Venerable Nelson Baker

Nelson Henry Baker (February 16, 1842 – July 29, 1936) was an American Catholic monsignor in Lackawanna, New York, whom the Vatican has declared as venerable. Starting out in a parish deeply in debt, Nelson developed a national fundraising campaign that allowed him to build social institutions over the next 54 years that benefited the entire Western New York Region. He expanded and upgraded an existing orphanage and reform school. He created a home for abandoned infants and unwed mothers, a maternity hospital and two schools, among other facilities. During the Great Depression, he provided food, shelter and clothing to the needy of all religious faiths. For his work with the disadvantaged and the outcasts of society, Baker was given the name "Padre of the Poor". A devotee of Mary, mother of Jesus, he constructed the Our Lady of Victory Basilica in Lackawanna. Since 1986, the Diocese of Buffalo has worked to secure Baker's canonization. He was declared venerable in 2011 by Pope Benedict XVI. Nelson Baker was born in Buffalo, New York, on February 16, 1842, to Lewis Becker (later Baker) and Caroline Donnellan. Nelson Baker was the second eldest of four sons. Lewis Becker, a German Evangelical Lutheran, was a retired mariner who opened a grocery store on Batavia Street in Buffalo. Nelson's mother, Caroline, was a devout Irish Catholic. Nelson Baker was baptised a Lutheran as an infant. However, under his mother's influence, he was re-baptized a Catholic in 1851 and raised a Catholic. After graduating high school, Nelson Baker worked in the family store. Lewis Baker was said to have instilled an astute business sense in his son. In early July 1863, during the American Civil War, Baker enter the 74th regiment of the New York State Militia at age 21 for a 30-day enlistment. The regiment immediately departed for southern Pennsylvania, where it participated in the three day Battle of Gettysburg.