin arrived in New York City with his parents and siblings on July 7,1863, and departed for Michigan.
8.
John Vertin entered Saint Francis de Sales Seminary in St Francis, Wisconsin, in 1864 to study for the priesthood.
9.
John Vertin was ordained a priest for the Diocese of Sault Sainte Marie and Marquette on August 31,1866, by Bishop Frederic Baraga.
10.
John Vertin was then transferred to Saint Paul's Parish in Negaunee, Michigan, remaining there for eight years.
11.
On May 16,1879, John Vertin was appointed the third bishop of the Diocese of Sault Sainte Marie and Marquette by Pope Leo XIII.
12.
John Vertin succeeded Bishop Ignatius Mrak and was the third Slovenian bishop of the diocese, which had been led by Bishop Baraga before Mrak.
13.
John Vertin received his episcopal consecration on September 14,1879, from Bishop Michael Heiss, with Bishops Caspar Borgess and John Spalding serving as co-consecrators, at Saint Paul's in Negaunee.
14.
At age 34, John Vertin became the youngest Catholic bishop in the country.
15.
John Vertin rebuilt the cathedral, laying the cornerstone in June 1881 and consecrating the new building in July 1890.
16.
From October to November 1884, John Vertin attended the third Plenary Council of Baltimore.
17.
John Vertin sat on the council's committee for Christian doctrine and brought Reverend Francis Weninger with him as his theologian.
18.
In 1889, John Vertin convoked a conference with the diocese's priests, which created an infirm priests' fund and required all Catholic children to attend Catholic school.
19.
John Vertin died in Marquette on February 26,1899, at age 54.
20.
John Vertin is buried in the crypt of St Peter Cathedral.