MILWAUKEE
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MILWAUKEE
notliiniiism (q. v.). In llicir Mj;otry ami liatrcd of
evi'iytiiiiin Catliolic, they aiiiu'd tlu'ir" first lilow at the'
r:itliolii"scli(inlsliy llio "Bennett l.iiw",wliicll seriously
intrrfercil with the rights of Catholie parents. But the
timely ami united action of the bishops of Wisconsin,
and their vigorous protest, by which they branded
the liill as " unnecessary, offensive, and unjust", effec-
tively defeated the iniquitous scheme. In 1888 the
Diocese of St . Paul was sejia rated from Milwaukee and
made an archbisliopric. Three suffragan sees were
theticefortli suljject to Milwaukee: La Crosse and
(Ireen Hay in the State of Wisconsin and Marquette
in I'pperMichigan. The Diocese of Superior was added
in 1905. .Vrchbisliop Ileiss died at St. Francis Hospi-
tal, La Crosse, 20 March, 18i)0. His mortal remams
rest beneath the sanctuary of the seminary chapel at
St. Francis, at the side of liis faithful friend and co-
labourer, Joseph Salzniann.
Frederic Xavier Katzer was born at Ebensee, Upper Austria, 7 February, 1844. His preparatory studies he completed at Linz, the capital of Ujijjer Austria, under the direction of the Jesuit Fathers. He came to America in liS(i4. Having finished his theological studies at the Salesianum, he was ordained priest 21 Decemlier, 18t')(). After his ordination he remained at the seminary where he tauglit mathematics and, later on, philosophy and dogmatic theology. In 1875 he followed Ft. Krautliauer, the newly appointed Bishop of tireen Ba\% to his see, where he acted as secretary, and afterwards as vicar-general. Upon the death of Bishop Krautbauer, in 1885, he was appointed admin- istrator of the diocese; and on 31 May, 1886, he was chosen Bishop of Green Bay and consecrated in St. Francis Xavier's cathedral, 21 September of the same year. After the death of Archbishop Heiss he was promoted to the archiepiscopal dignity as third Arch- ijishop of Milwaukee in December, 1890. Archbishop Katzer was a man of profound learning and a thorough theologian. His poetical talent is evidenced by an alle- gorical drama, entitled " Der Kampf der Gegenwart" (The Comliat of the Present Age). His administration was marked by a uniform regard for justice and strict adlierence to the laws of the Church. He died at Fond du Lac, 4 August, 1903, on the same day on which the great pontiff Leo XIII breathed his last. His earthly remains found their last resting place in the little cem- etery near the " chapel.in the woods" at St. P^rancis.
Sebastian Gebhard Messmer was bom at Goldach, Switzerland, 29 August, 1847. Having finished his theological studies at the University of Innsbruck he was ordained priest in the same city, 23 July, 1871. In the same year he came to the United States, where he joined the Diocese of Newark. For several years he taught canon lav/. Scripture, and dogmatic theology in Seton Hall. For a short time he also had charge of St. Peter's, Newark, N. J. In 1889 he was called to the chair of canon law in the Catholic University at Wash- ington, but first went to Rome to study Roman civil law. After his return he entered upon his duties as professor and kept this position till his elevation to the episcopal dignity. On 27 March, 1892, he was conse- crated Bishop of Green Bay in St. Peter's Church, Newark, by his former classmate. Bishop Zardetti of St. Cloud. On the death of Archbishop Katzer he suc- ceeded him as archbishop, 28 November, 1903. Arch- bi.shop Messmer is honourably known as a very able and prolific contributor to Catholic literature, and his name is intimately linked with the principal religious movements in the country. Together with Bishop McFaul of Trenton he has been chiefly instrumental in inaugurating the American Federation of Catholic Societies.
Religimis Orders in the Dincese. — Orders of Men. — The rapid, almost miraculous growth of Catholicism in the State of Wisconsin is chiefly due in the apostolic zeal of the pioneer priests of the secular priesthood; but the labours and trials of the early missionaries be-
longing to religious orders ought not to be forgotten.
Ill 1857 the first Capuchin convent was erected at
Mount Calvary, Wisconsin. It has been asserted, not
without reason, that the foundation of the C'ahary
Province is a fact unpree<'dented in the liistory of the
Catholic Church in this country, in as far as the order
of Capuchins was introduced into \\ isconsin, not by
religious, but by two secular priests. Rev. Francis
Haas and Rev. Bonaventure Frey. The opposition
which they met on all sides, the trials which they had
to endure, and the undaunted courage with which
they met them, border on the miraculous. To-day
the order possesses a flourishing community with con-
vent and college at Calvary, a convent and two par-
ishes in Milwaukee, not to speak of the numerous reli-
gious houses and communities in other dioceses. The
Society of Jesus was established in Milwaukee in 1856,
and St. Gall's church, erected in 1849, was placed in
charge of the Society. In 1880 the Jesuit college
known as Marquette College was opened, and has
lately developed into the flourishing Martjuette Uni-
versity. The Jesuits also liave charge of the Gesi
church, one of the finest religious edifices in the North-
west. The Fathers of the Holy Cross coiuluct the
College of the Sacred Heart at Watertown ; the Servite
Fathers, a monastery and novitiate at Granville Cen-
ter; and the Discalced Carmelites, lately arrived from
Ratisbon, Bavaria, attend to the chapel on "Holy
Hill", a well known place of pilgrimage.
Orders of Women. — The School Sisters of Notre Dame came to Milwaukee in 1855, on the invitation of Bishop Henni, who showed himself their generous friend and protector, especially tluiing the first years when they had to struggle with poverty and violent opposition. To Mother Caroline, who brought the first band of sisters from Munich to Milwaukee, and who for forty-two years .stood at the helm, is principally due the present flourishing condition of the community. The sisters have their mother-house and novitiate in Milwaukee. In 1876 the community was divided into two provinces, with the second mother-house in Balti- more; and in 1895 a third province was formed with a mother-house at St. Louis, Mo. The Sisters of St. Francis have two mother-houses in the diocese, one at St. Francis, where they built their first convent in 1847, near the present site of St. Francis Seminary, the other in Milwaukee (St. Joseph's Convent and the Sa- cred Heart Sanatorium) . The Sisters of St. Agnes have their mother-house at Fond du Lac, where they also have charge of a hospital, a home for the aged, and an academy. The Sisters of St. Dominic have their mother-house at Racine, and an academy at Corliss. The sisters of these communities teach in the numer- ous parochial schools of Wisconsin and other states. The Sisters of Mercy, too, have a mother-house in Milwaukee. Other conmiunitics which have no mother-house in the diocese, but arc in charge of some charitable or educational establishment are: the Sis- ters of Charity of St. Vincent of Paul, Sisters of Char- ity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Franciscan Sisters of St. Louis, Mo., Polish Sisters of St. Joseph, Hospital Sisters of St. Francis, Little Sisters of the Poor, Society of the Divine Saviour, Dominican Sisters of the Per- petual Rosary, Sisters of the Third Order of St. Dom- inic (Sinsinawa), Sisters of the C.ood Shepherd, Feli- cian Sisters, and Sisters de Misericorde.
Statistirs.— The official reports for 1910 give the following figures: There are in the archdiocese 377 priests (303 secular and 74 regulars). The city of Mil- waukee counts 38 churches; outside of Milwaukee there are 169. Besides there are 65 mission churches without a resident priest and 41 chapels. In the semi- nary of St. Francis de Sales there are 150 students of philosophy and theology studying for the different dio- ceses of the province and other dioceses. There is one university, one Catholic normal school, and five col- leges with 770 students; six academies for young
