File:Joseph jessing 1880s.jpg

Summary
Reverend John Joseph Jessing around 1880. While serving at Sacred Heart Church in Pomeroy, Jessing started a German-language paper The Ohio in 1873. The title was changed to the Ohio Waisenfreund (Ohio Orphans' Friend) in 1874. The following year, Jessing used proceeds from the paper to open an orphan asylum. In 1877, Jessing moved the newspaper and orphan asylum to Columbus. He started various trade opportunities for the orphans, including the Josephinum Church Furniture Company. Jessing (1836-1899) was born in Muenster, Germany. In 1867, Jessing came to the United States to study for the priesthood. He was ordained at St. Patrick Pro Cathedral in Columbus by Bishop Sylvester Rosecrans in 1870. Father Jessing's first assignment was at Sacred Heart Church in Pomeroy, Ohio.

In 1888 he started the Collegium Josephinum to train young men for the priesthood and to minister primarily to German speaking immigrants. It received pontifical status in 1892 and became known as Pontifical College Josephinum. It is the only pontifical seminary outside of Italy that is overseen by the Vatican through the Apostolic Nuncio in Washington, D.C. Jessing witnessed the first class being ordained June 1899, five months before he died.

Public Domain -

Source - Part of a Photo of Father Jessing located at Ohio Memory, the online scrapbook of Ohio Historical Society URL - http://worlddmc.ohiolink.edu/OMP/NewDetails?oid=1025502&fieldname=collection&results=10&sort=title&searchstatus=1&hits=10&searchmark=2&searchstring=Monsignor+John+Joseph+Jessing+Collection&searchtype=exact&format=list&count=7