Martin Schmidt, son of Raymond John Schmidt & Sophia Karlin, was born 12 October 1918 in Catharine, Kansas.
He was ordained in St. Fidelis Catholic Church in Victoria, Kansas, on 2 June 1946 and received the name of Firmin.
In 1959, Pope John XXIII appointed Father Schmidt in as prefect apostolic of the Capuchin mission in the Southern Highlands of Papua New Guinea.
Father Firmin Schmidt was consecrated the first Bishop of the Diocese of Mendi on 15 December 1965 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvaina. He served in this capacity until his retirement in 1995.
Bishop Schmidt died 4 August 2005 in Hays, Kansas, and is buried there in St. Joseph Catholic Cemetery.
Bishop Schmidt's Volga German ancestors came from the colony of Katharinenstadt.
- Bishop Firmin Martin Schmidt (FindAGrave)
- Bishop Firmin Schmidt, OFM Cap. (Diocese of Mendi)
Bishop Firmin Schmidt, OFM.Cap.
Source: FindAGrave
Bishop Firmin Schmidt, OFM.Cap.
Source: Diocese of Mendi.