- Roman Catholic Diocese of La Crosse
-
Diocese of La Crosse
Dioecesis Crossensis
The Cathedral of St. Joseph the Workman, the cathedral parish of the diocese.Location Country United States Territory Western Wisconsin (19 counties) Ecclesiastical province Archdiocese of Milwaukee Metropolitan La Crosse, Wisconsin Statistics Population
- Total
- Catholics
863,610
206,191Information Denomination Roman Catholic Rite Roman Rite Established March 3, 1868 (143 years ago) Cathedral Cathedral of Saint Joseph the Workman Patron saint St. Joseph the Workman (primary)
St. Francis of Assisi (secondary)Current leadership Pope Benedict XVI Bishop William P. Callahan
Bishop of La CrosseMetropolitan Archbishop Jerome Edward Listecki
Archbishop of MilwaukeeMap 
The Diocese of La Crosse (in gray) within the Ecclesiastical Province of Milwaukee.Website dioceseoflacrosse.com The Roman Catholic Diocese of La Crosse covers an area of west-central Wisconsin, including the city of La Crosse and 19 counties: Adams, Buffalo, Chippewa, Clark, Crawford, Dunn, Eau Claire, Jackson, Juneau, La Crosse, Marathon, Monroe, Pepin, Pierce, Portage, Richland, Trempealeau, Vernon, and Wood.
The official title of the diocese is the Diocese of La Crosse and the Latin title Dioecesis Crossensis. The Metropolitan for the diocese is the Archdiocese of Milwaukee. The mother church is the Cathedral of Saint Joseph the Workman, and the Bishop of La Crosse is the former Milwaukee Auxiliary Bishop, William P. Callahan, appointed by Pope Benedict XVI on Friday, June 11, 2010. He was installed on August 11th, 2010. On November 14th, 2009, the former La Crosse Bishop Jerome Listecki was appointed Archbishop of Milwaukee. He succeeded Archbishop Timothy Dolan who was transferred to New York. Listecki was installed in Milwaukee on January 4, 2010. In 2006, Listecki had succeeded Raymond Leo Burke as La Crosse's bishop; Burke had become the Archbishop of St. Louis, Missouri and later the Prefect of the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura, the Vatican's highest court. Burke succeeded Bishop John Joseph Paul in 1994. [1]
Contents
History
The Diocese of La Crosse was established by Pope Pius IX on March 3, 1868, from territory that was taken from what was then the Diocese of Milwaukee. It included the part of Wisconsin lying north and west of the Wisconsin River. Michael Heiss. Then head of St. Francis Seminary, Milwaukee, was named the first bishop and La Crosse the see.[2]
On May 3, 1905, the territory of the Dioceses of La Crosse and Green Bay was brought together to form the Diocese of Superior, reducing the diocese to the counties of Adams, Buffalo, Chippewa, Clark, Crawford, Dunn, Eau Claire, Grant, Iowa, Jackson, Juneau, La Crosse, Lafayette, Marathon, Monroe, Pepin, Pierce, Richland, Sauk, Trempealeau, Vernon, and Wood, an area of 17,299 square miles (44,800 km2).
When the diocese was established, there were 22 priests who had to care for 23 churches and about 50 stations. Along with the English and German congregations, provisions were also made for Poles and Italians. Franciscan sisters and lay teachers had charge of six parish schools. During the twelve years of his administration in La Crosse, Heiss built several churches, including the cathedral, and the episcopal residence. On March 14, 1880, he was appointed coadjutor with right of succession to the Archbishop of Milwaukee, and succeeded, September 7, 1881. He died at La Crosse, March 26, 1890.[3]
Kilian Flasch, second bishop, was born at Retzstadt, Bavaria, July 16, 1837, immigrated when he was ten years old, and settled near Milwaukee. He was selected as the successor of Bishop Heiss and consecrated Bishop of La Crosse, August 24, 1881. During his administration of ten years he worked to increase the churches and the schools of the diocese, dying after a long illness on August 3, 1891.[4]
James Schwebach, his vicar-general, succeeded him as the third bishop, and was consecrated, February 25, 1892.[5]
On January 9, 1946, territory from the Dioceses of La Crosse and Green Bay and the Archdiocese of Milwaukee was taken to form the Diocese of Madison.[6]
Father Solanus Casey, of the Capuchin religious order, who was declared venerable by Pope John Paul II in 1995, was born in Pierce County, Wisconsin, which is part of the Diocese of La Crosse.[7]
The Diocese today
Throughout its 19 counties, the diocese has 108 parishes with a resident pastor and 57 others without a resident pastor. There are 177 diocesan priests incardinated in the diocese, while another 15 priests belong to various religious orders. In July of 2009, 21 seminarians were currently studying to enter the priesthood of the diocese. There are also four religious brothers, 31 permanent deacons, five hermits and three consecrated virgins. 447 religious sisters belong mainly to two large religious orders: the Sisters of St. Joseph of the Third Order of St. Francis in Stevens Point and the Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration in La Crosse. Other active religious are the Franciscan Friars of the Immaculate in La Crosse, Capuchins in Marathon, and the Cistercians in Sparta. The Sisters of St Francis of the Martyr St George also have a convent in La Crosse.
Bishops of the Diocese of La Crosse
The following is a list of the Bishops of the Diocese of La Crosse and their terms of service:[8]
- Michael Heiss (1868–1880)
- Kilian Caspar Flasch (1881–1891)
- James Schwebach (1891–1921)
- Alexander Joseph McGavick (1921–1948)
- John Patrick Treacy (1948–1964)
- Frederick William Freking (1965–1983)
- John Joseph Paul (1983–1994)
- Raymond Leo Burke (1994–2003)
- Jerome Edward Listecki (2004–2010)
- William P. Callahan (2010–Present)
Auxiliary Bishops
- William Richard Griffin (1935–1944)[9]
Affliated Bishops
- George Albert Hammes, was ordained a priest for the La Crosse Diocese and later became Bishop of the Superior, Wisconsin Diocese (1960–1985)[10][11]
Diocesan institutions
Among the institutions in the Diocese of La Crosse are 10 Catholic-affiliated hospitals; Viterbo University, which enrolls 2,167 students; St. Rose of Viterbo Convent, the motherhouse of the Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration, and the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe in La Crosse. The first Mass was held at the Shrine on July 31, 2008. Prairie du Chien was home to the Jesuit-run Campion High School until its closing in 1975.
High schools
- Aquinas High School, La Crosse
- Assumption High School, Wisconsin Rapids
- Columbus Catholic High School, Marshfield
- Madonna High School, Mauston (closed in 1966)
- McDonell Central Catholic High School, Chippewa Falls
- Newman Catholic High School, Wausau
- Pacelli High School, Stevens Point
- Regis High School, Eau Claire
Elementary/middle schools
The diocese's 74 elementary schools enroll 8,717 students per year.
Publications
The Diocese of La Crosse publishes a bi-weekly newspaper, The Catholic Times, which has approximately 35,000 subscribers.
See also
- Necedah Shrine
- Canons Regular of the New Jerusalem
- Franciscan Sisters of the Eucharist
- Franciscan Servants of Jesus
Sources
- Fisher, Father Gerald Edward. 257 Things You Should Know About the Diocese of La Crosse: A Celebration of the Diocese of La Crosse: 125 Years - 1968-1993: Bishop John J. Paul 50th Anniversary of Priestly Ordination: 1943-1993, 1993.
- Fisher, Father Gerald Edward. Dusk Is My Dawn: The First Hundred Years of the Diocese of La Crosse, 1969.
- Ludwig, Sister M. Mileta. Right Hand Uplifted: A Biography of Archbishop Michael Heiss, Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration, 1968.
- Brickl, Father Frank. Brickbats & Bouquets: Memories of a Parish Priest, edited by James L. Alt, 1990. (Information about the personalities of the Bishops of La Crosse from Bishop McGavick to Bishop Freking.)
- Riverfront Times, St Louis, Missouri. (Alternative newspaper articles and letters about Archbishop Burke of St Louis.) See the discussion section for the article about the Diocese of La Crosse for the letters and articles.
- La Crosse Public Library archives, La Crosse, Wisconsin.
- Aquinas High School archives, La Crosse, Wisconsin. (Involvement of the Bishops of La Crosse from Bishop McGavick onwards with the school.)
Further reading
- O'Neill, Eddie (February 7, 2010), "In the face of weakness, strength in the Spirit: Diagnosed with the terminal illness commonly known as Lou Gehrig's disease, one priest shares his experience and understanding of suffering", Our Sunday Visitor: pages 18–19. Fr. Dan Farley is a fifteen-year veteran of the U.S. Army chaplain corps. He retired as a chaplain and returned to St. Maximilian Kolbe Parish in Portage County, Wisconsin, in the Diocese of La Crosse, in June 2009.
References
- ^ http://www.lacrossetribune.com/html_27312c8c-d138-11de-8c66-001cc4c002e0.html
- ^ http://www.newsadvent.org/cathen/08735b.htm
- ^ http://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/bishop/bheiss.html
- ^ http://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/bishop/bflasch.html
- ^ http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/08735b.htm
- ^ La Crosse (Diocese) [Catholic-Hierarchy]
- ^ About Solanus Casey
- ^ http://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/diocese/dlacr.html
- ^ http://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/bishop/bgriwr.html
- ^ http://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/bishop/bhammes.html
- ^ 'Dusk is my Dawn: The First Hundred Years of the Diocese of La Crosse,' Fr. Gerald Fisher: 1969, pg. 160, paragraph about Bishop Hammes
External links
- Diocese of La Crosse
- Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe
- The Cathedral of St.Joseph the Workman
- The Sisters of St. Francis of the Martyr St. George Alton, Illinois
- The Cistercian Abbey of Our Lady of Spring Bank
Categories:- Roman Catholic Ecclesiastical Province of Milwaukee
- Religious organizations established in 1868
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
