Chapter Five
MONSIGNOR ANTHONY OGULIN
(1912-1933)

Anthony Ogulin was born in February 1862, at Semic in the Duchy of Krain in Austria. He did his classical studies at Rudolfswerth in his native land and came to the United States in 1880 and entered Saint Francis Seminary in Milwaukee. Archbishop Michael Heiss ordained him a deacon in the seminary chapel in Milwaukee, March 13, 1884, and on September 19, 1884, he was ordained a priest by Archbishop Ireland, who appointed him pastor at Heron Lake, Minnesota, where he remained for four years. The records at the Chancery in Saint Paul show that a dispensation had to be obtained for the young cleric, since he was eighteen months too young for the canonical age required for ordination to the priesthood. It was granted by Pope Leo XIII through the Sacred Congregation of the Propagation of the Faith, dated duly 22, 1884. This may account for the fact that Father Solnce and Father Ogulin were not ordained together on the same day in June. From 1888 until 1890 he was pastor at Saint Peter, Minnesota, from whence he came to Saint Paul to begin the new parish of Saint Bernard, which was cut off of Saint Agnes on the north and east. He remained at Saint Bernard's for twenty-two years. On November 12, 1912, he came to Saint Agnes. He was made a domestic prelate in 1924 under Archbishop Dowling. He died on August 21, 1933, and is buried in the priests' plot of Calvary Cemetery.

In 1912, when Saint Agnes welcomed its new pastor, it was hailed as the largest German- speaking parish in the state. It was extremely proud of its new and splendid church, its very large school and the quality of its other parochial buildings. Its parish societies were flourishing, and the German culture and the Catholic faith to which they were dedicated was strong. Life in Frogtown was good and the standard of living had markedly risen since the early days of the pioneers. Work, frugal living and careful saving along with good education had brought many to a comfortable level of life. In 1912, the world looked secure and prosperous, and most people thought that things would go on in the same manner for a long time to come. But then came the events of August 1914, which changed the world and Saint Agnes too. World War I began.

The debt on the new church was staggeringly huge even by present standards. Father Ogulin's chief task during his pastorate would be to reduce the parish indebtedness. He began by asking the parishioners to lend money to the parish corporation so that the outstanding loans made during the period of construction might be retired. The minutes of the meetings of the board of trustees show the generosity of the people in responding to his request. Usually the interest paid on the notes was 3%. If one adjusts the figures of 1912 so that the inflation of the past seventy years is reflected, the true costs of the building of the church and the subsequent indebtedness of the parish can be seen in modern figures. What was an undertaking in 1910 that cost $225,000 in today's adjusted figures would cost $2,475,000, the formula for arriving at the figure being that furnished by the Bureau of Labor Statistics which indicated the difference in the dollar from 1910 to 1985 is a decrease in value of 110%.

Many finishing details remained to be done on the church. A communion rail was purchased from the Deprato Co. of Chicago, and the pulpit was installed. New hand railings were added to the east and west entrances, and cement sidewalks were laid. On May 18, 1913, one of the great occasions in the history of the parish was the blessing and raising of the three church bells into the steeple. Cast in Baltimore by the McShane Bell Foundry, they were solemnly washed with holy water and anointed with holy oil according to the Roman pontifical by Bishop Trobec, the founding pastor. Father John Seliskar of the Saint Paul Seminary preached the sermon. The bells were named Saint Anthony, Saint Agnes and Saint John, each weighing respectively 3,300 lbs., 2,332 lbs., and 1,683 lbs. They sound the tones D, E and F#. On the same day the statue of Saint Agnes, in cast iron, was blessed and placed in the nitch on the facade. The Saint Anthony Benevolent Society was the chief donor of the bells with a gift to the parish of $1,400. Total cost of the bells was S2,087.60. The records list the following sponsors:

Mrs. Louis Keller, Mrs. J. B. Arend, Mrs. T. Keeker, Mrs. George Adam, Mrs. Val Renz, Mrs. John R. Schmidt, Mrs. Henry Steinkamp, Mrs. C. Stieger, Mrs. J. B. Wallraff and Mrs. J. M. Frenzel, as well as Nicholas Hermes, Joseph Matt, George Ries, Joseph Frey, Nicholas Schmidt, Nicholas Herges, Joseph Wolkerstorfer, George Lendway and Carl Guldin. The account in the Volkszeitung recorded that three thousand people attended the event, including the pastor of Saint Adalbert's, Father Peter M. Roy, Father Solnce, Father F. X. Bajec, Father John C. Gruden, Father Francis Missia along with Father Ogulin and his assistants, Father Gustav Plank, Father Peter Remskar and Father E. Rickert.

As the church was used, various needs developed. Father Ogulin noted that there was not sufficient light for evening services. So lights were installed in the dome and the sanctuary for $238. The pulpit cost $600, and the confessionals the same. $800 was paid for the communion rail. In the spring of 1915, Father Ogulin purchased chandeliers for the church at the price of $300; they were the gift of George N. Gerlach and George Ries. By 1916 it was noticed that water dripping from the roof and freezing made the side stairways to the church very dangerous, so it was decided to put a roof over both stairways. In 1916 the interior of the church was decorated for the sum of $3,500 by Mr. Lalande. A big improvement was the installation of electric lights in the rectory, in the church hall and on the front steps in 1917. The same year saw the purchase of the pipe organ from the Strand Theater for $750, which was offset by the sale for $250 of the old organ that Father Trobec had acquired. And with all the improvements, the debt on the parish was reduced to $131,433 by the end of 1917, as Father Ogulin, the trustees and the parishioners continued to whittle away at the staggering burden.

Saint Agnes was the showplace of the German people of Minnesota. In 1914, it was new and just opened for worship. The church bells had been installed. The pastor and the parishioners were intensely proud of their church. It was fitting that the first celebration of Saint Boniface Day be held at Saint Agnes. So on June 7, 1914, German-speaking Catholics from all the parishes of the state assembled at Saint Agnes with a great procession from the state capitol to the church. It was a stiflingly hot day, but two thousand people took part. In less than two months, with the assassination of the Archduke Ferdinand, war began in Europe. With an anti-German sentiment growing in this country, the Saint Boniface Day celebrations were doomed, as indeed were many other elements of the German culture and language that the national German parishes had been organized to preserve as a fundament upon which the Catholic faith would rest for each succeeding generation. Saint Agnes parish, however, never suffered the traumatic experiences of some German communities such as New Ulm, where enforcement of the draft laws compelled first generation naturalized Americans to take up arms against their very brothers and relatives, who had been forced into the military forces of the other side. When they resisted the draft, many German communities were accused of being un-American and non-patriotic. Efforts to emphasize a love of their adopted country and to minimize the prospect of fighting against one's own flesh and blood were successful in the Frogtown community. There was no question of the American loyalty of Saint Agnes. The flag flew from the tower of the church and a flagpole was erected in the school yard. The parishioners bought the victory bonds, even if rather reluctantly, when they were automatically extracted from their pay checks. It was these bonds that at Father Ogulin's suggestion many parishioners donated to the church to reduce the parish debt when they matured for collection. Many gave them in thanksgiving for the peace that the war's end brought. The plan was successful, because by the April 10, 1919, meeting of the trustees, Father Ogulin was able to suggest that the loan from the German Roman Catholic Aid Association should be paid, since he had the necessary cash on hand from the gift of the victory bonds.

Possibly connected with an anti-German spirit was an event that could have become a major tragedy. At 4 A.M., on Sunday morning, November 4, 1917, a bomb was thrown into the rectory at 547 Thomas Street, while everyone was asleep, wrecking the house and causing great damage. The three priests narrowly escaped death or injury. The fiftieth jubilee book describes what happened:
 

The technology of the modern world kept coming into Frogtown as it invaded the nation. Saint Agnes now had telephone service and electric lights among its conveniences. In 1918, Father Freisleben petitioned the trustees to give him an allowance for the operation of his new "machine," Father Ogulin explaining that the automobile would be used for the good of the parish. They gave him ten dollars a month. A few months later, the rectory was equipped with an electric washing machine! But the Sisters had to wait until 1922 for electric lights in the convent and until 1926 for the school.

The years after the end of the war saw collections taken up in church to help those suffering in Europe as a result of the war. And a new wave of immigration began, especially from the eastern parts of the old Austro-Hungarian Empire which the peace treaties had dismantled by erecting many new nations out of the territory formerly ruled by the Habsburg family. At home too, the end of the war marked the beginning of a new era. The very reason for the German-speaking national parishes was lost as the German customs and language were set aside in the excessive efforts to prove an American loyalty. The societies began to wane. Such institutions as the Deutsches Haus on Rice Street, organized as a place for families to enjoy the German way of life, fell on hard times and finally ceased to function. With the passing of the eighteenth amendment to the constitution of the United States which introduced prohibition, the old Wirtschaften that marked so many corners in Frogtown closed down in a strange effort of the federal government to regulate what each person might drink. Saint Agnes School no longer had its classes in German and the German sermons disappeared from most of the Sunday services. A new era had dawned and demanded a great adjustment which the coming generation quickly adapted itself to.

Archbishop Ireland died on September 25, 1918, just before the war came to an end. On March 25, 1919, Archbishop Austin Dowling was installed as the second Archbishop of Saint Paul. Among the first things the new archbishop undertook was a census of the diocese, which required each parish to survey its members and make an accurate file of information on each. For Saint Agnes, as a national parish, this became a major project, since the people often lived quite a distance from the parish church. The area was divided into thirty-three sections and men were appointed to take up the work which was to be finished by November 25, 1921. With an accurate count of the parishioners and information about them, it became possible to carry out the archbishop's request for funds for the Archbishop Ireland Educational Fund, which in time erected Nazareth Hall Preparatory Seminary at Lake Johanna and built a new facility for Cretin High School on Randolph and Hamline Avenues. The other effect of the census was the introduction in 1922 of the Sunday envelope system for the support of the parish. In 1924, while he was in Rome, Archbishop Dowling requested the honor of domestic prelate for the consultors of the archdiocese. On February 5, Father Ogulin was among seven priests given the title of monsignor. Archbishop Dowling came to Saint Agnes for the investiture of the pastor in the purple robes of his office. In 1926, Monsignor Ogulin traveled in Europe during the summer months, visiting the land of his birth.

The children in Saint Agnes School always celebrated the Monsignor's patronal feast day of Saint Anthony, January 17. There were programs presented in the hall in the basement of the church, and each child received a bag of candy as a treat. But the big thrill was Monsignor's announcement that the remainder of the day would be free and all could leave school for a holiday.

The parish, the school, and especially the Sisters were saddened with the news that Sister Mary Frances Solana Grellner died on March 31, 1927, shortly after finishing her term as superior at Saint Agnes Convent in May of 1926. She had been principal of the grade school. She was the third superior at Saint Agnes to die in office or just shortly afterwards. Sister Mary Reingardis Adams and Sister Angela Merici Domitio had preceded her. Sister Mary Joseph Eister followed them in 1932.

At the meeting of the trustees in January of 1927, Monsignor Ogulin announced that the parish was free of debt, all that was owed on the building of the church having been paid. This was a blessing for the parish, especially with the financial depression of 1929 not far in the future, when many parishes with large debts found great difficulty in continuing. It was decided to set up a special building fund, and plans to install a new marble altar costing about $20,000 were initiated. The altar and the new stained glass windows were put into the church in 1930 and as part of the project the church was redecorated and the galleries above the sanctuary were closed up, saving considerable heat. In 1931, a microphone was installed to help with the preaching.

The stained glass in Saint Agnes is a classic example of the Munich school of glass. It is the work of F. Mayer Co. of Munich. The iconography depicts the life of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the windows of the west wall, and the life of Christ in those in the east wall. The choir loft has windows with pictures of Saint Cecilia, Saint Gregory, King David and the angelic choirs. In other parts of the church smaller windows are decorated with various symbols. The detail of the painted figures often goes without notice because of the distance from the viewer, but one should observe the fineness of the garments and the decoration of the rooms in which the various scenes are portrayed. Colored photography reveals the true treasure that they are.

The marble altar was installed by Drake Marble Co. of Saint Paul, having been fabricated in Italy. The mosaic, depicting the crucifixion of Christ with the Blessed Virgin and Saint John, as well as the portrayal of Saint Agnes with her lamb and palm branch, are the work of the Vatican mosaic studio. The detail of the inlaid marbles and the delicately carved angels, both those with their trumpets at the top and those kneeling in adoration on each side, make the altar a truly significant artistic treasure. The carving of the Lamb of God over the Book of the Seven Seals and the Alpha and Omega adorn the front, and the six columns of polished Siena marble carry the baldachin with its decorated marble tassels. An interesting detail might be noticed by the astute observer. If one compares the two marble vases at the top near the windows, it can be seen that they are not exactly centered, because the sanctuary itself is a little smaller on one side than on the other. Originally the church was to have faced Thomas Street, but because the trolley cars were routed on that street, the church was turned to face Lafond Street. The foundations for the tower had already been placed, and it had to remain. In planning the sanctuary area, some of the space was occupied by the tower, and thus it was somewhat reduced on the west side. Only when the altar was installed could this be noticed. The artist was wise. He erected the cross at dead center, but the vases do not each have the same relationship with the windows. One protrudes slightly farther toward the window than the other.

The decade of the twenties was a period of prosperity. The parish finished paying for its magnificent church. The interior of the building was finished and a new altar and windows completed the furnishings. The parish paid its assessment of $20,000 for the building of the new Cretin High School. But the Great Depression of the thirties was on the horizon, and the nation settled down to ride out the bad years. Unemployment, low wages, foreclosed mortgages and loss of lifetime savings were the order of the day. But a faith in the country and its promise of freedom and ultimate prosperity saw the immigrants and the rising second generation through. Saint Agnes weathered the storm.

In 1933, Monsignor Ogulin grew ill. He was then seventy-one years old, and dropsy afflicted him. A document in the Chancery in Saint Paul, dated January 25, 1933, appointing him to a position on the diocesan tribunal, has his signature, but it is in a very uncertain hand. He continued his work during the summer months, until he took to his bed. He died on August 21, 1933, in the rectory on Thomas Street. Monsignor Walter H. Peters, in the booklet prepared for the dedication of the new convent in 1953, wrote these words:
 

Monsignor Ogulin had the longest pastorate of any of the priests who served Saint Agnes. He was not the founding pastor, nor did he build a great monument to his memory as Father Solnce had done in erecting the wonderful church. But Monsignor Ogulin brought the parish to a level of stability, financially, spiritually and in its great educational work with the school. The anti-German spirit of the World War times was overcome and a new direction for a national parish was chartered. There was a pride in the second generation as there had been a courage in the original pioneers. Saint Agnes was one of the great parishes of the city and the state, and it was identified with its pastor who was so beloved by his parishioners. Monsignor Ogulin was a handsome man as a young priest, and he grew old with a dignity that became him. Many still remember him and his dog, a red chow, who carefully guarded the passageway between the church and the rectory. His long residence in Frogtown made him a familiar figure in the neighborhood. He was a humble man, and above all he was a servant of God, chosen by Him to bring salvation to the people under his charge. Of all the pastors of Saint Agnes, he is the one most often remembered and most dearly beloved.

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