The 90 seminarians, formation faculty, bishops and even a cardinal lead the 2,000 attendees of the annual Saint Francis de Sales Seminary Dinner in “Salve Regina” on Friday, Oct. 4, at the Baird Center in Milwaukee. (Photos courtesy of Saint Francis de Sales Seminary)
Truth. Beauty. Goodness.
Those are the things Saint Francis de Sales Seminary is looking restore, renovate and expand upon during the first capital campaign in the institution’s 179-year history.
The public phase of the Zeal for the Lord’s House campaign was announced to a crowd of about 2,000 seminary supporters Friday, Oct. 4, at the annual Seminary Dinner at the Baird Center in downtown Milwaukee.
“Truth, beauty and goodness will lead us to God,” Seminary Rector Fr. Luke Strand said in an informational video about the campaign that was played at the dinner.
The last time Saint Francis de Sales Seminary was renovated — in the 1980s — the work was designed to accommodate 35 seminarians.
This fall, the seminary welcomed 90 men to campus and the current project would allow it to accommodate 100 men.
“We need more room,” Fr. Strand said.
The money raised from the capital campaign will be used in three ways.
Facility expansion to accommodate the fastest-growing seminary in the United States will include the kitchen, dining facilities, classrooms and lecture spaces. Truth.
An infrastructural overhaul of Henni Hall and the campus will include windows, HVAC and the roof. Goodness.
The chapel, grand staircase, dome and corridors will also be restored. Beauty.
In the promotional video, Fr. Strand looked more like a home repair specialist than a priest, showing some of the deteriorating infrastructure, including leaking pipes, cracking plaster and rotting wood, and noting there was a family of raccoons living in the attic.
“In 1845, thousands of Catholics came here to watch the cornerstone being set,” Fr. Strand said. “They knew that Saint Francis de Sales Seminary was about a lot more than just a big beautiful building. They knew that from here, resilient and holy priests would be sent forth to offer the salvific grace of the sacraments, and to proclaim the Gospel. One hundred and seventy-nine years later, the Lord has filled this house. What’s happening here today is unique. Men are being called by the Lord Jesus to follow him as priests, and they’re responding in abundance.”
However, the majestic building overlooking Lake Michigan, whose golden dome has served as a beacon for sailors on the lake and Catholics looking to find home, is starting to show its age.
“We need to address those things which are now, because of age, (in) need (of) attention,” Archbishop Jerome E. Listecki said. “I’m asking you to help me make that investment, and I pledge my support and ask you for your support as the seminary launches upon its campaign to help build this seminary for the future. It’s not only for you, but it’s for your children and for your grandchildren and, most of all, for Christ and his Church.”
During his 14 years in Milwaukee, Archbishop Listecki has defied projections from Pew Research that said he may ordain one or two men a year during his tenure. His current count is 74.
He noted that for decades Catholics in Milwaukee have been praying for an increase in vocations to the priesthood.
“God, in his divine providence, has answered our prayers,” Archbishop Listecki said. “Now, we must take up the challenge, be grateful to God and assure him we take this treasure forward for his Church into the future. The men will serve the parishes for you, for your children, your grandchildren and even your great-grandchildren. The seminary is the heart of the diocese.”
In its 179-year history, Saint Francis de Sales Seminary has ordained more than 4,200 men.
Beth Grusenski, a Menomonee Falls resident who attends St. Dominic in Brookfield, was one of the dinner co-chairs with Fr. Enrique Hernandez and made a common sense appeal to the crowd of supporters for helping in the campaign.
“Like everyone, I think we desire to put our resources where we’re seeing fruit, where we’re seeing results, where we’re seeing the growth of something beautiful, and there’s no more evident place for us than here. The life that comes out of this place, we see so much flowing from here into our local Church,” Grusenski said.
During the four-month quiet phase, the campaign raised $42.5 million from 75 donors. Fr. Strand also noted the priests of the state of Wisconsin have contributed approximately $750,000, and the seminarians — who don’t make cent, he explained — presented him with a check for $25,000 two nights before the seminary dinner.
“The entire building has lost its luster, but fortunately, the original beauty of this house can be restored, and it’s critical that we do it. Because what happens here in this house becomes an example for the Church here in Wisconsin and the Church throughout the country,” Fr. Strand said.
To learn more about Zeal for the Lord’s House or to contribute, visit sfs.edu/zeal.
“It’s now time to invest in this historic place,” Fr. Strand said. “This is a campaign of conversion. This is an opportunity of great hope, a watershed moment.”
