The following article is the property of The Iowa Almanac and was posted with permission from the author, Professor Jeff Stein.
Father Paul Doberstein was born in Germany in 1872 and emigrated to the United States at age 20. He was ordained in Milwaukee on June 30, 1897. After a year as chaplain for a Dubuque hospital, he was appointed as pastor of the West Bend Saints Peter and Paul Catholic Church. He remained there for the rest of his life, and during that 57 years, he created something truly remarkable.
Shortly before he completed his seminary studies, Father Doberstein became critically ill with pneumonia. He prayed to the Virgin Mary, promising to build a shrine in her honor if he lived…