Buh Brief

Msgr. Joseph Buh was ordained a priest on July 25, 1858. To honor his 50th anniversary, he took his final journey to Europe, where he traveled to Paris, Bordeaux, Lourdes (where the Virgin Mary had appeared just 50 years earlier), then on to Milan and Padua, where he said Mass at the altar of his favorite saint, St. Anthony, and then to his home diocese. 

Of course, travel to Europe in the beginning years of the 20th century was different from travel today. A trip of this sort would be more like months rather than days, simply due to the travel time. Leaving Duluth in July 1908, he did not arrive home to his parish in Ely until January 1909. According to his biography, “Masinaigans,” his welcome home was quite the spectacle. “Buh returned to Ely with the acclaim of a hero. Crowds pressed at the train depot. The Ely High School band and some other organizations came out in full regalia and panoply. Everyone seemed happy at his return, and his replacement, Father Schiffer, was no exception” (p. 213). 

Not a typical response for a priest returning home from vacation today, but Msgr. Buh was no typical priest.