Albert Daeger
Albert Daeger OFM, born Anthony Thomas Daeger (March 5, 1872 – December 2, 1932), was an American Franciscan priest who became Archbishop of Santa Fe. He was the first archbishop of Santa Fe to be born in the United States.
He grew up in Sand Creek Township, Indiana, as the oldest of twelve children. His grandfather was a German immigrant who joined the Franciscans, and both Daeger and his brother George later became friars. He studied at St. Ann’s in North Vernon and St. George’s in Cincinnati, then joined the Franciscan order in 1889 at Oldenburg, Indiana. He took the name Albert in 1893 and was ordained a priest on July 25, 1896. He celebrated his first Mass the next day at his childhood parish.
Daeger served in Kansas City and Lincoln before moving to New Mexico as a missionary in 1902. He led parishes and built chapels and schools in Peña Blanca, Farmington, and Jemez Pueblo, often traveling long distances to serve remote communities. He also survived a pneumonia attack during a 1909 snowstorm.
Pope Benedict XV appointed him Archbishop of Santa Fe on March 10, 1919, and he was consecrated on May 7, 1919. At his arrival, the archdiocese had 80 priests, 356 churches, and 26 schools; by the time of his death, there were 106 priests, 362 churches, and 35 schools. In 1928 he presided over the funeral Mass of Father Anton Docher in Isleta Pueblo.
Daeger died on December 2, 1932, after falling 10 feet in a Santa Fe garage basement and suffering a skull fracture. He was 60 years old and is buried at the Cathedral of St. Francis of Assisi.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 17:15 (CET).