Buh Brief

On March 23, I received a random email that I was not expecting. The email started with, “Salva Isusu Christu and good morning to you! My name is Rachelle Davis and I’m writing to you from Akron, OH.” We priests tend to get a lot of emails from random religious groups wanting us to know about their ministry, so that is what I assumed this email to be, but as I read on I was delighted to get the message. 

As Rachelle continued her email, she said she was recently shopping at the local Goodwill store in Akron when she “noticed a large original sepia portrait on a picture wall. Though I didn’t recognize the subject, I felt immediately that he was a man of importance, so I purchased the portrait and took it home.” She proceeded to mention how after she got the portrait home she did a search on Google using the reverse image feature. 

This search led her to JosephBuh.org, the newly launched website set up to explore the possible cause for sainthood of the patriarch of the Diocese of Duluth. On the website is a colorized version of a portrait very similar to the one Rachelle found at the Goodwill store. But the one she found in the Goodwill store was, in fact, a slightly different pose from the one the Diocese of Duluth has, making it a previously unknown pose. At some point prior to 1902, Msgr. Buh had sat for a formal portrait taken by Thiel Studios, which had been operating in Duluth from 1887 to 1901. 

In her email, Rachelle continues, “Since purchasing the portrait, I’ve felt a strong sense of urgency to ‘move it along’ for lack of a better phrase. It’s my sincerest wish to restore this portrait to the Diocese of Duluth as a donation.” 

Rachelle not only discovered the rightful place for the portrait, she also read a bit about Msgr. Buh to note that she found the portrait on March 17, which she pointed out as being Msgr. Buh’s birthday. How this portrait ended up in Akron is anyone’s guess, but perhaps it found its way there because Bishop John McNicholas, who was the second bishop of Duluth, became the archbishop of Cincinnati. 

As we continue to explore the possibility of initiating a formal cause for Msgr. Buh, there is no doubt more such occurrences will happen. This portrait found its way back home and for that we are greatly appreciative of Rachelle Davis of Akron, Ohio. 

— Father Richard Kunst