January 20, 2011. Father Nelson Baker served as a priest in the diocese of Buffalo, New York for 54 years. Before this he fought in the battle of Gettysburg and then returned home to start a business and eventually join the priesthood.

Benedict XVI has signed a decree by the Congregation for the Causes of Saints declaring he lived a life of heroic virtue.  

At the age of 79 he began fundraising for the construction of Our Lady of Victory Basilica.  Pope Pius XI raised it to the status of a minor basilica calling it a “masterpiece.”

Father Baker worked in a number of charitable organizations including an orphanage, a protectory for young adolescents, and a hospital.

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