*****WORLD WAR II CHAPLAIN*****

3rd Armored Division - Awarded Silver Star

1.) Rev. John Buchanan, Longtime St. Paul Priest,

Founded Local Parish

The Rev. John J. Buchanan, who founded Holy Childhood parish in St. Paul in 1946 after serving as an Army chaplain Europe, died Sunday at the Little Sisters of the Poor residence in St. Paul from complications of Parkinson's disease. Buchanan, parish pastor for 40 years, was 87.

"He was, above all else, a priest and a Christian gentleman, loyal to his friends and the church, which he served for over 60 years," said Monsignor Richard Schuler, pastor at St. Agnes Catholic Church and a longtime friend. "He loved the Mass and everything that enhanced it – music, architecture, vestments and ceremony."

Schuler said Buchanan's parish, known for a church with beautiful commissioned artwork, including stained glass made in France, was one of the many started shortly after World War II.

"He didn't talk much about the war, but he told me he never expected to get back," Schuler said. "He was in the middle of the whole fight at the Battle of the Bulge. He said it was a terrible thing. He went out and got the wounded and took care of them." For his efforts, Buchanan was awarded the Silver Star for heroism.

His friends say Buchanan's bravery continued in his practice of Christian social values. In 1952, he resigned from an organization because it refused to accept a black applicant. He also took firm stands against anti-Semitism, earning applause for his efforts from the American Jewish World newspaper.

Schuler said Buchanan also took on the unusual task of making sure he visited every family in his parish annually. "It was one of the great things he did that made him so extraordinary," Schuler said. "It takes a certain amount of courage to knock on somebody's door and say, 'I haven't seen you at Mass.' It showed he cared."

Buchanan was considered a pioneer in liturgical reform, holding evening Mass and saying Mass facing people years before the Second Vatican Council. His interest in sacred music led him to establish the popular Schola Cantorum choir. He was on the editorial board of Sacred Music and was a frequent contributor of articles. He also assisted in editing The Mystical Christ, a theological study. "He wrote well, in beautiful expository style," Schuler said.

Buchanan was born in Flint, Mich. His family moved to Faribault, Minn., where his father became the superintendent of the state school for the deaf.

He attended Nazareth Hall Minor Seminary and the St. Paul Seminary and was ordained in 1936. His first parish assignment was Incarnation Church in Minneapolis, where he served until he became a military chaplain.

Services will be a 7 p.m. today at the Church of the Holy Childhood, Midway Parkway and Pascal Street. Visitation will be at the church starting at 3:30 p.m. today. Burial will be at 11 a.m. Thursday at Resurrection Cemetery, Mendota Heights.

Source: Ben Chanco, Staff Writer; Saint Paul Pioneer Press, Wednesday, February 11, 1998

2.) John Siler, John James Buchanan's (JJB) distant cousin, used to drive JJB's Aunt Aldah from Flint, Michigan to Minnesota to visit. John saw JJB's military medals on a shelf in his parish office and asked about them. JJB replied, "I thought about throwing them away, as I don't recognize that man anymore." JJB used to visit Prince & Ruth (Piper) Siler quite often when son John was young. The Buchanan clan was related to the Pipers. (Ruth Piper's father Mark was Aldah Buchanan's 1st cousin.)

3.) John Siler said JJB spent his yearly vacations in Europe. The money he had saved through the year would be spent in London on 2 very fine, tailored, black suits. It was an annual suit pilgrimage! It showed that he not only loved music and the arts, being well-dressed was also important to him.

MOTHER: Roselle Lafferty

FATHER: Arthur Percy Buchanan