Frederic Baraga

Catholic missionary and bishop

Irenaeus Frederic Baraga (June 29, 1797 – January 19, 1868;Slovene: Irenej Friderik Baraga) was a Slovenian Roman Catholic missionary to the United States and a grammarian by and author of Christian poetry and hymns in Native American languages.

He became the first bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Marquette, Michigan, originally sited at Sault Sainte Marie, which he led for 15 years.

His letters about his missionary work were published widely in Europe, inspiring the priests John Neumann and Francis Xavier Pierz to emigrate to the United States.

In 2012, during the reign of Pope Benedict XVI, Baraga was declared "Venerable."