Burchard Villiger
Burchard Villiger | |
|---|---|
 Villiger between 1860 and 1865 | |
| 7th Rector ofWoodstock College | |
| In office 1897–1901 | |
| Preceded by | Joseph Jerge |
| Succeeded by | William P. Brett |
| 5thPresident of Saint Joseph's College | |
| In office 1868–1893 | |
| Preceded by | Felix-Joseph Barbelin |
| Succeeded by | Patrick J. Dooley |
| 3rd President of theSt. Ignatius College | |
| In office 1865–1866 | |
| Preceded by | Nicholas Congiato |
| Succeeded by | Nicholas Congiato |
| 4th President ofSanta Clara College | |
| In office 1861–1865 | |
| Preceded by | Felix Cicaterri |
| Succeeded by | Aloysius Masnata |
| Personal details | |
| Born | May 14, 1819 Auw, Aargau,Switzerland |
| Died | November 5, 1902(aged 83) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania,United States |
Joseph Burchard VilligerSJ(May 14, 1819 – November 5, 1902) was appointedSanta Clara University's fourth president in 1861 after the presidency ofFelix Cicaterri.Burchard Villiger had served as the president of two Jesuit Colleges in the east. During his presidency atSanta Clara UniversityinCaliforniaUnited Stateshe had built the Science Building, a Jesuit Residence, and the Facade of the Old Mission Church. He served as president till 1865 which coincided with the Civil War. Later Villiger was rector of the College of the Sacred Heart inWoodstock, Maryland.
In 1857, Villiger was appointed president of Washington Seminary (later known asGonzaga College High School) inWashington, D.C.,[1]succeeding Hippolyte J. De Neckere.[2]His presidency came in an end the following year, and he was succeeded byCharles H. Stonestreet.[3]
He retired to hisChurch of the Gesú of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania,where he died onNovember 5, 1902.[4]
Early life
[edit]Burchard Villiger was born on the morning of May 14, 1819, inAuw,Aargau,Switzerland.[5]That afternoon, he wasbaptizedat the local parish church by thepastor,aBenedictinepriest fromEngelberg Abbey,and he was given theChristian nameof Joseph Burchard.[a]Afterwards, he was offered up to theVirgin Maryat thehigh altar.Villiger wasconfirmedby theApostolic Nuncio to Switzerland,ArchbishopIgnazio Nasalli-Ratti,when he was eighteen months old at a church in the town ofCham.[7]
Villiger had five siblings. His older sister, Mary, became a Benedictine nun at theSarnen Abbey,and his younger sister, married. His three younger brothers also married and had families.[6]
From the age of five and a half, Villiger attendedparochial school,[8]and he received hisFirst Communionwhen he was eight years old.[9]Shortly after his First Communion,[10]he went with his mother and sister on a 27-mile (43-kilometre)pilgrimageto theMarian shrineatEinsiedeln Abbey.[8]When he was 11 years old, Villiger was sent to live with his cousin, a priest, inAbtwylto pursue higher studies anddiscern a religious vocation.The following year, he began hisclassical studiesas aboarding studentatMuri Abbey.[10]After three years of study, the Swiss government prohibited Catholicmonksfrom teaching, and Villiger continued his studies at agymnasiuminZug,which was taught bysecular priests.TheJesuitsopened a college inSchwyzthat year, and Villiger enrolled.[11]
In August 1838, after completing his study ofrhetoric,[10]Villiger applied to join theSociety of Jesus.[12]He was admitted on October 4,[5][13]and proceeded to the JesuitnovitiateinBrig-Glis,Valais.[12]On October 10, 1840, he professed hisvowsat the novitiate. In 1842, Villiger went toFribourgto studyphilosophyandphysicsand in 1844, returned to Jesuit college in Schwyz as the firstprefectand as a teacher of mathematics. The following year, he returned to Fribourg to studytheology.[6]
TheSonderbund Warbroke out in 1845, and Villiger was forced out of Fribourg with all his fellow Jesuits.[6]
He then went toSolothurnand awaited orders from the Jesuitprovincial superior.[10]
Washington and Maryland
[edit]Villiger became the president of the Washington Seminary, later known asGonzaga College High School,on August 15, 1857,[14]succeeding Hippolyte J. De Neckere.[15]Villiger's tenure was short-lived, lasting only nine months, because on April 25, 1858, he was named to succeedCharles H. Stonestreetas theprovincial superiorof theJesuit Maryland Province,[1]and Stonestreet replaced him as president.[16]
Villiger's term as provincial came to an end on November 28, 1859, with the arrival of Felix Sopranis as the Jesuitvisitorfor North America.[17]
Santa Clara College
[edit]On May 21, 1861, Villiger arrived atSanta Clara College,succeedingFelix Cicaterrias its president. He found the school $30,000 in debt,[18]equivalent to $1,020,000 in 2023.[19]
Later years
[edit]Villiger died on November 5, 1902, in Philadelphia.[13]
Saint Joseph's College
[edit]Villiger Hall opened in 2012 as a student dormitory named in his honor.[20]
Notes
[edit]References
[edit]Citations
[edit]- ^abHill 1922,p. 58
- ^Hill 1922,p. 54
- ^Hill 1922,p. 61
- ^Woodstock Letters 1906,p. 181.
- ^abUniversity of Santa Clara: A History1912,p. 23
- ^abcdVilliger 1903,p. 70
- ^Villiger 1903,p. 66
- ^abVilliger 1903,p. 67
- ^Villiger 1903,p. 64
- ^abcdVilliger 1903,p. 65
- ^Villiger 1903,p. 68
- ^abVilliger 1903,p. 69
- ^abSchultenover 2021,p. 665
- ^Hill 1922,p. 58
- ^Hill 1922,p. 56
- ^Hill 1922,p. 61
- ^Ramspacher 1962,p. 301
- ^University of Santa Clara: A History1912,p. 11
- ^1634–1699:McCusker, J. J.(1997).How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States: Addenda et Corrigenda(PDF).American Antiquarian Society.1700–1799:McCusker, J. J.(1992).How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States(PDF).American Antiquarian Society.1800–present:Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis."Consumer Price Index (estimate) 1800–".RetrievedFebruary 29,2024.
- ^Villiger Hall Opens Doors to Class of 20162012,p. 3
Sources
[edit]- "Father of Jesuits at Door of Death".The Philadelphia Inquirer.September 1, 1900. p. 14.
- Hill, Owen Aloysius (1922)."Chapter VII: Rev. Burchard Villiger, S.J. (1857–1858)".Gonzaga College, an Historical Sketch: From Its Foundation in 1821, to the Solemn Celebration of Its First Centenary in 1921.Washington, D.C.: Gonzaga College. pp. 58–60.OCLC1266588.Archivedfrom the original on November 27, 2019.RetrievedNovember 27,2019– via Google Books.
- Love, Thomas J. (September 1941). "The Evolution of St. Joseph's College".Records of the American Catholic Historical Society of Philadelphia.52(3): 161–173.JSTOR44209395.
- Ramspacher, Joseph H. (July 1962)."Major Superiors in the Northern United States"(PDF).Woodstock Letters.91(3): 300–303.Archived(PDF)from the original on February 11, 2020.RetrievedApril 24,2021– via Jesuit Archives.
- Schultenover, David G. (2021).Jesuit Superior General Luis Martín García and His Memorias: "Showing Up".Jesuit Studies. Vol. 30. Leiden:Brill.ISBN978-90-04-43308-3– via Google Books.
- University of Santa Clara: A History.Santa Clara, California: University Press. 1912.OCLC5528343– via Google Books.
- "Villiger Hall Opens Doors to Class of 2016".Saint Joseph's University Magazine.Summer 2012. Archived fromthe originalon April 24, 2021.RetrievedApril 24,2021– via Issuu.
- Villiger, Burchard (September 1903)."Autobiography of Father Burchard Villiger"(PDF).Woodstock Letters.32(1): 51–81.Archived(PDF)from the original on April 24, 2021.RetrievedFebruary 3,2022– via Jesuit Archives.
- "Book of interest to ours".Woodstock Letters.35(1). 1 April 1906.
Further reading
[edit]- McKevitt, Gerald (1979).The University of Santa Clara: A History, 1851–1977.Stanford:Stanford University Press.ISBN978-0-8047-1024-4.
- Ryan, John J. (1906).Memoir of the life of Rev. Burchard Villiger of the Society of Jesus.Philadelphia: F. McManus, Jr. & Co.OCLC2433043.
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
- 1819 births
- 1902 deaths
- 19th-century American Jesuits
- 19th-century Italian Jesuits
- Santa Clara University faculty
- Santa Clara University people
- Presidents of Gonzaga College High School
- Presidents of Santa Clara University
- Presidents of Saint Joseph's University
- Presidents of the University of San Francisco
- Rectors of Woodstock College
- Swiss emigrants to the United States
- Pastors of St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church (Frederick, Maryland)