Preservation, Assessment, Care-Textile Artifact

Venerable Bishop Frederic Baraga, first bishop of the Diocese of Marquette (from 1853 until 1868), was the first of many Slovenian missionaries to come to the United States to help build up the American Catholic Church.

Father Baraga arrived in the New World on December 31, 1830. For the next 37 years he traveled the length and breath of the Great Lakes area to minister to the Ottawa and Chippewa Indians.

We are blessed to have many artifacts that Bishop Baraga used in his ministry.  51 of those artifacts are on loan and display at the Baraga Education Center in Marquette, Michigan.

A leather vestment set given to Bishop Baraga which includes a chasuble, maniple and stole, is on display at the Baraga Education Center.  This set is made of deerskin and is beautifully painted in vibrant copper, orange, blue and black.  The chasuble has decorative flowers, leaves, and the center column has Native American symbols.

A fabric vestment set which was worn by Bishop Baraga includes a chasuble, maniple and stole.  The stole is currently on display at the Baraga Education Center, while the chasuble and maniple are stored at the St. Peter Cathedral.  This vestment set is gold jacquard fabric with a terra cotta colored lining.  The pieces are adorned with fabric crosses.  

A gold brocade stole which was worn by Bishop Baraga is decorated with scrollwork in colors including green, black, salmon, blue and silver.  This stole is currently on display at the Baraga Education Center.  

A mitre which was worn by Bishop Baraga is gold silk fabric with red and green embellishments.  The mitre has beading and sequins with decorative feathers, grapes and leaf embellishments.  The mitre is currently on display at the Baraga Education Center.  

A humeral veil which was used by Bishop Baraga has an ornate silver metallic embellishment with IHS on the center of the veil on a cream fabric.  Portions of the veil are embroidered with purple and pink flowers with green leaves.  There is silver metallic scrollwork around the entire border and decorative silver metallic fringe on both ends.  The humeral veil is currently on display at the Baraga Education Center.