 Fr. Stanislaus Edwin Olsen, OP
Fr. Olsen is one of the more intriguing men of the Province. He was a friend of
bishops and important in many foundations, including our own province, which was made a
province in 1912. He was born in San Francisco to Gustave and Ellen (Fortune) Olsen
in 1880. He was received as a postulant in Benicia, California after two years of
high school at the age of sixteen. After two years he received the habit and a year
later made vows. After solemn profession in 1902 he went to study for another three
years in the Dominican House of Studies in Somerset, Ohio where he was ordained. He
stayed a year in Washington, D.C. afterwards. During his time away he made a lasting
friendship with a fellow Dominican priest, John T. McNicholas, who was later to become
bishop of Duluth and Archbishop of Cincinnati. At the
Catholic University of America he earned a Lectorate in Theology. He returned to
Benicia in 1906, and was put in charge of the Postulants. In 1911 he became prior
and pastor of St. Dominic's in Benicia. During his years in Benicia he also taught
the students philosophy and theology.
His next
assignment was Holy Rosary in Portland. He became the Pastor and Prior for two terms
from 1915 to 1921. He established the Holy Name Society in Portland at this time and
was its director for about two years. He was a very popular preacher. When the
province did not have enough preachers for its own province, he had to turn down
assignments outside of the province. After a brief stint as Pastor of Martinez he
returned to Portland. This time he was made the principal of our first high school,
Aquinas High School. In his conversation with the Provincial he was vocally against
the Order's involvement in high school work, and especially against this high school,
which previously had been losing money for the Christian Brothers. After a year of
this work he went back to teaching.
At this time of life he went back to the East Coast.
He taught philosophy at the College of St. Mary's of the Springs in Columbus, Ohio
for a year. He was then asked to become Socius to Archbishop McNicholas, his old
friend. He did this for three years while also being administrator of St. Gertrude's
Parish in Madeira, Ohio. He also directed layman's retreats. He was defended
by the Archbishop after a charge of heresy was leveled against him.
After a brief time away giving retreats and missions in
Hawaii in 1929, he returned to Portland. He stayed there for two years and then
moved to Eagle Rock for convalescent leave. He did various small work there for a
year and after getting better became Vicar and Pastor there. He continued in that
position for six years. After this he started to wind down. He was in Vallejo
for two years, then in Benicia. After an unsuccessful stay as Chaplain to the
Christian Brothers in Napa he returned to Benicia. In 1953 he retired to Ross,
California and died in the Kentfield Priory in 1963, after losing both legs to diabetes.
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