Rev. Stephan Furdek: (1855-1915) Cleveland Priest

Stephan Furdek was born September 2, 1855 in Trstena Slovakia.  He was commissioned by Bishop Richard Gilmour to minister to the growing immigrant populations of Czechs and Slovaks. (The Encyclopedia of Cleveland History)

He was assigned to the St. Wenceslas Church where he worked until May of 1883 when he moved to the Czech parish that he organized known as Our Lady of Lourdes on E. 55^th Street and Broadway, where he also founded a school. (The Encyclopedia of Cleveland History)

In 1888 he organized St. Ladislas Church made up of Slovak and Hungarian parishioners. 

In 1891 he founded the National Fraternal Insurance Organization and the First Catholic Slovak Union of the US and Canada.  He was also the founder and publisher of the Unions publication Jednota. (The Encyclopedia of Cleveland History)

Rev. Stephan Furdek died in Cleveland January 18, 1915 and is buried in Cleveland’s Calvary Cemetery. (The Encyclopedia of Cleveland History)

Photographs:

Bust of Rev. Furdek

Photographs of the Garden

Further Reading:

Slovak Community Identity in Cleveland

Slovaks in Cleveland, The Encyclopedia of Cleveland History

The Encyclopedia of Cleveland History