Rev. William Netstraeter: A Life in Three Parts

Father William Netstraeter (1843 - 1924) was born and raised in Westphalia, Germany before emigrating to the United States to complete his studies for the priesthood. At the age of 30, he agreed to be pastor of the distraught St. Joseph's Parish, located in a rural German community in Chicagoland's forest northern territory known as Grosse Pointe. In less than a decade, Fr. Netstraeter turned around the parish's financial troubles and began major expansions. At the same time, he made signif...