The Indiana German Heritage Society (IGHS) welcomes to Indianapolis and Indiana Markus Salvator von Habsburg and the Archduchess Hildegard. IGHS will host a noon luncheon reception Friday 19 September in the historic Athenaeum, 401 E. Michigan Street, Indianapolis. IGHS celebrates the historic role of the Habsburgs in Indiana history.
The occasion for the visit to Indiana is the 175th anniversary of Ferdinand, IN in Dubois County. Father Josef Kundek founded the parish of St. Ferdinand and the town of Ferdinand in 1840. He named the town to honor the Kaiser Ferdinand of Austria.
Kundek was a Croation, a subject of Kaiser Ferdinand, who was aided by the Leopoldinen Stiftung, a missionary foundation founded and funded by the Habsburgs to aid Catholic missionary work in the New World. The Habsburg foundation also aided Father Franz Josef Rudolf, the pioneer Catholic missionary priest in Oldenburg, IN, the Village of Spires. Oldenburg is the home of the Sisters of St. Francis, whose founder came from Vienna, and the Franciscan Friars of Tirol Austria.
The Habsburg family is no stranger to Indiana. In 1943 the Imperial Family spent Holy week at Marian College, guests of the Sisters of St. Francis, Oldenburg. Crown Prince Otto visited Evansville in the 1960s and Markus visited Ferdinand in 2003. The have enjoyed Hoosier Hospitality in the past.
“The purpose of the Indiana German Heritage Society, since it’s founding in 1984, is to understand, study, share, and enjoy Indiana’s rich German heritage. Welcoming the Archduke and Archduchess is an opportunity for us to bring these historical connections alive.
The IGHS is a non-profit, state-wide organization founded after the 1983 German immigration Tricentennial. The Habsburg connection is just one dimension of Hoosier German history. Catholics, Jews, Lutherans, Atheists, Amish, Freidenkers, United Bretheren, Evangelicals, Mennonites, etc. enriched the German contributions to Indiana culture and history,” stated IGHS President Brian Griesemer.
The reception program will include music by Das Freundschaftsquartett, remarks by IGHS president Brian Griesemer and the Archduke, and an historical presentation by Dr. Charles Ingrao, Professor of History, Purdue University.
Invited guests include the Archbishop of Indianapolis, represented by Monsignor Schaedel, Rev. Mother Maureen Irvin, OSF, honorary consuls of Austria and Germany, as well as representatives from Oldenburg, IN.
Assisting the IGHS are Marian University, Butler University, Athenaeum Foundation, the International Center, Max Kade German-American Center of IUPUI, and Indiana Department of Tourism. Co-chairman of the reception are Martin Baier, International Center; Jane Gehlhausen, and William L. Selm, all directors of IGHS. Selm, an architectural historian will serve as the Habsburgs’ personal tour guide to historic sites in Indianapolis with Austrian connections such as the State House and the Soldiers’ & Sailors’ Monument.
On Saturday, 20 September the Habsburgs will be guests of honor in Ferdinand during the Volksfest to kick off the year of celebration. Ferdinand is noted for its great Romanesque styled hilltop monastery of the Sisters of St. Benedict. The sisters, an important teaching order, established their monastery in Ferdinand in 1867. They taught in Catholic schools throughout southwestern Indiana.
While in Indianapolis, the distinguished guests will visit the Eiteljorg Museum and visit with Lt. Governor Sue Ellspermann, who is from Ferdinand.
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