John W. Beschter | |
|---|---|
 Portrait of John W. Beschter | |
| 16th President of Georgetown College | |
| In office March 31, 1829 – September 14, 1829 | |
| Preceded by | William Feiner |
| Succeeded by | Thomas F. Mulledy |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Johann Wilhelm Beschter May 20, 1763 Duchy of Luxembourg, Austrian Netherlands |
| Died | January 6, 1842 (aged 78) Paradise, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Resting place | Conewago Chapel |
John William Beschter SJ (born Johann Wilhelm Beschter; German: [ˈjoːhan ˈvɪlhɛlm ˈbɛʃtɐ]; [needs Luxembourgish IPA] May 20, 1763 – January 6, 1842) was a Catholic priest and Jesuit from the Duchy of Luxembourg in the Austrian Netherlands. He emigrated to the United States as a missionary in 1807, where he ministered in rural Pennsylvania and Maryland. Beschter was the last Jesuit pastor of St. Mary's Church in Lancaster, as well as the pastor of St. John the Evangelist Church in Baltimore, Maryland. He was also a priest at several other German-speaking churches in Pennsylvania.
Beschter's ministerial work was punctuated by a time as master of novices at the new Jesuit novitiate at White Marsh Manor, as well as a brief term as president of Georgetown College in 1829. While in Maryland, he aligned himself with the Continental European Jesuits in the United States, who endorsed a monarchist view of ecclesiastical leadership. After his presidency, Beschter remained at Georgetown for a year as a professor of German, before returning to Paradise, Pennsylvania, where he lived out the last twelve years of his life as a priest.