HOW DID IT STARTED?

On September 14, 1903, Fr. Baurain arrived in St. Petersburg where he established the first Assumptionist residence in Russia. This was the fulfillment of one of Fr. d'Alzon's most ambitious dreams. Two years later, Fr. Maniglier founded St. Peter's Church in Odessa and the dream became a reality. After the Bolshevik Revolution, most foreigners were expelled and very little remained of the Assumptionist presence except for the Church of St. Louis in Moscow. It is to this Church that Fr. Leopold Braun was attached as the first American Assumptionist to serve the diplomatic corps under the Roosevelt-Litvinov agreement. American Assumptionists served in Moscow for the next 75 years.

From November 20-22, the Assumptionists sponsored a colloquium in Rome to commemorate the centenary of the Assumptionist presence in Russia. During the colloquium, Prof. Gary Hamburg of the History Department of Notre Dame University made a presentation on the experience of Fr. Leopold Braun, the first AA to serve as chaplain to the international community in Moscow, from 1934-45. It is a compelling and heroic story. Please read a complete copy of his lecture.

Fr. John Franck, aa

Founded in 1850, the Assumptionists have been engaged in a variety of dis-
tinguished global endeavors including projects in numerous parts of Eastern
Europe and Russia. MORE>>>

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