Tuesday, March 4, 2014

#52 Ancestors: Father Felix Nelles, Missionary to the Indian Reservations

Hello everyone!  This week I decided to post the story of John Nelles, who later became Father Felix Nelles.  I hope you enjoy his story.....

            John Nelles was born on 12 October 1870 in Long Prairie, Todd, Minnesota to Peter and Mathilda (May) Nelles.  He was the second of fourteen children and the eldest son.  He was my second great grand uncle. 
            When John was a teenager, he left his family to go to St. John’s College in Collegeville, Minnesota.  He was going there to study to become a priest.  While at the school, the students and monks completed a chapel on an island in 1889.  The following summer, work was being done on the landscaping.  John and a young monk named Anslem Barholomy, were bringing a boatload of sod to the chapel when the boat sprung a leak and sank.  Both men could swim, but because of his heavy, water soaked robes Anselm was pulled under.  He tried to save himself by grabbing on to John but ended up pulling him under as well.  John freed himself but was unable to rescue his friend.  Anselm’s body was recovered the next day.
            John joined the Benedictine Order in 1893.  He was ordained on 20 June 1898 as Father Felix Nelles.  His first mission was to assist the priest in the Indian Missions at Red Lake.  Thus began his life among the Chippewa or Ojibway Indians.  A year later he was sent to the White Earth Reservation where he spent twenty five years.  Over the years he served at least eighteen different missions up to 140 miles away. 
            On his visits to the different missions, he would carry all of his clothing and supplies on his back.  He traveled through all kinds of weather, walking many of the miles.  He made the most of his time while visiting the Indian homes – baptizing, instructing on Holy Communion, giving Last Rites, and burying the dead.  It is said that over the years, Father Felix baptized at least 1,600 Indians and 1,400 white people.  During the 1918 flu epidemic, the Protestant minister refused to visit the sick because he was afraid of spreading it to his family.  Father Felix stepped in and took over the visits (and ended up baptizing thirty of the Protestants!)
            Father Felix had a great respect of the Indians and their culture.  He took the time to listen to them and learn about them – including their language.  He protested to the government about how the Indians were being swindled out of their land. 
            Father Felix was regarded as the best Indian missionary the Catholic Church had in Minnesota.  He sacrificed his health and well-being to serve the Indians – sometimes showing up in the middle of the night, half frozen from the long walk in order to perform Last Rites.  Father Felix realized they were all God’s Children and he wanted them to have “happy” deaths.  Another thing that worked in Father Felix’s favor, according to Father Thomas Borgerding, was he could eat Indian food.  In fact, Father Thomas said Father Felix could eat anything! 
            By the late 1920s Father Felix was starting to suffer ill health.  He was assigned to a parish in Minneapolis and after a few years he was appointed the chaplain at the St. Joseph Home in St. Cloud.  By 1939 his palsy (Parkinson’s Disease) forced his retirement to St. John’s Abbey.  He died on 9 March 1945 at St. John’s Abbey and is buried there.