Martin Rath

1922 - 2016

Father Martin Rath, OSB

Collegeville

Minneapolis

June 9, 1922 - August 22, 2016

Father Martin Rath, OSB, died on August 22nd, in the retirement center at Saint John's Abbey. He is survived by the community at Saint John's Abbey.

Peter Francis Rath was born on June 9, 1922, to Charles and Mary (Schneider) Rath in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Peter was the eighth of ten children.

In 1948 Peter came to Saint John's Abbey on a personal retreat. He soon felt called to enter the monastery and on November 8, 1948, applied as a brother candidate and entered the novitiate on March 20, 1949, receiving the religious name Martin after the Bishop, Saint Martin of Tours. Brother Martin professed his first vows as a Benedictine monk on March 21, 1950.

Martin's years in the monastery were marked by the multi-tasking that so characterized much of his early life. He worked in the Abbey Print Shop, gardens, monastic refectory, and in the University Bookstore. Brother Martin also did part-time jobs serving as night watchman and assisting in the butcher shop, chicken coop, and maple syrup production. He also did seasonal work at the White Earth Indian Mission and also at Red Lake Indian Mission. In April 1968 Brother Martin became the officer in charge of Collegeville Post Office, and in 1971 he was appointed Postmaster, a position Martin held until 1979 when he resigned to pursue his dream of becoming a priest.

Brother Martin successfully completed his theology studies and was ordained to the priesthood by Bishop George Speltz on June 5, 1983. Following ordination Father Martin became associate pastor at Saint Bernard's Parish in St. Paul (1983-1986); chaplain at St. Therese Home in New Hope, Minnesota (1986-1989); pastor of the Most Holy Redeemer Parish in Ogema, Minnesota and St. Ann's Parish in Waubun (1989-1994); pastor at Sacred Heart parish in Freeport, Minnesota (1994-1996); and chaplain at St. Mary's Care Center in Winsted, Minnesota (1996-2007).

In 1987 he founded "Nazareth House" in Saint Paul which provided a home for the broken-hearted, hospitality for the neglected, and a house of prayer for the weary, where he worked until 2001 when it closed.

The Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated for Father Martin, August 26th at 3:00 pm in Saint John's Abbey Church with interment in Saint John's Cemetery following the service.