Cajetan J. B. Baumann, O.F.M. | |
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Born | 3 August 1899 Grünkraut, Ravensburg, Baden-Württemberg, Germany |
Died | May 9, 1969 New York City |
(aged 69)
Nationality | German and USA |
Occupation | Architect |
Brother Cajetan J. B. Baumann, O.F.M., AIA, (1899-1969), was a Franciscan friar and a noted American architect. Baumann’s designs were incredibly progressive, providing modern interpretations of Gothic architecture.
Baumann was born 3 August 1899 in Grünkraut, a town in the Ravensburg district of the State of Baden-Württemberg in Germany. He spent two years in military service during World War I, mostly with the engineering corps of the German Imperial Army. In 1922 he entered the novitiate of the Fulda Province of the Order of Friars Minor in Sigmaringen, where, upon completion, he was given the religious habit and the name by which he is now known on 16 July 1923. He remained a member of this Province throughout his life.
In 1925 Baumann was sent to the United States to help with his skills as a cabinetmaker and wood carver. It was there that he made his final profession at St. Bonaventure Friary in Paterson, New Jersey on 16 July 1926. He served that community for the next ten years. He then went on to earn a bachelor's degree from St. Bonaventure University in 1941 and a Master of Science from Columbia University, where he later served on the Board of Governors of the School of Architecture. He was also active in the National Committee on Religious Buildings, the Architectural League of New York, the National Sculpture Society, the New York Building Congress and the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards. Baumann was the American representative of the International Commission for the Restoration of the Basilica of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem.