October 17, 1942

Father Anton Podgorsek

Father Podgorsek was born in Rann, Province of Styria, Austria, on January 31, 1867. He studied in the Gymnasium in Warburg from 1880 – 1888 and then came to the United States and continued his education at St. Thomas Seminary, St. Paul, MN and at St. Meinard Seminary, St. Meinard, IN. Bishop Fink ordained him for the Diocese of Leavenworth on January 29, 1893. He served in many towns during priesthood: Greeley; Frontenac; Great Bend (with 16 missions including Dodge City, Garden City, and Ulysses covering one-third of the diocese); Pilsen; Chicopee; Windthorst; Cunningham; and St. Francis Hospital. At the request of the bishops of Illinois, he worked for eight years (1902 – 1910) in that state with Slovenians and other Slavs. Father Podgorsek’s last assignment was in Dubuque from 1915 until 1923 when he retired to a small house in Ellinwood. He died from a heart ailment on October 17th at St. Rose Hospital in Great Bend and was buried from St. Joseph Church in Ellinwood on October 21, 1942. “Father Podgorsek was an architect, carpenter, cabinet maker, and construction expert. As a missionary he covered vast areas by train, horse and buggy.” (The Advance Register, Oct. 23, 1942)