Our Founder

George B. Quatman (1890-1964).  George B. (Weitzel) Quatman was born to immigrant parents from Alsace-Lorraine. Before his mother (Sophia Saling-Weitzel) died, she asked the parish priest (Fr. Francis M. Quatman) to watch after her 18 month old son.  The priest gave his oath and raised George like his own son, giving him the best education and upbringing. George adopted the name “Quatman” to honor the priest who had raised him.  With this strong Christian home, George was a devout Catholic his entire life, and became a successful businessman in the telephone industry. He raised five sons, whose children and grandchildren continue to carry out Mr. Quatman’s legacy and visions through the efforts of The American Society of Ephesus, Inc. (also known as the George B. Quatman Foundation).

In 1954, when a 5-year old grandson was paralyzed with polio, Mr. Quatman made a pilgrimage to several Marian shrines in Europe to pray for a healing. Upon his return, the grandson was healed. In thanksgiving, George B. Quatman made another trip to Ephesus, Turkey in 1955 to see the location he had heard of where the Blessed Virgin Mary had lived her final days on this earth. There, he found the ruins of the Basilica of St. John which contained the tomb of the beloved disciple, as well as the ruins of the Church of Mary – site of the 431 A.D. Council of Ephesus. It was when he found the partially restored ruins of the House of Mary, believed to have been built by St. John for Jesus’ mother after her departure from Jerusalem, that Mr. Quatman felt a calling to do something to preserve and restore these sacred sites.

After research and consultation with spiritual and legal advisors, George B. Quatman founded The American Society of Ephesus (ASE) in October 1955. He signed a treaty (protocol) with the Turkish government in 1958 (see photo above) which permitted the foundation to restore Christian sites in this Muslim country, and ASE began work on restoring St. John’s Basilica, the Church of Mary and the House of Mary. That work has continued for 60 years, through the efforts of Mr. Quatman’s sons, and now future generations of the Quatman family and other trustees of the private foundation.

In the 1970’s, the people of Selcuk, Turkey named the public square in front of St. John’s Basilica “George B. Quatman Square,” to honor the efforts of this great man. In 2015, ASE gave a gift to the town of Selcuk to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the founding of The American Society of Ephesus. The new clock tower in the city center depicts the history of Ephesus and Selcuk, from its ancient pagan roots, to the Christian era and today’s Muslim culture. In addition to images of Roman ruins, visits by several popes, and local people of Selcuk, you will find a picture of Mr. Quatman.

We are pleased to continue to fulfill the visions of George B. Quatman, both in the United States and in Turkey, as well as other parts of the world.

Mr. Quatman (center) is shown shaking hands here in 1958 with Kemal Hadimli, Governor of the Province of Smyrna (Izmir), Turkey. Also shown (second from right) is Mr. Huseyin Guven, Mayor of the town of Selcuk, Turkey. The photograph at the top of the page shows George B. Quatman signing a protocol with the Turkish officials earlier this same day, to permit the restoration of Christian sites in Turkey, an unprecedented agreement at its time.

George B. Quatman’s Vision. (1955 Izmir, Turkey) It was reported that after his visit to Ephesus, Mr. Quatman had a remarkable vision in the skies as he stood on his hotel balcony in Izmir, looking to the sky and pondering all the ruins of sacred Christian sites that day. Fr. Bernard Deutsch wrote in 1965 that: “Our Lady appeared in the heavens over the valley of Ephesus and showed the Quatmans a vision first of the hilltop laid out in rows of lighted walks and gardens around St. John’s Basilica, then of her own restored Cathedral and finally of her home in the adjacent mountains. The vision was interpreted by its benefactor as an indication of the manner in which Mary desired the expression of gratitude which had been planned, though only in general. This then was the specific mode in which Mary wished to be thanked for her previous favors – a tripartite directive: (1) restoration of St. John’s Basilica; (2) restoration of Mary’s church, the scene of the Council of Ephesus; (3) further development of the newly restored shrine on the nearby mountain. For those ends among others, George B. Quatman founded the American Society of Ephesus.”

Rev. Bernard Deutsch, Our Lady of Ephesus. The Bruce Publishing Co. (1965)(p.110-111).

At Mr. Quatman’s urging, a meeting was called with the Archbishop of Smyrna and leading citizens of Izmir, Turkey (both Christian and Muslim) and an agreement was struck by them to form a Committee headed by the Archbishop. The Committee later served as a sub-committee of the American Society of Ephesus, consisting of Turkish citizens who could carry out agreements with the governmental authorities to further the Society’s work. Mr. Quatman’s organization was the first practical organizer of archaeological reconstruction in Ephesus on a large scale. The Society was founded in Lima, Ohio in October 1955 for the purpose of restoring and preserving important burial places and tombs of Saints, to render financial assistance to houses of worship, especially those where God by miracles and apparitions has demonstrated in a special way His power and His love for mankind; to assist financially in the building, enlarging and restoring of places of worship or places of great historical, religious and archaeological value.

The first objective of the Society was the restoring of the great Basilica of Saint John, built by Roman Emperor Constantine in the 4th Century, A.D. over the tomb of the Apostle and Evangelist at Ephesus, Turkey (at that time known as Asia Minor). The next aim was the restoring of the large basilica at Ephesus, known as the Church of Mary, where some 200 bishops held the Third Ecumenical Council in 431 A.D. The Council of Ephesus proclaimed the dogma of the Divine Maternity of the Blessed Virgin as Theotokos (or Mother of God), a doctrine that is fundamental for Christians who believe that Jesus was the son of God, and that Mary was His mother. The Society also assisted in the restoration of the house of Mary, located in Ephesus, and two smaller churches in the nearby town of Sirince.