The Vanishing Messiah

Francis Schlatter was a faith healer who vanished at the height of his fame in November of 1895. Or he was a faith healer turned womanizer, wife-beater, and drunken scoundrel who died in 1922. Or he was one of a handful of others who claimed to be the final incarnation of Jesus Christ. Whoever the true Francis Schlatter was, we can thank David Wetzel for performing a truly messianic task—he has raised Schlatter from the dead by telling his fascinating story. The German-speaking, Alsatian born Schlattler came to the United States as a youth. He worked as a cobbler and dabbled in the various religious movements of the late nineteenth century. Eventually he came to believe that God, “the Father” with whom he regularly communicated, had called him to heal the sick. He wandered the nation, often on foot, preaching a unique blend of New Thought, Christianity, and spiritualism. As the scope and success of his healings increased, so did the attention of the press. In 1895 he held a series of healing services in New Mexico, and then he headed to Denver. From the front yard of a local supporter he prayed for the healing of thousands of petitioners each day. Soon the local neighborhood in which he was staying was overrun with sick people waiting for prayer, and vendors hawking all kinds of wares to the masses. This went on for a couple of months until one night Schlatter suddenly disappeared. Soon newspapers reported that he had been found dead in Mexico.

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