Our History

History of the Province

Cumberland Memories: Als ich in Cumberland war

On the occasion of the 100^th anniversary of the Capuchin friars’ presence in Cumberland, Maryland, Father Blaine Burkey, OFM Cap, (now of the Province of St. Conrad) wrote, “Als ich in Cumberland war: Capuchin Franciscan Memories of 100 Years in Cumberland: 1875 – 1975.”

We are thankful for his permission to present this less-known history of the Province of St. Augustine. Father Blaine’s account of the Westphalian Capuchins in Cumberland and beyond will become indispensable for future generations of friars to fully appreciate the origins of the province.

(Part 1) - Holy Hill

When Jascha Heifetz, world famous violinist, walked the streets of Cumberland, Md., with Bill Hunt nearly a half century ago, he told Hunt several times his favorite view of the historic old town was the massive rock wall and medieval-looking monastery buildings at the top of Market Street which gave him nostalgic flash-backs to his youth in Europe. (Cumb. Sun. Times 14 dec 47).

Small wonder SS. Peter and Paul's Church and Monastery should remind Heifetz of Europe. In the previous century the holy hill had been connected with five of Europe's ancient religious orders, as well as a sixth group which was completely American in its origin.

Saint John Neumann (1811-60), superior of the Redemptorists in America, picked the site in 1848 and sent the first members of his already century-old congregation to Cumberland to start a parish for German-speaking Catholics. There two years later his successor, Bernard Hafkenscheid, opened the Redemptorists' first house of studies in the United States, which during the next 16 years educated 119 Redemptorist students for the priesthood. (Cumb. Sun. Times 10 jan 55). Most of the present church and monastery were built at that time.

The Benedictines also had a tie to Cumberland in Bernard Krug, who after living with the Redemptorists and teaching in the parish school for two years, entered religious life as a Benedictine and went on to become Archabbot of the then 1,350-year-old monastery of Monte Cassino in Italy. (Gold. Jub. 39).

One of the Redemptorists who trained at SS. Peter and Paul's Monastery, and another who worked there as a priest, joined in the founding of a new religious congregation, which is now 117 years old and has over 200 priests spread throughout the United States. George Deshon and Francis Baker were among the first five members of the Paulist Fathers, and Deshon was the society's third superior general (1897-1903).

In 1866 the Calced Carmelites from Bavaria took over the hill to begin their first monastery in the eastern United States. Cyril Knoll, commissary of the order, moved his headquarters to Cumberland from Leavenworth, Ks. Besides serving as pastor of SS. Peter and Paul's, he also coordinated Carmelite activities in Leavenworth; Padukah, Ky.; Englewood, N.J.; and New Baltimore, Pa.

In 1875 the fifth religious institute became associated with SS. Peter and Paul's. It is these late-comers, the Capuchin Franciscans, who are most closely connected with the hill, and who celebrate this year the 100th anniversary of their coming to Cumberland.

A sixth religious Institute became connected with Cumberland through Franz Xaver Strunk (1844-1922), a Capuchin who lived in the Cumberland friary from 1875 to 1877 and later transferred to the three-century old Trappist reform of the Cistercians, serving as Abbot of Oelenberg in France from 1889 to 1912.

During the last 100 years, the sprawling friary at Cumberland has been different things to different people. Many citizens of Cumberland have seen it as a mysterious enclave in their midst. Others have seen it as a friendly island where they have found solace and sympathy amidst the world's cares. To hundreds of Capuchins, however, the friary has meant a home which helped mold their lives. During these 100 years, the friary has housed a minor seminary, a novitiate, a school of philosophy, a school of theology, a training center for lay brothers, and even the provincial house. There is hardly any aspect of Capuchin life in the Pennsylvania Province of St. Augustine that has not been deeply affected by the Cumberland friary.

Symbolic of this influence is the saying of old Bro. Roger Steffinger (1864-1950), who is still remembered for his fond recollections of 14 years spent there as friary brewer before his silver jubilee in 1908. The tales themselves are long forgotten. What is recalled is that they consistently began, ...Als ich in Cumberland war... When I was in Cumberland..."

>>next: Part 2, Safe Haven

<<previous: Introduction, History of the Province

St. John Neumann
Redemptorist

Br. Roger Steffinger, OFM Cap