Sainthood cause opened for Russian prince turned pioneer priest

Published: 2007-03-16

LORETTO, Pa. (CNS) -- The sainthood cause for the second priest ordained in the United States, a Russian prince who became known as the "apostle of the Alleghenies," has been initiated by the Diocese of Altoona-Johnstown. Bishop Joseph V. Adamec of Altoona-Johnstown held the opening session of the diocesan inquiry for the canonization cause of Father Demetrius Augustine Gallitzin March 11 at the Basilica of St. Michael the Archangel in Loretto. The son of Prince Demetrius Alexeivich Gallitzin, the ambassador of Empress Catherine the Great of Russia to the Netherlands, Prince Demetrius Augustine was born at The Hague Dec. 22, 1770. Baptized in the Russian Orthodox Church with Empress Catherine as his godmother, Prince Demetrius became a Catholic at the age of 17 when his German-born mother, Countess Amalia von Schmettau, returned to the practice of the faith of her birth. Because of his conversion to Catholicism, Demetrius was denied a place at the imperial Russian court. In 1792 he sailed from Rotterdam to the New World, and within eight days of his arrival in Baltimore, Prince Demetrius entered St. Mary's Seminary there.

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