Johann Baptist Cattaneo
Following the death of Pastor Johann Georg Herwig in 1782, the Norka congregation sent an offer letter to the Reformed pastor and doctor, Johann Baptist Cattaneo, who was living in Switzerland at the time.
Johann Baptist Cattaneo (also Johannes Baptista Cattani) was born in Lavin, Graubünden, Switzerland, on June 27, 1746, the son of Thomas and Ursula Cattaneo.
Johann Baptist Cattaneo (also Johannes Baptista Cattani) was born in Lavin, Graubünden, Switzerland, on June 27, 1746, the son of Thomas and Ursula Cattaneo.
Silhouette (Scherenschnitt) of Rev. Johann Baptist Cattaneo. Image Source: Eine Reise Durch Deutschland Und Russland, Seinen Freunden Beschrieben Von J.B. Cattaneo Aus Bünden, Gegenwaertigen Pfarrer Einer Reformierten Deutschen Colonie Zu Norka an Der Saratofischen Statthalterschaft an Der Wolga in Der Russischen Tartarei in Asien
Cattaneo began attending the village school in Lavin at the age of seven and learned to read, write, sing, and memorize Bible stories. When his father died in 1755, Pastor Sebastian Secca became his guardian and assumed the responsibility for his education. Cattaneo was sent to study at the Reformed theological seminary in Zürich, Switzerland (1765/66), and was ordained on June 26, 1766 in Susch in the Unterengadin Valley, Switzerland. During his university studies in Zürich, he boarded with a physician and acquired medical training, including surgery.
Rev. Cattaneo first served as pastor in Fläsch, Graubünden, Switzerland, from 1767 to 1771.
In 1768, Rev. Cattaneo married Barbara Johanna Thomas in Fläsch. She was the daughter of Johannes Thomas and Magdalena Steiner and was born in Lavin, Graubünden, Switzerland, on April 17, 1752.
During 1771 and 1772, Rev. Cattaneo served in the small Swiss alpine village of Schuders. A daughter, Ursula, was born there in 1771. From 1772 to 1784, he served as pastor in St. Antönien. Two children, Magdalena (1775) and Thomas (1777), were born there.
Rev. Cattaneo first served as pastor in Fläsch, Graubünden, Switzerland, from 1767 to 1771.
In 1768, Rev. Cattaneo married Barbara Johanna Thomas in Fläsch. She was the daughter of Johannes Thomas and Magdalena Steiner and was born in Lavin, Graubünden, Switzerland, on April 17, 1752.
During 1771 and 1772, Rev. Cattaneo served in the small Swiss alpine village of Schuders. A daughter, Ursula, was born there in 1771. From 1772 to 1784, he served as pastor in St. Antönien. Two children, Magdalena (1775) and Thomas (1777), were born there.
The Saint Anna Reformed Church in Schuders, Switzerland (built in 1502) where Rev. Cattaneo served during 1771 and 1772. Image Source: Wikimedia Commons.
Rev. Cattaneo was called to serve the congregation in Norka, Russia, in February 1784. He accepted the assignment and departed for the Volga region with his wife and six children on April 1st of that year.
The Cattaneos stopped for a short stay in Barby (Germany), which at that time was a settlement for the Herrnhuter Brüdergemeine (Moravian Brotherhood). In 1748, the Moravians leased Barby Castle as a theological seminary. In 1765, the Moravians established the Sarepta colony near Tsaritsyn (now Volgograd) and the Volga German colonies. Many connections between Sarepta and Norka would follow, including the development of the Brotherhood movement and the sarpinka industry.
On June 9th, the family arrived in St. Petersburg and continued to Moscow, which they reached on June 26th. From Moscow, the family continued to Saratov on the lower Volga River. They arrived in Norka on August 3rd, and Rev. Cattaneo officially became the pastor of the Norka Reformed church on August 31, 1784.
The Cattaneos stopped for a short stay in Barby (Germany), which at that time was a settlement for the Herrnhuter Brüdergemeine (Moravian Brotherhood). In 1748, the Moravians leased Barby Castle as a theological seminary. In 1765, the Moravians established the Sarepta colony near Tsaritsyn (now Volgograd) and the Volga German colonies. Many connections between Sarepta and Norka would follow, including the development of the Brotherhood movement and the sarpinka industry.
On June 9th, the family arrived in St. Petersburg and continued to Moscow, which they reached on June 26th. From Moscow, the family continued to Saratov on the lower Volga River. They arrived in Norka on August 3rd, and Rev. Cattaneo officially became the pastor of the Norka Reformed church on August 31, 1784.
A son, Lukas Cattaneo, was born on October 30, 1787, and would follow in his father's footsteps.
Rev. Cattaneo wrote the book Eine Reise durch Deutschland und Russland, seinen Freunden beschrieben von J.B. Cattaneo aus Bünden, gegenwaertigen Pfarrer einer reformierten deutschen Colonie zu Norka an der Saratofischen Statthalterschaft an der Wolga in der russischen Tartarei in Asien (“A Trip through Germany and Russia, written for his friends and described by J.B. Cattaneo from Bünden, presently Pastor of a Reformed German Colony in Norka in the city administrative center of Saratov on the Volga in Russian Tartary in Asia”). The book was printed in Chur, Switzerland in 1787.
Under Rev. Cattaneo's leadership, the first organ for the Norka church was purchased in 1791. The organ was previously used in a chapel within Castle Barby, Germany, where Rev. Cattaneo had stopped to visit on his initial journey to Norka. In 1801, Rev. Cattaneo was briefly assisted by pastor Karl Jakob Früauf, who had served as a teacher in Barby. Pastor Früauf would soon become pastor of the colony Dietel.
Rev. Cattaneo's wife, Barbara Johanna, became ill and died in Sarepta, Russia on December 4, 1808.
Rev. Cattaneo's son, Lukas, also studied theology and became a highly regarded pastor and Probst in the Volga German colonies. Lukas returned to Norka to assist his father as the assistant pastor from 1817 to 1821.
Rev. Cattaneo was known as a skilled therapist and surgeon in German colonies and among nomadic peoples such as the Kalmyks. Up to 1819, he successfully performed 16 amputations of hands and legs, 277 operations for cancer and other tumors, and inoculated over 8,000 children against smallpox. With his versatile knowledge, Rev. Cattaneo helped the colonists with questions about beekeeping, the cultivation of plants, and agriculture. The Czar presented Rev. Cattaneo with a gilded tobacco canister and the cross of the Order of St. Vladimir for his good works.
In 1821, Lukas Cattaneo was sent to serve the Beideck parish. His father now resumed full responsibility for the Norka parish at age 75.
In 1822, Rev. Cattaneo oversaw the construction of the second church in Norka, which was built on the location of the original church.
Rev. Cattaneo served occasionally in Saratov and the colonies of Pobochnaya and Yagodnaya Polyana.
An excerpt from My Mothers People by Emma Schwabenland Haynes demonstrates that Rev. Cattaneo could be a firm disciplinarian:
Rev. Cattaneo wrote the book Eine Reise durch Deutschland und Russland, seinen Freunden beschrieben von J.B. Cattaneo aus Bünden, gegenwaertigen Pfarrer einer reformierten deutschen Colonie zu Norka an der Saratofischen Statthalterschaft an der Wolga in der russischen Tartarei in Asien (“A Trip through Germany and Russia, written for his friends and described by J.B. Cattaneo from Bünden, presently Pastor of a Reformed German Colony in Norka in the city administrative center of Saratov on the Volga in Russian Tartary in Asia”). The book was printed in Chur, Switzerland in 1787.
Under Rev. Cattaneo's leadership, the first organ for the Norka church was purchased in 1791. The organ was previously used in a chapel within Castle Barby, Germany, where Rev. Cattaneo had stopped to visit on his initial journey to Norka. In 1801, Rev. Cattaneo was briefly assisted by pastor Karl Jakob Früauf, who had served as a teacher in Barby. Pastor Früauf would soon become pastor of the colony Dietel.
Rev. Cattaneo's wife, Barbara Johanna, became ill and died in Sarepta, Russia on December 4, 1808.
Rev. Cattaneo's son, Lukas, also studied theology and became a highly regarded pastor and Probst in the Volga German colonies. Lukas returned to Norka to assist his father as the assistant pastor from 1817 to 1821.
Rev. Cattaneo was known as a skilled therapist and surgeon in German colonies and among nomadic peoples such as the Kalmyks. Up to 1819, he successfully performed 16 amputations of hands and legs, 277 operations for cancer and other tumors, and inoculated over 8,000 children against smallpox. With his versatile knowledge, Rev. Cattaneo helped the colonists with questions about beekeeping, the cultivation of plants, and agriculture. The Czar presented Rev. Cattaneo with a gilded tobacco canister and the cross of the Order of St. Vladimir for his good works.
In 1821, Lukas Cattaneo was sent to serve the Beideck parish. His father now resumed full responsibility for the Norka parish at age 75.
In 1822, Rev. Cattaneo oversaw the construction of the second church in Norka, which was built on the location of the original church.
Rev. Cattaneo served occasionally in Saratov and the colonies of Pobochnaya and Yagodnaya Polyana.
An excerpt from My Mothers People by Emma Schwabenland Haynes demonstrates that Rev. Cattaneo could be a firm disciplinarian:
The popular pastor, Rev. Cattaneo, who came to Norka in 1784 had a rather even handed way of dealing with family strife.
Whenever a couple came to him asking for a divorce, he would listen quietly to both sides, and then, since both husband and wife were usually to blame, he would lift a stick which he kept handy for this very purpose, and proceed to give them both a beating. As a result, it is not surprising to hear that during his ministry, divorces in Norka were practically non existent.
Cattaneo's son Lukas returned to Norka due to failing health in February 1828 and remained there until his death from tuberculosis on December 21st of that year.
From 1828 to Rev. Cattaneo's death, he was assisted by Emanuel Grunauer. Emanuel was Johannes' granddaughter's husband.
According to Johannes Preisendorf, on May 4, 1830, 50 rubles were stolen from the church treasury. It is possible that someone took advantage of Rev. Cattaneo's declining health.
Rev. Cattaneo continued to serve the parish of Norka until he passed away peacefully in his sleep on January 16, 1831. His remarkable 46 years, 4 months, and 16 days 47 made him the longest-tenured pastor of Norka. He made a significant and lasting impact on the colony.
From 1828 to Rev. Cattaneo's death, he was assisted by Emanuel Grunauer. Emanuel was Johannes' granddaughter's husband.
According to Johannes Preisendorf, on May 4, 1830, 50 rubles were stolen from the church treasury. It is possible that someone took advantage of Rev. Cattaneo's declining health.
Rev. Cattaneo continued to serve the parish of Norka until he passed away peacefully in his sleep on January 16, 1831. His remarkable 46 years, 4 months, and 16 days 47 made him the longest-tenured pastor of Norka. He made a significant and lasting impact on the colony.
Related Reading
Sources
Amburger, Erik. Die Pastoren Der Evangelischen Kirchen Russlands Vom Ende Des 16. Jahrhunderts Bis 1937: Ein Biographisches Lexikon. Lüneburg: Inst. Nordostdt. Kulturwerk, 1998. 283. Print.
Bauer, Gottlieb. Geschichte der deutschen Ansiedler an der Wolga seit ihrer Einwanderung nach Rußland bis zur Einführung der allgemeinen Wehrpflicht (1766-1874). Saratow, 1908.
Beratz, Gottlieb. Die deutschen Kolonisten an der unteren Wolga in ihrer Entstehung und ersten Entwicklung. Berlin, 1923.
Cattaneo, Johann B. Eine Reise Durch Deutschland Und Russland, Seinen Freunden Beschrieben Von J.B. Cattaneo Aus Bünden, Gegenwaertigen Pfarrer Einer Reformierten Deutschen Colonie Zu Norka an Der Saratofischen Statthalterschaft an Der Wolga in Der Russischen Tartarei in Asien. Chur, Switzerland: 1787. Print.
Finze-Michaelsen, Holger. Von Graubünden an Die Wolga: Das Leben Des Bündner Pfarrer Johannes Baptista Cattaneo (1745-1831). Chur: Verlag Bündner Monatsblatt, 1992. Print.
Haynes, Emma Schwabenland. My Mother's People. Emma Schwabenland-Haynes, 1959. Print.
The Memoirs of Johannes Baptista Cattaneo, Pastor of the Reformed Church in Norka, were published in Wolgadeutsche Monatshefte. Berlin: Vol. 2 (1923): 23-25. Print.
Pleve, I. R., and Richard R. Rye. The German Colonies on the Volga: The Second Half of the Eighteenth Century. Lincoln, Nebraska: American Historical Society of Germans from Russia, 2001. p. 319. Print.
Preisendorf, Johannes. "Auszüge aus der Chronik der Kolonie Norka an der Wolga." Der Kirchenbote. Date Unknown.
Schnurr, Joseph. Die Kirchen Und Das Religiöse Leben Der Rußlanddeutschen. Stuttgart: AER-Verl., 1978: 129. Print.
"Ural-Volga Region (Russian Language)." Ural-Volga Region. Evangelical Reformed Church of Kazan. Web. 29 Feb. 2016. <http://www.kazan.reformed-church.ru/page7/>.
Wenneker, Erich. "Cattaneo, Johann Baptist" Biographisch-Bibliographisches Kirchenlexikon (BBKL). Band 15, Bautz, Herzberg 1999, ISBN 3-88309-077-8. 404–407.
Bauer, Gottlieb. Geschichte der deutschen Ansiedler an der Wolga seit ihrer Einwanderung nach Rußland bis zur Einführung der allgemeinen Wehrpflicht (1766-1874). Saratow, 1908.
Beratz, Gottlieb. Die deutschen Kolonisten an der unteren Wolga in ihrer Entstehung und ersten Entwicklung. Berlin, 1923.
Cattaneo, Johann B. Eine Reise Durch Deutschland Und Russland, Seinen Freunden Beschrieben Von J.B. Cattaneo Aus Bünden, Gegenwaertigen Pfarrer Einer Reformierten Deutschen Colonie Zu Norka an Der Saratofischen Statthalterschaft an Der Wolga in Der Russischen Tartarei in Asien. Chur, Switzerland: 1787. Print.
Finze-Michaelsen, Holger. Von Graubünden an Die Wolga: Das Leben Des Bündner Pfarrer Johannes Baptista Cattaneo (1745-1831). Chur: Verlag Bündner Monatsblatt, 1992. Print.
Haynes, Emma Schwabenland. My Mother's People. Emma Schwabenland-Haynes, 1959. Print.
The Memoirs of Johannes Baptista Cattaneo, Pastor of the Reformed Church in Norka, were published in Wolgadeutsche Monatshefte. Berlin: Vol. 2 (1923): 23-25. Print.
Pleve, I. R., and Richard R. Rye. The German Colonies on the Volga: The Second Half of the Eighteenth Century. Lincoln, Nebraska: American Historical Society of Germans from Russia, 2001. p. 319. Print.
Preisendorf, Johannes. "Auszüge aus der Chronik der Kolonie Norka an der Wolga." Der Kirchenbote. Date Unknown.
Schnurr, Joseph. Die Kirchen Und Das Religiöse Leben Der Rußlanddeutschen. Stuttgart: AER-Verl., 1978: 129. Print.
"Ural-Volga Region (Russian Language)." Ural-Volga Region. Evangelical Reformed Church of Kazan. Web. 29 Feb. 2016. <http://www.kazan.reformed-church.ru/page7/>.
Wenneker, Erich. "Cattaneo, Johann Baptist" Biographisch-Bibliographisches Kirchenlexikon (BBKL). Band 15, Bautz, Herzberg 1999, ISBN 3-88309-077-8. 404–407.
Last updated February 15, 2024