George Henry Backhaus (1811-1882) was born in Germany and studied for the priesthood in Rome. He was a missionary in India before coming to Australia in 1843. He first worked in Sydney and then Adelaide before coming to the goldfields in 1852. He held the first Catholic Mass in Bendigo in 1852 in a tent and was then instrumental in the building of St Killians church. He returned to Germany in 1864 but in accordance to the wishes of his Bendigo congregation he returned to Bendigo where he served until his retirement in 1881Dr Backhaus Centenary celebrations - Mass for the religious, 11 September 1982. Held at St Kilian's Church, Bendigochurch, centenary, the very reverend henry backhaus