"The funeral services of Mr. Henry Wessling, of Roxbury, took place Monday morning at 9 o'clock at the Holy Trinity Church. A Solemn Requiem Mass was celebrated by Rev. Joseph Faber, S.J., the rector of the church and a personal friend of the deceased. His Eminence, the Cardinal, was present and pronounced a eulogy and gave the final absolution. Such a distinctive honor is rarely shown to a Catholic layman and indicated a personal affection and a high esteem on the part of His Eminence for Mr. Wessling as a splendid type of Catholic layman.

"His Eminence had as chaplains:

Rt. Rev. Msgr. A.J. Twelling, D.D., Lynn;
Rt. Rev Msgr. P.J. Supple, D.D., Roxbury;
Rt. Rev. Msgr. Ambrose F. Roche, Watertown;
Rev. James J. Chittick, Hyde Park;
Rev. Thomas White, S.J., Rector of St. Mary's Church, Boston;
Fr. Offergeld, S.J., Holy Trinity Church;
Rev. C.J. Ring, Roxbury;
Rev. Andrew Habestroh, S.J., Kingston, Mass.;
and several other priests were also present at the Mass.

"Rev. Philip J. O'Connell, Boston, was the deacon of the Mass; Rev. Peter Schleuter, S.J. was subdeacon; and Rev. J.B. Schwandt, S.J. was the master of ceremonies. The choir was under the direction of Joseph Ecker, the organist.

"The Catholic Federation of the Archdiocese of Boston, of which Mr. Wessling was the first president, and the American Federation of Catholic Societies, of which he was formerly national vice-president, were represented by: Henry V. Cummings, Charles T. Daly, Edward Mulready, Jeremiah Burke, Timothy Haley, and over a score of other members.

"The Catholic Guild was represented by the following:

Dr. John R. Slattery,
Judge Joseph A. Sheehan,
James H. Carpey, and
Timothy J. Brinnin, who also represented the Young Men's Catholic Association.

"Delegates were also present among the hundreds of mourners representing Germania Court, M.C.O.F., the German Catholic Casino Club, whose flag, draped with crepe, was placed on the side of the altar during the Mass and carried with the body after the service in the funeral procession from the church; The Germania Co-operative Bank; the Holy Name Society of Holy Trinity Church; and other organizations in which Mr. Wessling was a member.

"The pall bearers were:

Mathias Brock,
John Karle,
Adolph Kohler
Alois Christen,
Tobias Kleuber,
Bernard Woehrmann, and
Charles Brennion.

"At the close of the Mass, before giving the final absolution, His Eminence spoke substantially as follows:

" 'The Church', he said, 'does not favor eulogies for her children, for in her solemn rites she is thinking of the soul which has just gone to face its God. In accordance with this spirit of the Church there is a diocesan regulation against eulogies, but there are times and occasions when the Church departs from her custom in order to emphasize the lesson of the life of her children.'

"He himself broke the diocesan regulation on this occasion for there was a very special timely lesson in the life of the man who lay there cold in death before him. Mr Wessling was the type of man on whom the diocese must depend to carry out his plan for the good of the Church and his people. The bishop has need of the man of simple faith, of unswerving loyalty, of unquestioning obedience and cheerful willingness in carrying out his wishes. This was type of man Mr. Wessling was.

"When he took charge of the Diocese he saw the great need for Federation. He saw that it was a movement that was sure to develop and become a great power in moulding Catholic opinion and making the Church better known. At the time the Federation was in its beginning in this Diocese, it was a small band numbering only about 30 men, whom he met in the Cathedral to give new life to this organization. But those men were full of zeal, full of simple faith.

"In looking about for a leader he chose Mr. Wessling, who was one of those silent, retiring workers to whom great movements owe their firm foundation. He was one of those men who sought not his own advancement but the accomplishment of the work allotted to him by his superiors. He was the kind of man the Church stands in need of to carry on her great work.

"He was not a public man but he was full of faith and God had blessed his faith by calling four¹ of this children to the religious life. He was full of energy and zeal for the Church. The Church stands in need, of course, of public men, great leaders who will stand to the fore in all great works. But their efforts are of little avail unless there are behind them staunch, loyal Catholics to uphold and encourage them.

"Mr Wessling was the kind of man who made possible Windthorst's great victory over the Iron Chancellor during the terrible struggle of the Kulturkamp. Without the support of the staunch Catholics behind him Windthorst could never have won the great victory. It was this solid opposition that finally defeated Bismark. It was the faith and loyalty of the German Catholics that overthrew Bismark.

"His Eminence then went on to relate with telling effect of a visit he made to Harzburg. On the heights overlooking the city stands the ruins of the castle of Henry IV. This king defied the Church and her head. He persecuted her and interfered in every way with her progress. But he was compelled to leave that castle and go to Canossa to ask pardon from Gregory VII.

"A few hundred paces from that spot is a bust of Bismark, and on the pedestal the boast of his admirers, 'We will not go again to Canossa.' But he did go on.

"Today those 2 sites are monuments to the folly of those who oppose and persecute the Church, and today are everlasting tribute to the strength of faith and loyalty to those who, like Mr. Wessling, are untiring, modest workers for every Catholic movement.

"Seated with his mother, and brothers and sisters, during the Mass was the oldest son of Mr. Wessling, Henry Wessling, S.J. of Woodstock, Md., who was stricken blind as a result of an explosion in a laboratory at Buffalo while doing a chemistry experimental work². Another son, Albert Wessling, S.J.,³ a member of Georgetown University, was also present.

"The funeral cortege proceeded to Calvary Cemetery where the internment took place after Rev. Faber recited the committal prayer at the grave."⁴

Another obituary was found and its text is as follows.⁵

Heinrch Weßling Am Freitag letzter Woche starb in seiner Wohnung in Roxbury, in 63. Lebensjahr, Herr Heinrich Weßling. Der Verstorbene erfreute sich eines großen Freundkreises, der weit über die Grenzen des Staates hinaus ging. Besonders unter den deutschen Katholiken Bostons, erwarb sich Herr Weßling durch eine umfassende und wertvolle Mitarbeit an jeder größern Begebenheit des hiesigen deutsch-katholischen Gemeinde, die größte Anerkennung. Er war Gründer und erster Präsident der vor einigen Jahren entstandenen Katholischen-Federation. Seit etwa 25 Jahren bekleidete er das Amt als Präsident der deutschen Germania Co-operative Bank, sowie auch mehrere Ämter in anderen Organizationen. Das Begräbnis fand vergangnen Montag unter sehr zahlreicher Beteilung von der Deutsch-Katholischen Kirche aus, statt. Herr Weßling hinterläßt eine Wittwe und neun 6 erwaschenen Kinder. On Friday of last week Henry Wessling died at his home in Roxbury at age 63. The deceased enjoyed a wide circle of friends which extended far beyond the borders of Massachusetts. Particularly among the German Catholics of Boston, Mr. Wessling acquired the greatest appreciation on account of his full and valuable collaboration in every major event of the local German Catholic parish. Some years ago he was a founder of the group which would become the archdiocesan chapter of the Catholic Federation and was its first president. For about 25 years he was involved with the Germania Co-operative Bank, having served as its president, and in addition he also held offices in several other organizations. The funeral took place this past Monday from the German Catholic Church amid a very large number of participants. He is survived by a widow and nine grown children.

1. Only 3 of his children were known to have entered a religious order.

2. For more details regarding Fr. Wessling's life, see an excerpt from the "Woodstock Letters".

3. This was actually Aloysius B. Wessling.

4. The source for this material was the April 4, 1914 edition of the diocesan newspaper, "The Pilot". As the European states were on the verge of commencing World War I, the Cardinal used the opportunity of Henry Wessling's death to speak out against German militarism. He made reference to Ludwig von Windthorst, who, as a ranking member of the Centrum Party, led the parliamentary opposition years earlier. Von Windthorst was a German Catholic from the Osnabrück area and his electoral district would have included Lingen a.d. Ems.

5. "Germania", Jahrgang XVII  Nr. 14; Sonnabend, den 4. April 1914. This was a German language newspaper published weekly in Boston, Massachusetts.

6. He and his wife were the parents of only 8 children.