Nelson Henry Baker (February 16, 1842 – July 29, 1936) was an American Catholic monsignor in Lackawanna, New York, whom the Vatican has declared as venerable.

Starting out in a parish deeply in debt, Nelson developed a national fundraising campaign that allowed him to build social institutions over the next 54 years that benefited the entire Western New York Region.

Lewis Becker, a German Evangelical Lutheran, was a retired mariner who opened a grocery store on Batavia Street in Buffalo.

[1][2] In early July 1864, during the American Civil War, Baker enter the 74th regiment of the New York State Militia at age 21 for a 30-day enlistment.

[3] After being discharged from the militia, in August 1863, Baker started a successful feed and grain business in Buffalo with his friend and fellow veteran, Joseph Meyer.

[4] In the summer of 1869, needing a vacation from work, Baker took a steamship trip along Lake Erie, using the time to think about his future.

After his recovery and return to the seminary, Baker was appointed head of its chapter of the Vincent de Paul Society.

[7] After the seminarians arrived in Rome, they toured St. Peter's Basilica and other religious sites; Pope Pius IX granted them a brief audience at the Vatican.

[5] After his ordination, the diocese assigned Baker as an assistant pastor to Reverend Thomas Hines at St. Patrick's Parish in Limestone Hill, New York.

Frustrated by Hines' unwillingness to deal with the financial problems, Baker requested a transfer from the diocese to another parish.

[3] Several days after returning to St. Patrick in 1882, a group of creditors met with Baker, demanding immediate payment of the orphanage and protectory debts.

[1] On taking control of the protectory, Baker removed all the bars from the windows and remodeled the building to establish a more homelike atmosphere.

In 1891, Baker hired a drilling company to explore for natural gas on OLV property, with hopes of offsetting heating costs for its institutions.

According to local accounts, Baker buried a small statue of Our Lady of Victory in the ground and told the drillers to drill there.

[1] Having more revenue from his fundraising, Baker in 1893 expanded the protectory and in 1895 added a gym, a recreational hall, and a new high school.

The Vatican in 1923 named Baker as a protonotary apostolic with the title of monsignor, an honor held by only five other priests in the United States at that time.

[10][3] On January 14, 2011, Pope Benedict XVI authorized the Congregation for the Causes of Saints in Rome to issue a decree recognizing Baker's heroic virtue and designating him as venerable.