Individual Details
Alto Fr. OSB Butkowski
(April 4, 1911 - February 28, 2004)
Father Alto Butkowski OSB
Father Alto Butkowski OSB, 92, of Collegeville, died Feb 28, 2004, in the retirement center at St. John's Abbey and embarked that day on his final journey to the safe and sure harbor of grace beyond all earthly storm. Funeral services were held on Tuesday, March 2, in St. John's Abbey Church with interment later in the abbey cemetery.
Edward Butkowski was born on April 4, 1911, near St. Rosa, Minn., to Ladislaus and Mary Anna (Eiynck) Butkowski. He was the third of eleven children. He had six brothers and four sisters. Edward attended Stearns County District School. He entered St. John's Preparatory School in 1928, and, after graduation in 1932, he matriculated at St. John's University. During his sophomore year, he applied for entrance into the novitiate and was accepted. He professed first monastic vows on July 11, 1935. Brother Alto graduated with a bachelor of arts degree from St. John's in 1937. He served as assistant formation director during the four years he studied theology, and Bishop Busch ordained him a priest at St. John's on June 8, 1941. After his ordination, Father Alto went in August to the Benedictine missions in the Bahamas and served in the pastoral apostolate for the next 22 years on the Family Islands of Grand Bahama, Bimini and Andros. The rough conditions in the Bahamian missions demanded practical skills. When the cantankerous captain of the Star of the Sea, the mission boat, balked at repairing the boat at Mangrove Cay, Father Alto fixed it himself and made ready to sail to Nassau. The captain, foreseeing the loss of his job, warned the priest, "Father, you can't sail to Nassau alone. You never sailed before." Father Alto concludes the story with the comment, "I sailed to Nassau." After his return to the United States, he became pastor of St. Charles Church, Herman, Minn., in 1964. In the Archdiocese of St. Paul-Minneapolis Father Alto assisted at St. Boniface, Hastings, and was pastor of Holy Name Church, Wayzata, from 1969 until 1972. He returned to central Minnesota to become pastor of St. John's Church, Meire Grove, from 1972 to 1976. He served the Diocese of Crookston as pastor of St. Mary's Church, Two Inlets, from 1976 to 1984, and as pastor of St. John Nepomuk Church, Lake Reno, from 1984 to 1991. In June 1991, Father Alto celebrated the fiftieth anniversary of his ordination. As pastor of St. James Church, Jacobs Prairie, from 1991 to 1992, Father Alto ended his fruitful career of pastoral service when he retired to St. John's Abbey. He reluctantly sold the Harley-Davidson that he preferred to a Ford because, he said, "It's too easy to fall asleep when you're driving a car."
Three sisters survive Father Alto: Mrs. Alma Notch, Melrose; Mrs. Arline Finken, St. Cloud; and Mrs. Hilda Caspers, Victoria, Minn.
Father Alto Butkowski OSB, 92, of Collegeville, died Feb 28, 2004, in the retirement center at St. John's Abbey and embarked that day on his final journey to the safe and sure harbor of grace beyond all earthly storm. Funeral services were held on Tuesday, March 2, in St. John's Abbey Church with interment later in the abbey cemetery.
Edward Butkowski was born on April 4, 1911, near St. Rosa, Minn., to Ladislaus and Mary Anna (Eiynck) Butkowski. He was the third of eleven children. He had six brothers and four sisters. Edward attended Stearns County District School. He entered St. John's Preparatory School in 1928, and, after graduation in 1932, he matriculated at St. John's University. During his sophomore year, he applied for entrance into the novitiate and was accepted. He professed first monastic vows on July 11, 1935. Brother Alto graduated with a bachelor of arts degree from St. John's in 1937. He served as assistant formation director during the four years he studied theology, and Bishop Busch ordained him a priest at St. John's on June 8, 1941. After his ordination, Father Alto went in August to the Benedictine missions in the Bahamas and served in the pastoral apostolate for the next 22 years on the Family Islands of Grand Bahama, Bimini and Andros. The rough conditions in the Bahamian missions demanded practical skills. When the cantankerous captain of the Star of the Sea, the mission boat, balked at repairing the boat at Mangrove Cay, Father Alto fixed it himself and made ready to sail to Nassau. The captain, foreseeing the loss of his job, warned the priest, "Father, you can't sail to Nassau alone. You never sailed before." Father Alto concludes the story with the comment, "I sailed to Nassau." After his return to the United States, he became pastor of St. Charles Church, Herman, Minn., in 1964. In the Archdiocese of St. Paul-Minneapolis Father Alto assisted at St. Boniface, Hastings, and was pastor of Holy Name Church, Wayzata, from 1969 until 1972. He returned to central Minnesota to become pastor of St. John's Church, Meire Grove, from 1972 to 1976. He served the Diocese of Crookston as pastor of St. Mary's Church, Two Inlets, from 1976 to 1984, and as pastor of St. John Nepomuk Church, Lake Reno, from 1984 to 1991. In June 1991, Father Alto celebrated the fiftieth anniversary of his ordination. As pastor of St. James Church, Jacobs Prairie, from 1991 to 1992, Father Alto ended his fruitful career of pastoral service when he retired to St. John's Abbey. He reluctantly sold the Harley-Davidson that he preferred to a Ford because, he said, "It's too easy to fall asleep when you're driving a car."
Three sisters survive Father Alto: Mrs. Alma Notch, Melrose; Mrs. Arline Finken, St. Cloud; and Mrs. Hilda Caspers, Victoria, Minn.
Events
| Birth | April 4, 1911 | St. Rosa, MN | |||
| Death | February 28, 2004 | Collegeville, MN |
Families
| Father | Ladislaus Butkowski (1882 - 1947) |
| Mother | Mary Anna Eyinck (1884 - 1970) |
| Sibling | George Butkowski (1906 - 1982) |
| Sibling | Joseph Butkowski (1909 - 1982) |
| Sibling | Alma R. Butkowski (1913 - 2009) |
| Sibling | Arnold Butkowski (1915 - 1997) |
| Sibling | Ernestine Butkowski (1917 - 1980) |
| Sibling | Arlene Butkowski (1919 - 2007) |
| Sibling | Harold Butkowski (1923 - 2004) |
| Sibling | Hilda Ann Butkowski |
| Sibling | Vernon J. Butkowski (1929 - 1999) |