Rev. John Holzer

1817 - Yes, date unknown

• Name	John Holzer
  Prefix	Rev.
  Born	1817	, Germany   [1]
  Gender	Male
  Occupation	1848	St. Patrick's Roman Catholic Church, Cambridge, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada
  	minister
  	St. Patrick's Roman Catholic Church Begun: 1858 Early missionaries from Niagara and St. Agatha were probably in the Galt area as well but mention is made only of Preston and Hespeler. However, Galt is included in the records at the time of Father John Holzer who did missionary work from New Germany (1848-1852) and Guelph (1852-1863). He is reported to have visited Galt in November, 1851 when he conducted Mass in a small house. Services continued to be held in private homes, in a cooper's shop, and in the upstairs of the Fire Hall. Catholics in Galt were few, none wealthy, and land for a Catholic church was not easily obtained. Father Holzer finally was able to secure property for this purpose by enlisting the services of a go-between; the deed for the property is dated December 19, 1855. A frame church was built in 1858-59, and the dedication service, conducted by the Rt. Rev. John Farrell, Bishop of Hamilton, was on Sunday, May 13, 1860.1a 1aAmbrose, Rosemary. Waterloo County Churches A Research Guide to Churches Established Before 1900. Kitchener, Ontario, Canada: Waterloo-Wellington Branch, Ontario Genealogical Society, 1993. [with kind permission of Rosemary Ambrose]
  Occupation	1852	Waterloo Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada   [1]
  	minister
  Eby ID Number	Waterloo-31364
  Died	Yes, date unknown
  Person ID	I31364	Generations
  Last Modified	6 Apr 2024

  
  

• Notes

  St. Patrick's Roman Catholic Church Early missionaries from Niagara and St. Agatha were probably in the Galt area as well but mention is made only of Preston and Hespeler. However, Galt is included in the records at the time of Father John Holzer who did missionary work from New Germany (1848-1852) and Guelph (1852-1863). He is reported to have visited Galt in November, 1851 when he conducted Mass in a small house. Services continued to be held in private homes, in a cooper's shop, and in the upstairs of the Fire Hall. Catholics in Galt were few, none wealthy, and land for a Catholic church was not easily obtained. Father Holzer finally was able to secure property for this purpose by enlisting the services of a go-between; the deed for the property is dated December 19, 1855. A frame church was built in 1858-59, and the dedication service, conducted by the Rt. Rev. John Farrell, Bishop of Hamilton, was on Sunday, May 13, 1860. From 1827 to 1834 the Galt area was served from Niagara-on-the-Lake by Fathers James W. Campion, Cassidy, and John Cullen, although there is no record that they actually came to Galt. Galt was attended to by priests from St. Agatha and Guelph from 1834-1852, from Brantford 1853-1857, and from Paris 1858 until 1876 when the congregation received its first resident pastor, Rev. Jeremiah Ryan. Galt became a Parish in the following year, 1877, and from that time the records remained in Galt. The growing congregation necessitated the construction of a new and larger church in 1879-1880. The first frame church was moved to church property on Rose Street where it continued as the place of worship for the congregation until the new brick church was completed. The Rt. Rev. Peter Crinnon, Bishop of Hamilton, conducted the cornerstone laying ceremony on Tuesday afternoon, May 18, 1880. Dedication services for the new church were held on January 9, 1881, also by Bishop Crinnon.1 1Waterloo County Churches A Research Guide To Churches Established Before 1900 By Rosemary Ambrose _________________________ St. Mary of the Visitation Roman Catholic Church Early missionaries came to the area c.1827 beginning with Father James W. Campion who was followed by Father Cassidy and Father John Cullen. Next came the St. Agatha missionaries, Fathers John Louis Wiriath (1834-1837), Peter Schneider (1837-1844), Simon Sanderl (1844-1846), and then the Jesuits. About this time a Mr. Barrett of Puslinch approached Rev. John Holzer, the Jesuit Superior, about building a church in Hespeler. Rev. Holzer agreed to the request. The cornerstone for a stone church was laid on September 6, 1857. Consecration services were held later that autumn by the Rt. Rev. John Farrell, Bishop of Hamilton. A large addition was built c.1900 which changed the rectangular church into the shape of a cross. Sadly, the church was destroyed by fire on March 18, 1916, at which time the congregation purchased the former Presbyterian Church nearby on Cooper St. This building had become Alexandra Hall in 1910 when the Presbyterian congregation had moved into their new church on Queen Street East. The new St. Mary of the Visitation Roman Catholic Church was dedicated on June 25, 1917. Another fire on January 19, 1918 destroyed the altar and caused considerable smoke damage to the interior of the church. The damage was repaired in good time. Renovations to add space were made in 1957 and 1966.2 2Waterloo County Churches A Research Guide To Churches Established Before 1900 By Rosemary Ambrose _________________________ St. Boniface Roman Catholic Church When Father John Louis Wiriath, a missionary from St. Agatha, preached in New Germany (Maryhill) from 1834-1837, services were held in a log schoolhouse which was located across the road from the present church. A log church was then built which served the congregation until 1848. Father Wiriath was followed by Father Peter Schneider and Father Simon Sanderl, but they, too, had their base in St. Agatha. In 1847 two Jesuits, Fathers Lucas Caveng and Bernard Fritsch opened a Mission in New Germany. St. Boniface became a Parish in 1847. A stone church was built later in that year and was dedicated on the first Sunday in Advent in 1848 by Father John Holzer. However, it was not until June, 1860 that the congregation received its first resident pastor in the person of Father P. Edward Glowacki (or Glowalski). Father Clement Niemann was pastor when construction of the present stone church began, built on the site of the old stone church. The cornerstone was put in place on October 7, 1877 and the church was officially opened on November 10, 1878.3 3Waterloo County Churches A Research Guide To Churches Established Before 1900 By Rosemary Ambrose

  
  

• Sources

  [S131] Census - ON, Waterloo, Waterloo Twp. - 1851, div 2 pg 111.

  
  

• Event Map

  Born - 1817 - , Germany Occupation - minister - 1848 - St. Patrick's Roman Catholic Church, Cambridge, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Occupation - minister - 1852 - Waterloo Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada  = Link to Google Earth