Change in leadership in 2009Read Time 15 min

September

The largest Saint Francis Seminary ordination class since 1992 was ordained by Bishop William P. Callahan on May 23, 2009 at the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist, Milwaukee. The class included Frs. Angel Anaya, Mark Brandl, Aaron J. Esch, Daniel R. Janasik, Sean T. O’Connell and Luke Strand. (Catholic Herald photo by Ernie Mastroianni)

Our Lady of Lourdes Grotto, located on the grounds of Saint Francis de Sales Seminary, Milwaukee, underwent an $8,000 face-lift, with major brickwork on the grotto a new gate, two additional statues, landscaping, the addition of a bench and other renovations that revamped the 1894 structure.

• Fr. Roy A. Mateljan, born in Milwaukee and ordained May 20, 1967, retired from active ministry Aug. 31

• Sen. Edward Kennedy died Aug. 25. He stood in sharp opposition to Catholic teaching by supporting abortion and opposing the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act, but acknowledged his personal faults and took responsibility for them in his 1991 public act of contrition at Harvard University.

• Project Rachel, the post-abortion reconciliation ministry in the Archdiocese of Milwaukee, celebrated 25 years of outreach.

• St. Stephen Parish, Milwaukee, prepares to move in November to its new 27,000-square foot home at 1441 W. Oakwood Road, Oak Creek.

• St. Martin of Tours School children can still ride the bus to school during the 2009-10 school year, though busing was nearly cancelled by the Franklin School Board due to cost.

• The Archdiocese of Milwaukee developed guidelines, published in English and Spanish, to address H1N1 flu concerns.

• Fr. Donald Hying, rector of Saint Francis de Sales Seminary, launched “New Heart, New Spirit,” a monthly 30-minute Milwaukee Relevant Radio program designed to bring his love for Christ, of the priesthood, seminary and other topics to listeners.

• U.S. Fr. Reginald Foster, 69, a Carmelite who is considered by many to be the world’s finest Latinist, has been away from the Vatican’s Latin letters office for more than a year recuperating from health issues in his native Milwaukee.

October

• A fire destroyed one of the three wings at St. Jude Hospital in Vieux Fort on the Caribbean island of St. Lucia, Sept. 9, where local Sisters of the Sorrowful Mother, the Third Order Regular of St. Francis of Assisi, have been serving the facility since the 1960s.

• Justice Janine P. Geske was named recipient of the 2009 Woman of Faith Award from the Sisters of the Divine Savior for her work in sustaining restorative justice processes in the community.

• Attending presentations by Bishop Blasé J. Cupich of the Diocese of Rapid City, S.D., priests and liturgists in the archdiocese previewed the English translation of the revised order of the Mass in the Roman Missal, Sept. 30. The changes are not expected to be incorporated into the liturgy for at least two years.

• Milwaukee Public Museum announced that the “Dead Sea Scrolls and the Bible: Ancient Artifacts, Timeless Treasures” exhibit would open Jan. 22, 2010, featuring 165 archaeological artifacts and 10 scrolls.

• Vern Arendt, a longtime photographer for your Catholic Herald, received medals 64 years late for his service in the U.S. Army during World War II.

• Franciscan Fr. Henry Willenborg, pastor of Our Lady of the Lake Church, Ashland, was suspended from parish duties by the Diocese of Superior after The New York Times reported, Oct. 16, that the 59-year-old priest was the father of a 22-year-old son and may have had inappropriate relations with a minor in the mid-1980s.

• ABC News reporter John Quiñones visited St. Rafael the Archangel School, Milwaukee, Oct. 1 to share how hard work can make dreams come true.

• Archbishop Dolan was named moderator of Jewish affairs for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, succeeding Cardinal William H. Keeler, retired archbishop of Baltimore.

November

• The Family Life Center of St. Stephen Parish is moving to its new location at the site of the new St. Stephen Church, 1441 W. Oakwood Road, Tuesday, Dec. 1, offering Tai Chi classes and continuing community parties for Easter and Halloween, computer and knitting classes.

• Divine Savior Holy Angels and Marquette University high schools brought Robert Stutman, one of the nation’s top drug and alcohol experts, to speak to the students and parents to prevent tragedies like that of Maddie Kiefer, the 15-year-old Whitefish Bay High School freshman who died March 1 from a drug overdose.

• Grace Weber, a New York University senior and 2006 graduate of Pius XI High School, Milwaukee, was one of the eight Karaoke semifinalists in Oprah’s Karaoke Challenge; however, she did not make it past the first round.

• Sr. Marguerite Bartz, 64, a Plymouth native and member of the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament, was found murdered on Nov. 1 in her residence at St. Berard, a small community church in Navajo, N.M.

• The Faith In Our Future Capital Campaign reached $87.5 million, representing 83 percent of the $105 million goal.

• On Saturday, Nov. 14, Pope Benedict XVI appointed Bishop Jerome E. Listecki as 11th archbishop of Milwaukee. The vespers service and installation Mass were scheduled for Jan. 3 and Jan. 4, 2010 respectively, at the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist.

• Five delegates from Good Shepherd Parish, Menomonee Falls, visited their sister parish in Ellacuria, El Salvador, marking their 20-year relationship with the Salvadorans, which began in response to the 1989 murders of six Jesuit priests, their housekeeper and her daughter.

December

• Boy Scout Troop 61, sponsored by Mother of Good Counsel Parish and School, Milwaukee, marked 60 years of selling pine trees before Christmas so scouts could participate in activities throughout the year.

• Sophie-Veronique Cauchefer-Choplin, the French titular organist at St. Suplice, Paris, helped dedicate the new Shantz organ installed early in 2009 at St. Jude Parish, Wauwatosa.

• Helen Sobehart, Cardinal Stritch University president, announced her resignation on Dec. 7 after becoming the university’s first lay president in 2008, stating difficult decisions and serious personal challenges as reasons.

• Mary Lorusso, principal of Northwest Catholic – West Campus, died the day after All Souls Day at age 64, leaving behind 39 years of memories at the former St. Bernadette School in Milwaukee.

• Hannah C. Duggan, executive director of Catholic Charities of the archdiocese since 2007, submitted her resignation effective Dec. 10. Jim Brennan, deputy director for the agency, will temporarily fulfill her duties until the board of trustees finds a successor.

• David Lodes, superintendent of Catholic Schools for the archdiocese, was charged with operating while under the influence on Nov. 24 for an incident that occurred on Nov. 18. It was his second offense.

• Kent Bergemann, a Cardinal Stritch trustee of four years and retired Wells Fargo executive of nearly 30, was named interim president at Cardinal Stritch University after the Dec. 7 resignation of former president Helen C. Sobehart.

• Bishop Richard J. Sklba marked the 30th anniversary of his ordination as bishop and the 50th anniversary of his ordination to the priesthood.

• Archbishop-designate Jerome E. Listecki rejected claims that members of Young Catholics for Choice can promote contraceptives and abortion and disregard church teaching regarding human sexuality and remain in good standing with the Catholic Church in a Dec. 15 statement released by the Diocese of La Crosse.