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Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Milwaukee

Coordinates: 43°04′07″N 87°52′08″W / 43.06861°N 87.86889°W / 43.06861; -87.86889
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Archdiocese of Milwaukee

Archidiœcesis Milvauchiensis
Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist
Coat of arms
Location
Country United States
TerritoryThe City of Milwaukee and the counties of Dodge, Fond du Lac, Kenosha, Milwaukee, Ozaukee, Racine, Sheboygan, Walworth, Washington and Waukesha in the state of Wisconsin
Ecclesiastical provinceMilwaukee
Statistics
Area4,758 sq mi (12,320 km2)
Population
- Total
- Catholics		(as of 2013)
2,369,000
673,000 (28.4%)
Parishes204
Schools111
Information
DenominationCatholic
Sui iuris churchLatin Church
RiteRoman Rite
EstablishedNovember 28, 1843 (180 years ago)
Elevated to Archdiocese on February 12, 1875
CathedralCathedral of St. John the Evangelist
Patron saintJohn the Evangelist[1]
Secular priests334
Current leadership
PopeFrancis
ArchbishopJerome Edward Listecki
Auxiliary BishopsJeffrey Robert Haines
James Thomas Schuerman
Bishops emeritus
Map
Map of Wisconsin indicating counties of the Archdiocese of Milwaukee
Website
archmil.org

The Archdiocese of Milwaukee (Template:Lang-la) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory, or archdiocese, of the Catholic Church in southeast Wisconsin in the United States.

The Archdiocese of Milwaukee is the metropolitan see of the ecclesiastical province of Milwaukee. It includes the suffragan dioceses of Green Bay, La Crosse, Madison, and Superior. As of 2021, Jerome Listecki is the metropolitan archbishop of Milwaukee.

Territory

The Archdiocese of Milwaukee encompasses the City of Milwaukee along with the following counties:

Dodge, Fond du Lac, Kenosha, Milwaukee, Ozaukee, Racine, Sheboygan, Walworth, Washington and Waukesha.

History

1837 to 1875

Annunciation altarpiece at Old St Mary's Church

The first recorded Catholic presence in the Wisconsin Territory dates to 1837. That year, the missionary Florimund J. Bonduel traveled from Green Bay to the home of French fur trader Solomon Juneau in Milwaukee, where Bonduel celebrated mass. That same year, Patrick Kelly became a resident priest in the city. He celebrated mass in the courthouse until 1839, when he erected St. Peter's, the first Catholic church in Milwaukee.[2] At this time, the area was part of the Diocese of Detroit. In 1841, Coadjutor Bishop Pierre-Paul Lefevere of Detroit visited Milwaukee.

In November 1843, Pope Gregory XVI erected the Diocese of Milwaukee, taking its territory from the Diocese of Detroit. The new diocese covered all of the Wisconsin Territory, including part of present-day Minnesota.[3] The pope named John Henni from the Diocese of Cincinnati as bishop of Milwaukee.

When Henni took office, he only had four priests ministering to a few Catholics immigrants from Germany and Ireland. The only church in the diocese was St. Peter's, which was encumbered with debt.[4] Henni in 1845 founded St. Francis Seminary, allowing the seminarians to stay in his residence. He also brought several orders of nuns and priests to Milwaukee.[5]

In 1846, Henni completed Old St. Mary's Church in Milwaukee.[6] Designed by architect Victor Schulte in the Zopfstil style, St. Mary's was built to serve the German Catholic population in the city of Milwaukee. The Annunciation altarpiece in St. Mary's, painted by Franz Xavier Glink was donated to the diocese by King Ludwig I of Bavaria.[7] In 1847, Henni laid the foundation of the new cathedral, St. John the Evangelist. Also designed by Schulte, the cathedral was built with Cream City brick that was fabricated locally.[8] St. John the Evangelist was consecrated by Archbishop Gaetano Bedini, the papal nuncio of the United States, in 1853.

In 1850, Pope Pius IX erected the Diocese of St. Paul, taking Minnesota from the Diocese of Milwaukee. In 1866, the same pope erected the Dioceses of La Crosse and Green Bay, removing their territories from the Diocese of Milwaukee.[3]

1875 to 1889

In 1875, Pius IX elevated the Diocese of Milwaukee to the Archdiocese of Milwaukee, with Henni as first archbishop. In 1880, Bishop Michael Heiss of La Crosse was appointed coadjutor archbishop of Milwaukee by Pope Leo XIII to assist Henni. Heiss served as pastor of St. Mary's and rector of Saint Francis de Sales Seminary. At Saint Francis, Heiss trained German-speaking priests to serve German Catholics of the archdiocese.[9] In one of his last acts, Henni saw the opening of Marquette University in Milwaukee in August 1881.[10] After Henni died two days later, Heiss automatically became the next archbishop of Milwaukee.

1889 to 1903

In 1889, the Wisconsin Legislature passed the Bennett Law which required all primary and secondary schools in the state to teach major subjects in English. The law was bitterly resented by German-American communities, both Catholic and Lutheran, that ran schools teaching in German. It was also opposed by Polish and Norwegian communities in Wisconsin. However, there was less opposition from Irish Catholics. The law was endorsed and promoted by the anti-Catholic American Protective Association.[11] Heiss unsuccessfully fought the measure.

After Heiss died in 1890, Leo XIII named Frederick Katzer as the next archbishop of Milwaukee. At the beginning of Katzer's tenure in 1891, the archdiocese contained 227 priests, 268 churches, and 125 parochial schools to serve a Catholics population of 180,000.[12]

Katzer strongly opposed the Bennett law. The outpouring of anti-Catholic sentiment from the law's supporters soon moved Irish Catholics against it. A prominent Irish newspaper, the Catholic Citizen, labeled the Bennett Law a convergence of "all the sectarian, bigoted, fanatical and crazy impurities" within the Republican Party which had taken the reins of power.[13] When the Democratic Party regained power in Wisconsin, the Bennett Law was repealed in 1891.

1903 to 1940

When Katzer died in 1903, there were 329 priests, 321 churches, 148 parochial schools, and 280,861 Catholics in the archdiocese.[14] Leo XIII replaced Katzer in 1903 with Bishop Sebastian Messmer of Green Bay. In 1921, he prohibited Catholic children in Milwaukee from participating in a Fourth of July pilgrim pageant, which he described as "exclusively a glorification of the Protestant pilgrims," but later withdrew his objections.[15] Messmer drew criticism from Polish Catholics after condemning the Kuryer Polski newspaper in Milwaukee.[16]

During his 26-year tenure, Messmer established Mount Mary College in Milwaukee and saw the elevation of Marquette College to Marquette University.[17] He actively supported the American Federation of Catholic Societies as well as ministries for African American and Hispanic Catholics.[17] Nearly 30 religious orders were founded in the archdiocese and charitable institutions were doubled during his administration. He founded the Catholic Herald, the official newspaper of the Archdiocese of Milwaukee, in 1922. Messmer died in 1930.

Following Messmer's death in 1930, Pope Pius XI that same year named Bishop Samuel Stritch from the Diocese of Toledo as fifth archbishop of Milwaukee. A fire partially destroyed the Cathedral of John the Evangelist in 1935.[18] Stritch was an advocate for Catholic Action and the Catholic Youth Organization.[19] An opponent of the controversial Charles Coughlin, he once wrote a letter to a Milwaukee rabbi in which he rebuked those who "gain and hold a popular audience, degrade themselves and abuse the trust reposed in them by misquoting, half-quoting, and actually insinuating half-truths."[20] In 1939, Stritch became archbishop of the Archdiocese of Chicago.

1940 to 1977

Pope Pius XII in 1940 appointed Bishop Moses E. Kiley of the Diocese of Trenton as the next archbishop of Milwaukee.[21] Kiley oversaw an extensive renovation of the fire-damaged Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist, which reopened in 1942.[22] He also rebuilt the St. Aemillian Orphanage in Milwaukee, which had also suffered major fire damage in the 1930s.[23] Kiley renovated St. Francis Seminary, converted Pio Nono High School in St. Francis into a minor seminary, and created a Catholic Family Life Bureau in 1948.[22] Kiley died in 1953.

Bishop Albert Meyer of the Diocese of Superior was appointed archbishop of Milwaukee by Pius XII in 1953.[24] Five years later, in 1958, he became archbishop of Chicago. Pope John XXIII then named Bishop William Cousins from the Diocese of Peoria as the next archbishop of Milwaukee. During the American civil rights movement, Cousins was pressured to respond to the activities of James Groppi, an activist priest who led several civil rights marches and protests. In 1967, Cousins expressed his support for open housing and Groppi's other objectives, triggering a backlash from some Catholics in the archdiocese.[25] In 1971, Cousins sold a 180-acre tract of archdiocesan land to a commercial developer. Facing opposition for the move, he cited the need to finance programs for the poor in the face of a $4 million debt. After the archdiocese refused several requests from Groppi to be assigned to an African-American parish, he resigned from the priesthood in 1976.[26] Cousins retired in 1977 after 35 years as archbishop of Milwaukee.

1977 to present

In 1977, Pope Paul VI appointed Rembert Weakland, abbot primate of the Benedictine Confederation, as archbishop of Milwaukee. One of Weakland's first actions was to sell the suburban home where his predecessor had lived and move to the cathedral rectory.[27] Weakland gave support for the Milwaukee AIDS Project. Amidst abortion controversies, Weakland participated in public "listening sessions", encouraging Catholic women to share their views on the issue.[28]

In early 2002, Weakland submitted his resignation as archbishop to the Vatican. While Weakland was waiting for his resignation to be accepted, the news media in May 2002 reported that the archdiocese had paid a $450,000 settlement in 1998 to Paul Marcoux, a former seminarian. In 1979, Marcoux had told church authorities about his long-term relationship with Weakland. Weakland publicly admitted to the affair after the story broke and apologized during a church service.[29] Later in May, the Vatican accepted Weakland's resignation.

The next archbishop of Milwaukee was Auxiliary Bishop Timothy M. Dolan of St. Louis, named by John Paul II in 2001.[30]Dolan took a special interest in priests and vocations,[31][32] and the number of seminary enrollments rose during his tenure.[33] In 2009, Dolan was appointed archbishop of New York. To replace Dolan, Pope Benedict XVI named Bishop Jerome E. Listecki of La Crosse in 2009. The archdiocese filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in January 2011 after it failed to reach a settlement with two dozen victims of sexual abuse by Catholic clergy."[34]

In March 2023, Listecki removed the right to hear confession and give absolution from James Connell, a retired archdiocesan priest. In an opinion article in USA Today, Connell had expressed support for a proposed Delaware law that would invalidate the clergy-penitent privilege in cases that involved sexual abuse. Listecki accused Connell of spreading false information about the sacrament of confession.[35]

As of 2023, Listecki is the archbishop of the Archdiocese of Milwaukee.

Sexual abuse scandal

Main article: Sexual abuse scandal in Catholic archdiocese of Milwaukee

A 2003 report released by the Wisconsin Senate listed 58 priests from the Archdiocese of Milwaukee with credible accusations of sexual abuse of children.[36] In the report, Archbishop Weakland admitted allowing priests guilty of child sex abuse to continue in ministry without warning parishioners or alerting the police.[37] Weakland stated in his 2009 autobiography that in the early years of the sexual abuse scandal, he did not understand that child sexual abuse was a crime.[38]

In July 2011, the archdiocese launched "a national advertising campaign to notify sex abuse victims of their deadline to file claims. As of early 2012, approximately 550 people were asking for restitution for alleged sexual abuse by clergy in the archdiocese.[39] It paid financial settlements to claimants funded "through various sources, including insurance, loans and the sale of property", and funds were set aside to pay for therapy.[40]

In June 2012 it was revealed that Dolan "authorized payments of as much as $20,000 to sexually abusive priests as an incentive for them to agree to dismissal from the priesthood when he was the archbishop of Milwaukee" and that "the archdiocese did make such payments... thereby allowing the church to remove them from the payroll."[41]

In March 2019, the archdiocese announced that it would remove the names of Archbishops Cousins and Weakland from buildings in the archdiocese due to their poor handling of sex abuse cases.[42][43] The archdiocese in June 2021 announced that it would only cooperate with an investigation by Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul as far as sexual abuse allegations against living priests. Archbishop Listecki refused to participate in investigations of deceased priests, terming it anti-Catholic bigotry.

Demographics

As of 2017, the Archdiocese of Milwaukee had a membership of 591,890 Catholics in 198 parishes, representing the most heavily Catholic region of the state. There were 322 diocesan priests, 370 religious priests, and 147 permanent deacons. The religious orders included 82 brothers and 994 women religious.[44]

The archdiocese houses one provincial seminary (St. Francis de Sales Seminary) educating 56 seminarians.[45] It oversees 94 elementary schools, 13 high schools, and five colleges and universities. Also included in the archdiocese are 12 Catholic hospitals and nine Catholic cemeteries.[44]

Bishops

Bishop of Milwaukee

John Henni (1844–1875), elevated as Metropolitan Archbishop of Milwaukee.

Archbishops of Milwaukee

  1. John Henni (1875–1881)
  2. Michael Heiss (1881–1890)
  3. Frederick Katzer (1890–1903)
  4. Sebastian Gebhard Messmer[46] (1903–1930)
  5. Samuel Stritch (1930–1940), appointed Metropolitan Archbishop of Chicago (1940–1958) and later Cardinal-Priest of Sant'Agnese fuori le mura (1946–1958) and Pro-Prefect of the Sacred Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith (1958)
  6. Moses E. Kiley[47] (1940–1953)
  7. Albert Gregory Meyer (1953–1958), appointed Metropolitan Archbishop of Chicago (1958–1965) and later Cardinal-Priest of Santa Cecilia in Trastevere (1959–1965)
  8. William Edward Cousins (1959–1977)
  9. Rembert Weakland (1977–2002)
  10. Timothy Michael Dolan (2002–2009), appointed Metropolitan Archbishop of New York (2009–present) and later Cardinal-Priest of Nostra Signora di Guadalupe a Monte Mario (2012–present)
  11. Jerome Edward Listecki (2010–present)

Auxiliary Bishops

Other diocesan priests who became bishops

Churches

Main article: List of churches in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Milwaukee

Basilicas

Shrines

Parishes

See List of Parishes in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Milwaukee

Schools

Suffragans

Map of Wisconsin indicating counties for each of the five dioceses
Ecclesiastical Province of Milwaukee

The Ecclesiastical Province of Milwaukee comprises the entire state of Wisconsin and includes four suffragan dioceses.

See also

References

  1. ^ "The Guiding Light of St. Francis de Sales". Archmil.org. 2017-01-24. Retrieved 2022-02-24.
  2. ^ "St. Peter's Church | Photograph". Wisconsin Historical Society. 2008-07-22. Retrieved 2023-06-19.
  3. ^ a b "Milwaukee (Archdiocese) [Catholic-Hierarchy]". www.catholic-hierarchy.org. Retrieved 2023-06-19.
  4. ^ Rainer, Joseph. "Milwaukee." The Catholic Encyclopedia Vol. 10. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1911. 13 March 2020Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  5. ^ Halcyon Days. Milwaukee: The Bruce Publishing Co. 1956. p. 25.
  6. ^ "Our Greatest Churches". Milwaukee Magazine. 2009-12-21. Retrieved 2023-06-19.
  7. ^ "Old St. Mary's Church". Wisconsin Historical Society. January 2012. Retrieved 2020-02-09.
  8. ^ Perrin, Richard W.E. (1979). Milwaukee Landmarks: An Architectural Heritage, 1850-1950. Milwaukee: Milwaukee Public Museum. pp. 7–9. ISBN 0-89326-044-4.
  9. ^ "Archbishop Michael Heiss". Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Milwaukee.
  10. ^ Leckey, Dolores R. (1992). Winter Music: A Life of Jessica Powers : Poet, Nun, Woman of the 20th Century. Sheed & Ward. p. 44. ISBN 9781556125591.
  11. ^ Albert Clark Stevens, The Cyclopædia of Fraternities: A Compilation of Existing Authentic Information and the Results of Original Investigation as to More Than Six Hundred Secret Societies in the United States. New York: Hamilton Printing and Publishing Co., 1899; pg. 295
  12. ^ Sadliers' Catholic Directory, Almanac and Ordo. New York: D. J. Sadlier & Company. 1891. p. 88.
  13. ^ Jensen, Richard J. The Winning of the Midwest: Social and Political Conflict, 1888-1896 (1971) pp. 138–139
  14. ^ The Official Catholic Directory. New York: M. H. Wiltzius & Company. 1903. p. 84.
  15. ^ "MGR. MESSMER DIES; AMERICAN PRELATE". The New York Times. August 5, 1930.
  16. ^ "Messmer, Sebastian Gebhard 1847 – 1930". Dictionary of Wisconsin History. Archived from the original on 2011-06-11. Retrieved 2023-06-20.
  17. ^ a b "Archbishop Sebastian Gebhard Messmer". Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Milwaukee.
  18. ^ Perrin, Richard W. E. (1979). Milwaukee Landmarks. Milwaukee Public Museum.
  19. ^ "Former Archbishops: Archbishop Samuel Alphonsus Stritch". Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Milwaukee. Archived from the original on May 18, 2008.
  20. ^ "Stritch to Chicago". Time Magazine. January 15, 1940. Archived from the original on October 14, 2010.
  21. ^ "Archbishop Moses Elias Kiley". Catholic-Hierarchy.org.[self-published source]
  22. ^ a b "Archbishop Moses Elias Kiley". Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Milwaukee.
  23. ^ "The Church of the Code: 1903–1945". Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Milwaukee.
  24. ^ "Albert Gregory Cardinal Meyer [Catholic-Hierarchy]". www.catholic-hierarchy.org. Retrieved 2022-05-05.
  25. ^ Narvaez, Alfonso A. (1988-09-16). "Rev. William Edward Cousins, 86, Retired Archbishop of Milwaukee". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-06-20.
  26. ^ "People, Jul. 24, 1972". Time. 1972-07-24. ISSN 0040-781X. Retrieved 2022-10-08.
  27. ^ Rodgers-Melnick, Ann. "Archbishop escaped poverty to become leading liberal Catholic voice", Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, May 25, 2002
  28. ^ Johnson, Annysa; Carson, Sophie (August 23, 2022). "Former Milwaukee Archbishop Rembert Weakland dies at 95, leaves complex legacy". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Retrieved August 24, 2022.
  29. ^ "Pennsylvania abbey withdraws invitation to Rembert Weakland". National Catholic Reporter. July 1, 2014. Retrieved November 13, 2019.
  30. ^ "Biography of Bishop Timothy M. Dolan". Madison Catholic Herald. June 25, 2002. Archived from the original on February 15, 2012. Retrieved February 7, 2009.
  31. ^ Vitello, Paul (February 24, 2009). "A Guy's Guy: Dolan's Personality May Help Archdiocese Recruit More Priests". The New York Times. Archived from the original on January 19, 2023. Retrieved February 23, 2017.
  32. ^ Dos Santos, Juliann (April 9, 2009). "'Joy Attracts Joy'". Catholic New York. Archived from the original on January 19, 2023. Retrieved February 27, 2020.
  33. ^ Kandra, Greg (February 13, 2009). "Dolin' the dish on Dolan". The Deacon's Bench. Archived from the original on February 15, 2010.
  34. ^ "WEAU.com: Archdiocese ads notify abuse victims of claim deadline, 17 July 2011". Archived from the original on 20 July 2011. Retrieved 2 September 2017.
  35. ^ "Milwaukee priest stripped of rights to hear confessions after pushing to violate sacrament in sex abuse cases". CBS58. Retrieved 2023-06-21.
  36. ^ "The Sexual Abuse of Children in the Archdiocese of Milwaukee". www.bishop-accountability.org.
  37. ^ "HuffPost - Breaking News, U.S. and World News". HuffPost. Retrieved 2023-06-19.
  38. ^ "Weakland says he didn't know priests' abuse was crime". Archived from the original on September 17, 2013. Retrieved 2013-08-10.
  39. ^ "Milwaukee Archdiocese faces 550 sex abuse claims". CBS News. 2 February 2012. Retrieved 2 September 2017.
  40. ^ "2019 - Clergy Abuse Q&A". www.archmil.org.
  41. ^ Goodstein, Laurie (May 30, 2012). "In Milwaukee Post, Cardinal Authorized Paying Abusers". The New York Times. Archived from the original on April 28, 2017. Retrieved February 23, 2017.
  42. ^ Anderson, Andrea (March 19, 2019). "Milwaukee Archdiocese Removes Names Of 2 Priests From Buildings". Wisconsin Public Radio.
  43. ^ "Milwaukee Archdiocese reveals new name of its Diocesan offices; 'Looking really to restore trust'". March 22, 2019.
  44. ^ a b "About". www.archmil.org. Retrieved 2 September 2017.
  45. ^ "Saint Francis de Sales Seminary | Our Seminarians". www.sfs.edu.
  46. ^ Archdiocese of Milwaukee. Archbishop Sebastian Gebhard Messmer.
  47. ^ Archdiocese of Milwaukee. Archbishop Moses Elias Kiley.

 This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Milwaukee". Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.

Further reading

  • Avella, Steven M. Confidence and Crisis: A History of the Archdiocese of Milwaukee, 1959–1977 (Milwaukee: Marquette University Press), 2014. 344 pp.
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