Archbishop Jeffrey S. Grob gives his first homily as the 12th Archbishop of Milwaukee on Tuesday, Jan. 14, at the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist, Milwaukee. (Photo by David Bernacchi)
Who moves to Milwaukee in January?
That was the question on everyone’s lips at then-Auxiliary Bishop Jeffrey Grob’s farewell Mass in the Archdiocese of Chicago in December.
In his homily Tuesday, Jan. 14, shortly after being installed as the 12th Archbishop of Milwaukee, Archbishop Grob recalled the curiosity of his Chicago compatriots, to the laughter of the congregation gathered in the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist for the historic occasion.
“Well, Archbishop Listecki did – 15 years ago,” said Archbishop Grob, referring to his predecessor, Archbishop Jerome E. Listecki, who was installed as the 11th archbishop Jan. 4, 2010. “So, why break from tradition?”
The real answer to the question unfolded in Archbishop Grob’s first homily as the leader of the Archdiocese of Milwaukee.
Who does move to Milwaukee in January? Well, a man with a job to do — and one who isn’t afraid of hard work and cold weather.
A farmer, perhaps?
Born in Madison in 1961, Archbishop Grob grew up on his grandparents’ 320-acre dairy farm, where he lived with his parents Gerald (who died in 1995) and Bonnie (Meinholz) Grob, who was present at her son’s installation.
On that farm, the future archbishop learned a thing or two about leadership, dedication and faith — what he described in his homily as “certain lessons that shape the farmer’s way of being in the world.”
Archbishop Grob quoted the Gospel of Luke: “No one who sets a hand to the plow and looks to what was left behind is fit for the Kingdom of God.”
“One of the things a farmer learns early in his or her agricultural career is the underlying truth couched in this statement of the Lord Jesus Christ,” he said. “In order to plow a straight furrow, the worker must keep their sights focused forward, not looking over one’s shoulder, attentive to what is to come, conscious of the circumstances taking place around them, alert to what lies ahead.”
This passage “captures well the commitment I wholeheartedly make to all of you this afternoon as I become the 12th Archbishop of Milwaukee,” he said.
Turning to the particular lessons he learned in his early days on the farm, Archbishop Grob noted that “life on the farm is intimately connected to the earth — and as a result, to all of creation.”
“Among God’s crowning works was the creation of the human person — made in the very image and likeness of God,” he said. “Every human person bears that image and likeness.”
This understanding compels us to recognize the inherent dignity possessed by each and every person, the archbishop continued — “regardless of how different he or she may be from you and me.”
“No one should be summarily rejected regardless of how flawed the individual may appear or how grave the sinner,” he said.
Growing up, Archbishop Grob attended St. Francis Xavier Parish in Cross Plains, attending the parish school through the eighth grade under the tutelage of the School Sisters of St. Francis. The family farm was located in the township of Berry, but Archbishop Grob would often spend time in nearby Cross Plains with his maternal grandparents, who ran a well-known local tavern.
His rural upbringing also taught him that it was natural to be “shaped by the constant changing of seasons — for good, for bad.”
“As St. John Neumann wrote: ‘In a higher world, it is otherwise, but here below, to live is to change, and to be perfect is to have changed often,’” he said. “The challenge before each of us is that our lived experience not become static but remain vibrant — ever hopeful — even when confronted with what can seem to overwhelm. It is a walk that is guided by faith, not by sight, as Paul tells us.”
Archbishop Grob attended Holy Name High School Seminary in Madison from 1975-79, going on to obtain a bachelor’s degree in religious studies from the Pontifical College Josephinum in Columbus, Ohio, in 1988. He completed his priestly formation at the University of St. Mary of the Lake, Mundelein Seminary and was ordained to the priesthood for the Archdiocese of Chicago by Cardinal Joseph Bernardin on May 23, 1992.
Another essential element of life on the farm is cooperative cohabitation with one’s neighbors, the archbishop said. Though he described farmers as “at times highly independent by nature,” they must eventually learn “that it is more productive, and even necessary, to work together with neighboring farmers.”
“Long days filled with hard work necessitate a spirit of cooperation in laboring as one rather than divided,” he said. “Polarization, suspicion born of fear and hatred for the sake of hatred find no place in the heart of God. In a world ever-increasing with contention, conflict and destruction of the other, the works of charity and kindness are desperately needed.”
Throughout his priestly life, Archbishop Grob has served in a variety of pastoral settings in addition to pursuing advanced studies. He completed a licentiate in sacred theology in 1999 at Mundelein, a licentiate in canon law in 2000 and a doctorate of canon law in 2007, both at St. Paul University in Ottawa, Canada. Archbishop Grob also received a doctorate in philosophy from the University of Ottawa in 2007.
He served as the Assistant to the Chancellor of the Archdiocese of Chicago from 1994-98, Associate Vicar for Canonical Services from 2003-08 and Dean of Deanery IV-D from 2008-09.
He also served as a Judge with the Court of Appeals of the Province of Chicago from 2003-13, and then as Judicial Vicar for the archdiocese from 2013-15 and from 2017-20.
He served as associate pastor of Ss. Faith, Hope and Charity Parish in Winnetka, Illinois, from 1992-98 and as pastor of St. Celestine Church in Elmwood Park, Illinois, from 2008-13.
“Together, we will look to the future — continuing to grow what has been passed on to us – knowing that the Lord Jesus Christ is always and everywhere the firm foundation of anything we do that will last,” said Archbishop Grob. “This is our starting point.”
Concluding his homily, Archbishop Grob asked the congregation — and the whole faithful of the archdiocese — for “the kindness of your patience — and for the consolation of your prayers. I know that I will need them.”
“We all — you and I — are on this walk together, after all,” he said. “We must grow together in faith. And we need the stability for that walk that can only come from the Risen Lord Jesus. We need him. We need him now more than ever. So, may our time together — for however long God allows — be molded by the Lord’s own words as found in the Gospel of John: ‘I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever remains in me and I in him will bear much fruit, because without me you can do nothing.’”
