Advanced +

Schmidt, Santiago (1902–2001)

By Daniel Oscar Plenc

×

Daniel Oscar Plenc, Th.D. (River Plate Adventist University, Entre Ríos, Argentina), currently works as a theology professor and director of the White Research Center at the River Plate Adventist University. He worked as a district pastor for twelve years. He is married to Lissie Ziegler and has three children.

First Published: January 29, 2020

Audio

Santiago Schmidt was an Adventist pastor, missionary, and administrator from Argentina.

Early Life

Santiago Schmidt was born on September 9, 1902, the sixth son of Godofredo and María Elizabeth (Bernhardt) Schmidt, German immigrants born in Russia and eradicated in the Republic of Argentina.1

Santiago’s father, Godofredo Schmidt (1868–1961), was born in Altgalga, Volga, Russia. Godofredo went to Argentina with his brother Juan Federico Schmidt in 1891. In 1892, he married María Elizabeth Bernhardt, who died in 1912 at age 39. Then he married Ana Elizabeth Schneider, who died in 1934. Godofredo was baptized in 1899 by Pastor Frank Henry Westphal (1858–1944), and he was a faithful member of the church of Crespo, Entre Ríos, Argentina, until he died in 1961, at age 93. Godofredo left 10 children: Susana, María, Amalia, Enrique, Godofredo, Santiago, David, Daniel, Lidia, and Paulina, 44 grandchildren, 59 great-grandchildren, and 9 great-great-grandchildren.2

Since his childhood, Santiago Schmidt was a member of the Adventist church of Crespo, and he studied in the church school. He was baptized by Dr. Robert Hill Habenicht (1866–1925). From 1918 to 1924, Santiago studied in River Plate Academy and River Plate Sanitarium in Entre Ríos, and he canvassed for five summers.3 In those years, he was a Sabbath School teacher; secretary of the director, Jesse S. Marshall (1888–1960); director of the magazine La voz del colegio (Voice of the academy); and deputy director of the hogar de varones (male dormitory).4 In the future, he would continue his education in Washington and Loma Linda, California, United States.

In a letter addressed to the members of Crespo Campo church, on the 95th anniversary of that congregation, Schmidt recalled the following: “By the divine blessing, a lot of work, savings and perseverance, I finished my studies at the River Plate Sanitarium and College, having as my best teacher the esteemed Dr. Roberto Habenicht, who also baptized me in Paraíso stream.”5 Schmidt married Marta Weiss (1904–2005), originally from Crespo church, who had a great talent for music.6 Marta was the daughter of Daniel Weiss and Ana S. de Weiss. In the same house of the Weiss family in Crespo Campo where they married, they later celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary.

Ministry in Argentina, Bolivia, and Brazil

When Schmidt finished his studies, he was the assistant of the Publications department of the Central Argentine Conference, especially in charge of student canvassers. In 1925 River Plate Sanitarium called him to work as a cashier and an assistant manager, giving him the possibility of carrying out nursing studies. Then he was called by the Austral Union Conference (a former administrative unit that included the countries of Argentina, Chile, Paraguay, and Uruguay) as secretary-treasurer of the Adventist work in Chile, under the presidency of Pastor Eliel Almonte. Austral Union Conference awarded him a missionary credential in 1926. He had even circumstantially taken over the presidency of Chile Conference at the age of 23. He remained in Chile for 1926 and 1927.

His next destination was Bolivia, in the Inca Union Mission (a former administrative unit that included the countries of Bolivia, Ecuador, and Peru), where he served for three years. There, he carried out administrative and missionary tasks, especially in Sucre and Tarija. On a motorcycle, he toured the high plateau to open new preaching centers.7 He moved to Brazil in 1929 and served in the Southeast Brazil Union Conference (1937–1940) and East Brazil Union Mission (1940–1943). He helped organize the first Adventist school in the state of Rio Grande and a health institution that became known as Silvestre Adventist Hospital. Schmidt said,

Back then there was not a single Brazilian Adventist doctor in that country and not a single Brazilian Adventist nurse. We got diplomas from River Plate Academy and River Plate Sanitarium and started the ‘Fuego Salvaje’ [Pemphigus] hospital.8

He was also director of the departments of Sabbath School, Lay Activities, and Public Relations of East Brazil Union Mission. Schmidt said that he “worked in all Adventist unions in South America, baptizing in the Amazon River and bringing Argentines there.”9

South American Division and Brazil

Santiago Schmidt became in 1943 the first South American to be the director of departments (Mission and Sabbath School) of the South American Division, under the presidency of Pastor Rubén R. Fighur.10 He wrote about it:

We accepted the call only after having received encouragement from our best friends in the work, because until then no South American had held such positions. We put our trust in God and in the collaboration of our dear brothers and workers.11

He was also a correspondent for the Advent Review and Sabbath Herald until 1954. Pastor Schmidt remained in the South American Division for 11 years (three quadrennials), until he was replaced in his responsibilities by Pastors Juan Riffel (also from Crespo Campo, son of David Riffel and grandson of the pioneer Jorge Riffel) and Mario Rasi.12

The trips around the territory were wide and exhausting. Here is an example:

My itinerary through the South American countryside, to accompany Pastor Moffitt of the General Conference, demanded that I left the office of South American Division in December 1946, hoping to be back only in September 1947. According to a carefully studied plan to make the most of all the moments in meetings, assemblies, councils, and other activities.13

In an article for La Revista Adventista, Schmidt talks about a trip to Inca Union Mission along the Altiplano at about 4,400 meters (14,400 feet) above sea level in a time of snow and intense cold. They crossed Lake Titicaca in a cargo steamship in which they were on the water 14 hours, followed by a ride in an open truck, in order to visit Adventist mission stations in which they held special meetings with groups of up to a thousand people. Schmidt tells that there were 210 church schools with about ten thousand students around the lake, and about eleven thousand Sabbath school members, mostly Quichua and Aymara. He dedicated part of the time to the fundraising campaign for the church’s philanthropic work.14

Schmidt continued to direct departments in Brazil until 1962. Pastor Roberto Gullón tells that Santiago Schmidt was affectionately known as “Your Holiness” because he signed with his initials, “S. S.”15 After his retirement, he went to live in the United States, where his daughters lived.

United States and Retirement Years

Schmidt served for seven years in Glendale Adventist Hospital, in the United States, while working for Portuguese speakers in the area. He continued his service at Loma Linda University, California, in the cost and inventory sector, until 1973. He was, at the same time, the chaplain for Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking patients. The Mexican Union called him later to work as a volunteer in a German-speaking Mennonite colony in Cuauhtémoc, Chihuahua State, where there were no Adventists. He worked there for 15 years, until 1987, and managed to form a small group of believers of Mennonite origin and another one of Mexicans. In 1979, Pastor Alfredo Arnolds was sent as director of the work in favor of the Mennonites of Chihuahua state.16

Between his regular service in the organization and his volunteer work, Schmidt served 69 years in ministry. He also helped raise funds for the television work in Argentina and for the construction of four temples in Mexico.

He spent the rest of his retirement years in the United States. There, he continued to do chaplaincy at Loma Linda University Medical Center, and he was an elder of the local church. In a card sent to the brothers and sisters in Crespo, he affirmed that he was still preaching and that he kept busy. In order to help the work in Argentina, he painted houses and mowed lawns. With the same purpose, his wife looked after children.17

Schmidt was in Crespo when the Crespo Campo church turned 50 in 1944. On that occasion, the new temple built by the brothers was dedicated. On Saturday afternoon, several church children who had become Adventist workers testified.18 Santiago Schmidt made his last trip to Argentina with his daughter Loida for the centenary of the church of Campo Crespo in 1994, and they visited the gravesites of his parents and in-laws.

Santiago Schmidt died in Loma Linda, California, United States, on March 18, 2001, at age 98. His wife, Marta Weiss de Schmidt, died on March 7, 2005, six months before turning 101. She had a clear mind until the end. Their daughter Loida passed away before her mother.

Legacy

Santiago Schmidt was one of the first Adventists of the Crespo Campo church to be ordained to the ministry. He was Crespo’s first missionary to work abroad (to Chile), the first South American to be a department director of the South American Division (previously they had been all foreigners, mostly North Americans), and the first South American to be a member of the board of the General Conference.19

Sources

Bernhardt, Santiago. “Necrología” [Obituary]. La Revista Adventista [Adventist review], May 1961, 19.

Canedo, Roberto Gullón. “Id y predicad el evangelio: Historia y análisis de los comienzos y desarrollo de la feligresía adventista en Sudamérica, 1894–2011” [Go and preach the gospel: History and analysis of the beginnings and development of Adventist parishioners in South America, 1894–2011]. Unpublished manuscript, n.d. White Research Center archives, River Plate Adventist University, Entre Ríos, Argentina.

Canedo, Roberto Gullón. Una semilla de esperanza historia de estructura denominacional: 100 años de División Sudamericana de la Iglesia Adventista del Séptimo Dia [A seed of hope history of the denominational structure: 100 years of the South American Division of the Seventh-day Adventist Church]. Tatuí, S.P.: Casa Publicadora Brasileira, 2015.

Chaij, Enrique. Ese chico travieso . . . llamado por Dios [That naughty boy . . . called by God]. Buenos Aires: Ediciones E, 2005.

Christman, Donaldo R. Fuego salvaje [Wild fire]. Buenos Aires: South American Spanish Publishing House, 1972.

La voz del colegio [Voice of the academy], November 1924, 6, 7.

La voz del colegio [Voice of the academy], November 1925.

La voz del colegio [Voice of the academy], November 1958.

Lugenbeal, E. N. “El cincuentenario de la Iglesia de Crespo” [The 50th anniversary of Crespo church]. La Revista Adventista [Adventist review], April 16, 1945, 11–12.

Mayr, Werner. “Santiago Schmidt: Un servidor multifacético” [Santiago Schmidt: A multiskilled worker]. Revista Adventista [Adventist review], April 1994, 30.

Plenc, Daniel Oscar. “Todo debo a él” [I owe Him everything]. Revista Adventista [Adventist review], November 2015, 32, 33.

“Results Are Seen after Five Years with Mexico Mennonites.” Pacific Union Recorder, October 6, 1980.

Schmidt, Santiago. “Desde las Cataratas del Iguazú” [From the Iguazu Falls]. La Revista Adventista [Adventist review], May 26, 1947, 12.

———. “Después de once años” [After eleven years]. La Revista Adventista [Adventist review], December 1954, 9.

———. “Historia de la clase de 1924” [History of the class of 1924]. La voz del colegio [Voice of the academy], 1924, 9.

———. “Macedonian Week in Bolivia.” ARH, July 21, 1949, 19.

———. “Por los Altiplanos Sudamericanos” [Through the South American highlands]. La Revista Adventista [Adventist review], May 12, 1947, 15–16.

Westphall, Chester E. “Historia de la clase de 1925” [History of the class of 1925]. La voz del colegio [Voice of the academy], November 1925.

Notes

  1. Santiago Schmidt to Dr. Humberto R. Treiyer, director of the White Research Center of River Plate Academy in Argentina, October 19, 1980, White Research Center archives, River Plate Adventist University, Entre Ríos, Argentina.↩

  2. Santiago Bernhardt, “Necrología” [Obituary], La Revista Adventista [Adventist review], May 1961, 19.↩

  3. Santiago Schmidt, “Historia de la clase de 1924” [History of the class of 1924], La voz del colegio [Voice of the academy], November 1924, 9.↩

  4. Werner Mayr, “Santiago Schmidt: Un servidor multifacético” [Santiago Schmidt: A multiskilled worker], Revista Adventista [Adventist review], April 16, 1994, 30. La voz del colegio [Voice of the academy], November 1924, 6–7.↩

  5. Santiago Schmidt to members of the Crespo Campo church, August 24, 1989, White Research Center archives, River Plate Adventist University, Entre Ríos, Argentina.↩

  6. Marta Weiss, daughter of Daniel Weiss, was born on September 10, 1904, and died in 2005. La voz del colegio [Voice of the academy] has the roll of the class of 1925, in which it says about Marta Weiss that she possessed an “espíritu selecto [select spirit].” La voz del colegio [Voice of the academy], November 1925. In another note, Chester E. Westphall adds about Marta: “Su vocación la lleva a ser maestra de los corderitos del rebaño. Estudiosa y de espíritu franco, ha sabido captarse la simpatía de todos [Her vocation makes her the teacher of the lamb of the flock. Studious and of a frank spirit, she has been able to capture everyone’s sympathy].” Chester E. Westphall, “Historia de la clase de 1925” [History of the class of 1925], La voz del colegio [Voice of the academy], November 1925.↩

  7. A notebook has been preserved: “Brevet de Motociclista [Motorcyclist license], La Paz, 1928,” belonging to Santiago Schmidt, 25 years old, White Research Center archives, River Plate Adventist University, Entre Ríos, Argentina.↩

  8. Santiago Schmidt to members of the Crespo Campo church, August 24, 1989, White Research Center archives, River Plate Adventist University, Entre Ríos, Argentina. See the book of Donaldo R. Christman, Fuego salvaje [Pemphigus] (Buenos Aires: South America Spanish Publishing House, 1972). The Penfigo Adventist Hospital, Campo Grande, Mato Grosso, Brazil, which was dedicated to healing pemphigus foliaceus, emerged after the experience of Alfredo Barbosa de Souza and his wife Aurea (parents of Gilda, Gilia and Alfredo).↩

  9. Santiago Schmidt to members of the Crespo Campo church, August 24, 1989.↩

  10. Rubén R. Fighur was president of the South American Division from 1942 to 1950. The headquarters of the South American Division was located in the Belgrano neighborhood, Buenos Aires, where the Belgrano Adventist Sanitarium is today. Santiago lived a few meters from the entrance to the offices.↩

  11. Santiago Schmidt, “Después de once años” [After eleven years], La Revista Adventista [Adventist review], December 1954, 9.↩

  12. Ibid. See a brief report in Santiago Schmidt, “Macedonian Week in Bolivia,” ARH, July 21, 1949, 19.↩

  13. Santiago Schmidt, “Desde las Cataratas del Iguazú” [From the Iguazu Falls], La Revista Adventista [Adventist review], May 26, 1947, 12.↩

  14. Santiago Schmidt, “Por los Altiplanos Sudamericanos” [Through the South American highlands], La Revista Adventista [Adventist review], May 12, 1947, 15–16.↩

  15. Roberto Gullón Canedo, “Id y predicad el evangelio: Historia y análisis de los comienzos y desarrollo de la feligresía adventista en Sudamérica, 1894–2011” [Go and preach the gospel: History and analysis of the beginnings and development of Adventist parishioners in South America, 1894–2011] (unpublished manuscript, n.d.), White Research Center archives, River Plate Adventist University, Entre Ríos, Argentina.↩

  16. See “Results Are Seen after Five Years with Mexico Mennonites,” Pacific Union Recorder, October 6, 1980.↩

  17. Enrique Chaij, Ese chico travieso . . . llamado por Dios [That naughty boy . . . called by God] (Buenos Aires: Ediciones E, 2005), 103.↩

  18. E. N. Lugenbeal, “El cincuentenario de la Iglesia de Crespo” [The fiftieth anniversary of Crespo Church], La Revista Adventista [Adventist review], April 16, 1945, 11–12. Among other workers from Crespo Campo were Samuel Weiss, Juan Riffel, Santiago Bernhardt, José Riffel, Jorge Riffel, Benjamín Riffel, Daniel Weiss, José Bernhardt, Andrés Riffel, Albina Bernhardt, María Riffel de Weiss, Marta Weiss de Schmidt, Alicia Weiss de Seidl, and Hilda Bernhardt de Gianelli.↩

  19. See Daniel Oscar Plenc, “Todo debo a él” [I owe Him everything], Revista Adventista [Adventist review], November 2015, 32, 33; Roberto Gullón Canedo, Una semilla de esperanza historia de estructura denominacional: 100 años de División Sudamericana de la Iglesia Adventista del Séptimo Dia [A seed of hope history of the denomination structure: 100 years of the South American Division of the Seventh-day Adventist Church] (Tatuí, S.P.: Casa Publicadora Brasileira, 2015), 164, 190, 196, 204.↩

×

Plenc, Daniel Oscar. "Schmidt, Santiago (1902–2001)." Encyclopedia of Seventh-day Adventists. January 29, 2020. Accessed May 20, 2025. https://encyclopedia.adventist.org/article?id=3I5U.

Copy to clipboard Download Word File

Plenc, Daniel Oscar. "Schmidt, Santiago (1902–2001)." Encyclopedia of Seventh-day Adventists. January 29, 2020. Date of access May 20, 2025, https://encyclopedia.adventist.org/article?id=3I5U.

Copy to clipboard Download Word File

Plenc, Daniel Oscar (2020, January 29). Schmidt, Santiago (1902–2001). Encyclopedia of Seventh-day Adventists. Retrieved May 20, 2025, https://encyclopedia.adventist.org/article?id=3I5U.

Copy to clipboard Download Word File