Nelson Henry Baker | |
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| Born | February 16, 1842 Buffalo, New York, United States |
| Died | July 29, 1936 (aged 94) Lackawanna, New York, United States |
Nelson Henry Baker (February 16, 1842 – July 29, 1936) was an American Catholic monsignor in Lackawanna, New York, whom the Vatican has declared as venerable.
Starting out in a parish deeply in debt, Nelson developed a national fundraising campaign that allowed him to build social institutions over the next 54 years that benefited the entire Western New York Region. He expanded and upgraded an existing orphanage and reform school. He create a home for abandoned infants and unwed mothers, a maternity hospital and two schools, among other facilities. During the Great Depression, he provided food, shelter and clothing to the needy of all religious faiths.
For his work with the disadvantaged and the outcasts of society, Baker was given the name "Padre of the Poor". A devotee of Mary, mother of Jesus, he constructed the Our Lady of Victory Basilica in Lackawanna. Since 1986, the Diocese of Buffalo has worked to secure Baker's canonization. He was declared venerable in 2011 by Pope Benedict XVI.