John Campanius
John Campanius (Swedish: Johannes Jonæ Holmiensis Campanius; August 15, 1601 – September 17, 1683), also known as Johan Campanius and Johannes Campanius, was a Swedish Lutheran priest assigned to the New Sweden colony. Background John Campanius was born in Stockholm and attended Uppsala University, where he studied theology and graduated in 1633. He was ordained into the Lutheran ministry during 1633. He served as the chaplain to the Swedish delegation in Russia in 1634. He then moved to Norrtälje, where he served as a schoolmaster beginning in 1636. He also served as chaplain and preceptor of the Stockholm Orphan's Home, a position he continued in through 1642. New Sweden Campanius left Stockholm on August 16, 1642, and arrived at New Sweden on February 15, 1643. He came to accompany the first Swedish settlers to Fort Christina, near present-day Wilmington, Delaware, and served as a missionary to the nearby Lenape Indians. Campanius served as a replacement for the first Swedish Lutheran Minister, Reorus Torkillus who had recently died. For several years the New Sweden colony had no specific location for organized worship. Campanius had to visit the settlers at their cabins, which ranged all the way up to Fort Nya Gothenburg