Msgr. Nicholas Moelter Papers

Nicholas Matthias Moelter was born on January 23, 1890 in Wanda, Minnesota.  A graduate of Campion College (Prairie du Chien, WI) and of the Saint Paul Seminary, he was ordained as a priest for the Diocese of Saint Paul on June 11, 1918.  Moelter was then assigned to the College of St. Thomas for the next five years where he taught history to collegians and students of the St. Thomas Military Academy.  During this time, he began graduate studies in history at the University of Minnesota.  In 1923 he left St. Paul for Europe where he studied for a doctorate in European History at Louvain University (Louvain, Belgium) and at Oxford University (England).  He returned to the College of St. Thomas in 1926 to teach in the History Department.  He remained as a professor at CST until his retirement in 1973.  Moelter served as chair of the History Department for a number of years and was named by his colleagues Professor of the Year in 1965.  He passed away on September 18, 1979 in Wabasson, MN.