Name: Viefhaus, Johann Ferdinand
Born: 8 January 1838
Where Born: Prillendorf, Essen, West Prussia
Ordained: 27 April 1862
Where Ordained: Cologne, Germany
Served From-To: 1866-1890
Died: 6 March 1916
Where Died: Duesseldorf Germany
Buried: 7 March 1916 – Maria Hain Carthusian Cemetery – Duesseldorf, Germany
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He was pastor of St.Mary’s Evansville, the German parish. He arrived there in March of 1866. Fr. Viefhaus left the diocese in 1890, and he obviously ended up back in his home territory Düsseldorf, Westfalen, Germany, which is where he died and was buried. He joined the Carthusian order which explains his name “Dominik Franziskus OCart”. He was part of the former Schloss Hain in Düsseldorf-Unterrath was established under the name of Kartause Maria Hain (Maria Hain Charterhouse) as a Carthusian monastery in 1869, where despite the threats of the Kulturkampf in the 1880s and of World War II, it survived until 1964, when the site was required for the expansion of Düsseldorf Airport and the monks were forced to leave.
“Viefhaus quickly became one of the most prominent and popular leaders of the German priests, not only in the diocese but also in the Middle West. In eloquence he was, perhaps, the superior of Siegrist and, like Doebbner, had important connections. lie was deeply attached to his native land which he visited in 1874. ((Gorman, Robert – Unpublished history of the diocese))