Early life Joseph Dwenger was born near
Minster,
Ohio, on April 7, 1837. His parents were Johann Gerhard Heinrich "Henry" Dwenger and Maria Catherine Wirdt. Dying of
cholera, his widowed mother entrusted the boy to Reverend Andrew Kunkler, a priest of the Missionaries of the Precious Blood. The order raised Dwenger and educated him at Holy Trinity School in Cincinnati, Ohio He later joined the religious order, and was sent to study for the priesthood at
Mount St. Mary's Seminary in Cincinnati. In 1861, Dwenger arranged for the purchase of a property in
Carthagena, Ohio that would become
St. Charles Seminary, he was its founding rector. In 1862, the Missionaries assigned Dwenger to pastoral work. In 1867, he was sent on preaching missions in
Ohio, Indiana and
Kentucky. In 1872, Dwenger accompanied Purcell, as his theologian, to the
Second Plenary Council of American bishops in
Baltimore, Maryland. and he aided in establishing
Immaculate Conception Parish in Celina, Ohio In 1875, he erected the St. Joseph
orphan asylum for boys in Lafayette. He also created a trade school for boys in Lafayette. He was a zealous promoter of the
parochial school system.
Death and legacy Joseph Dwenger died on January 22, 1893, in Fort Wayne. He was buried at the
Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Fort Wayne.
Bishop Dwenger High School in Fort Wayne is named for him. ==References==