ALLOUEZ (WLUK) -- A former Green Bay Bishop's name will be removed from a center at St. Francis Xavier Cathedral.
According to a letter from Bishop David Ricken to Cathedral parishioners, The Bishop Wycislo Center will be renamed Cathedral Center.
The center, which sits north of the cathedral, was named after Bishop Aloysius Wycislo in June of 2004. He served as the eighth bishop of the Diocese of Green Bay from 1968 to 1983.
Ricken cites the reason of removal as part of the diocese's response to the clergy sexual abuse crisis.
Interior renovations at St. Francis Xavier Cathedral are underway, on schedule and, as one project leader puts it, starting to "bring the church to life more and more every day."
The cathedral, the mother church of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Green Bay, closed in September to make way for interior upgrades that cap off a $2.7 million series of restorations that began with exterior work two years ago.
The work includes restoring 11 large oil paintings, replacing the floors, refurbishing the pews, and cleaning and rebuilding the main pipe organ. Other small projects include redoing or retouching stencil work on walls and cleaning and repainting archways.
Steve Motl, volunteer project leader and a 10-year member of the parish, said the renovations are happening simultaneously and each project is about 70 to 80 percent complete. Currently, the pews are removed and have sent out to be refurbished — complete with new, permanent cushions — and work is nearly complete on new tile flooring.
GREEN BAY — Labor Day weekend Masses will be the final liturgies at St. Francis Xavier Cathedral for nearly three months. Interior renovations will require the Cathedral church to be closed from Sept. 4 through Dec. 2. The entire premises, including the Bishop Wycislo Center, which will be used to store supplies, and the Green Bay Diocesan Museum, will be off limits.
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Fr. Dorner described the financial support for the renovations as “providence to what we needed.”
“God has been good. We have resources,” he said. “We fell $150,000 to $175,000 short of ideally what we would have liked to have had, but we have parish reserves.”
St. Francis Xavier Cathedral will be ready for Advent, Christmas and the 2018 sesquicentennial of the founding of the Diocese of Green Bay. Jubilee Masses will be celebrated with different contingencies each month in the cathedral.
GREEN BAY — A new addition to the Diocesan Museum and Cultural Center allows guests to see and hear nuggets of local church history.
The museum, located in the lower level of the Bishop Wycislo Center, adjacent to St. Francis Xavier Cathedral, recently debuted its long-awaited interactive computer touch screen kiosk terminal. The kiosk was created by Digital Design Services, Inc., of Green Bay and features five main sections of church history, with subsections offering greater detail of topics.
The kiosk has been in development since February 2014, when a steering committee was tasked with developing an interactive, multimedia terminal.
They still have $1 million to raise, but a $3 million restoration campaign is underway at the Catholic Diocese of Green Bay’s Mother Church in the city’s downtown.
St. Francis Xavier Cathedral on Monroe Street has seen renovations outdoors over the past year, including a new roof—which had been leaking— and replaced bricks and refurbished doors, too.
Now the intricate artwork restoration inside is next on the list of long-term fixes, among other things.
“It’s a great treasure. I don’t know if we could even build something like this again,” remarked Fr. Joe Domer, Rector of St. Francis Zavier Cathedral.
High ceilings, stained glass and dramatic, hand-painted architecture and oil-painted murals date as far back as 1881.
“We have five bells and I just learned that if you were to try and purchase bells like the ones we have in our bell towers, it would run $180,000,” said Domer.
“The resources of this parish of 530 units were tapped out,” he explained. “We decided to go to the diocese for help. The roof was bad and we were starting to see some (exterior) bricks fall. The response from the diocese was, ‘Why don’t you make a list from top to bottom?’ This is a one-time appeal to the diocese. We put together this whole list of items we would like to get done to get ready for the (diocesan) sesquicentennial in 2018.” (The Diocese of Green Bay will mark the 150th anniversary of its establishment in 2018.)
In addition to the roof and brick restoration, which are now complete, the list includes a new sound system, heating and air conditioning upgrades, sacristy remodeling, mural restoration, bell repair, floor replacement and refinished pews with new cushions.
GREEN BAY — A statue of St. Norbert, made by a 15th-generation wood carver from Oberammergau, in Bavaria, Germany, graces the entrance to St. Francis Xavier Cathedral. The five-foot statue, carved of linden wood, is a gift from St. Norbert Abbey.
About three or four years ago, Norbertine Abbot Gary Neville was at a chrism Mass in the cathedral and looked around at the many statues there.
“There were a lot of statues,” he told The Compass, “but I realized, ‘There’s no statue of St. Norbert here. And since we’ve (the Norbertine community) been here since 1893, almost 120 years. … So I went to Bishop (David) Ricken after the liturgy and asked, ‘What’s the possibility of putting a statue in cathedral?’”About three or four years ago, Norbertine Abbot Gary Neville was at a chrism Mass in the cathedral and looked around at the many statues there.
The bishop agreed and the Norbetines began the search for one. First, they inquired about a used statue at various European abbeys. Then they sought already-made statues. No luck.
I don't take advantage very often, but we attended a vigil Mass prior to the Packer game we attended last weekend. I finally was able to attend the Green Bay Cathedral... actually I think I did attend once when younger and cameraless(and clueless) some years ago. This was the first official visit, although I've been able to post pictures of St. Francis Xavier several times. Beautiful church, clearly the best cathedral in state even after a somewhat severe sanctuary modification. Pictures were not great since it was already dark out, but you get the idea. The music was decent, I thought the organ sounded fantastic and it's no where near as loud as the organ in La Crosse(Dad29 mentioned some folks think it is too loud). The cantor has a nice voice, but the style was more of a soloist than a chant leader(maybe step back a bit from the mic). Hymns were okay, although we got a On Eagles Wings in there(my Marine Corp vet uncle excitedly nudged me and pointed out that it was the Communion Hymn). Ah, yes, but get this, the cantor did chant the Communion Antiphon in English with verse. It was well done.
The homily was one of the best I've ever heard, seriously. It's theme was basically Theology of the Body wrapped into the November themes of the harvest and death. Folks, literally I heard "some day you will die and worms will eat your bodies." The good rector gets Hard.Identity.Catholicism. It was that good; timely, and fearless. I meant to thank him after Mass but we were in a rush to meet up with the pagans who skipped their duties.
This is a re-post but I think we might have some new readers that haven't heard this one before.
Francis Xavier Cathedral, Green Bay, WI, date: Back in the Day
There are a bunch of interesting things in that Cathedral, beginning with the tombs of the Bishops there.
Perhaps the most interesting item is in the anteroom found on the Epistle side (currently the main entrance.)
There is a statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary there, which was a gift from the Archbishop of the Diocese which sent Green Bay's first Bishop (and many of its priests.) The statue--which is absolutely stunning, although not large--was sent as a gift because the Archbishop of that Diocese in Germany could not attend the 100th Anniversary celebration of the Green Bay Diocese. He explained that he'd "been suddenly called to another assignment in Rome" and simply could not re-schedule things conveniently. His name? Cardinal Jospeh Ratzinger
Are there camera's setup in the Green Bay Cathedral? I know there are in St. Louis. I use to float the idea that La Crosse should do the same thing, the diocesan liturgies are usually pretty good. Hmm, that's right, I was going to do a post on that. Point being, here's his homily below. I like homilies posted online. TV Masses, I have mixed feelings about when used for something other than observation.
Oh.... well I like the singing.... but does random guitar person need to stand next to the bishop? Accompaniment can come from the normal location of the musicians right?
On November 3, His Excellency, the Most Reverend David L. Ricken, Bishop of Green Bay, Wisconsin, administered the Sacrament of Confirmation in the Extraordinary Form to nearly thirty young adults of Saint Joseph's Oratory, of which Canon Andreas Hellmann is the Rector.
Bishop Ricken graciously welcomed the Institute to beautiful Saint Francis Xavier Cathedral in order to accommodate the several hundred faithful who attended the ceremony.
After the conferral of the Sacrament of Confirmation, Bishop Ricken assisted pontifically at the episcopal throne during a Solemn High Mass offered by Canon Matthew Talarico, the Substitute of the Provincial.
The Institute of Christ the King is profoundly grateful to His Excellency, Bishop Ricken, for his paternal guidance and continual support of its apostolate at Saint Joseph's Oratory and for opening the doors of his historic cathedral to our apostolate. The Institute is also indebted to the rector of Saint Francis Xavier Cathedral, Reverend Father John Girotti, for his gracious assistance.
This state is blessed with some wonderful bishops. There are a few who openly support us in devotion to traditional liturgy. Even the others who do not openly support it at least are not pushing us out.
While the Shrine of Our Lady of Good Help in Champion has garnered lots of publicity in recent months, another religious destination, right in the heart of Green Bay, offers visitors an up-close look at artifacts representing the area's rich Catholic heritage.
The Green Bay Diocese Museum and Cultural Center, located in the lower level of the Bishop Wycislo Center, next to St. Francis Xavier Cathedral, is home to some 700 religious objects dating back to the 19th century. The items range from liturgical vestments and sacred vessels to furnishings that once adorned St. Mary Church, which served as the diocese's pro-cathedral until the present cathedral was dedicated in 1881.
The museum opened on June 24, 2004, during the dedication ceremony for the Bishop Wycislo Center led by Bishop David Zubik. Prior to the museum's construction, diocesan artifacts were first housed in a room near the vestibule, which today serves as the bridal room, said Carol Joppe, longtime volunteer and museum caretaker. In 2000, it was moved to an area below the cathedral sacristy known as the undercroft.
Several photos also over at The Compass. I would love to see the Chinese made vestments. I wonder if any of the priests would be allowed to use them for Mass. I'm always glad to see that these items are retained rather than being thrown out. We've probably all heard stories of wreckovations where statues and altars were smashed or thrown into dumpsters. But what was a Catholic treasure in one generation is a Catholic treasure in the next as well.
I think we might have some new readers that haven't heard this one before.
Francis Xavier Cathedral, Green Bay, WI, date: Back in the Day
There are a bunch of interesting things in that Cathedral, beginning with the tombs of the Bishops there.
Perhaps the most interesting item is in the anteroom found on the Epistle side (currently the main entrance.)
There is a statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary there, which was a gift from the Archbishop of the Diocese which sent Green Bay's first Bishop (and many of its priests.)
The statue--which is absolutely stunning, although not large--was sent as a gift because the Archbishop of that Diocese in Germany could not attend the 100th Anniversary celebration of the Green Bay Diocese.
He explained that he'd "been suddenly called to another assignment in Rome" and simply could not re-schedule things conveniently.
A monstrance atop the altar at St. Francis Xavier Cathedral
contains a consecrated host that is exposed for adoration
on Wednesdays. Weekly adoration of
the Blessed Sacrament began Oct. 20. (Sam Lucero | The Compass)
Green Bay — Vocations, personal holiness and stability. These are the fruits that Fr. John Girotti hopes will be blossom from the introduction of weekly adoration of the Blessed Sacrament at St. Francis Xavier Cathedral. The all-day adoration began Wednesday Oct. 20.
"The first day was great, said Fr. Girotti, who took over as pastor of the cathedral parish at the beginning of this year. "We had around three to five people in the church each hour."
Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament begins after the 8:30 a.m. Mass and ends with Benediction at 9 p.m. Fr. Girotti credits the parish's faith formation coordinator, Connie DeMeuse, as the one responsible for making Wednesday the day of adoration. It is on that day that the parish's catechetical program takes place for students in grades one through 12. More than 50 students are enrolled this fall semester.
"Our vision was to find a way for our students, along with their families, to have an opportunity to come and spend time with Jesus. Since we have classes on Wednesdays, we made it a priority to try and have it on Wednesday each week," explained DeMeuse.
Last week I posted some photos of St Francis Xavier Cathedral in Green Bay WI. Thanks to commenter Steve for posting the link for us. Beautiful photo of First Communion, honestly I almost teared up... Not sure on the date of the photo.
Also thank you to Dad29 for posting this story that I had not heard before.
There are a bunch of interesting things in that Cathedral, beginning with the tombs of the Bishops there.
Perhaps the most interesting item is in the anteroom found on the Epistle side (currently the main entrance.)
There is a statue of the BVM there, which was a gift from the Archbishop of the Diocese which sent Green Bay's first Bishop (and many of its priests.)
The statue--which is absolutely stunning, although not large--was sent as a gift because the Archbishop of that Diocese in Germany could not attend the 100th Anniversary celebration of the Green Bay Diocese.
He explained that he'd 'been suddenly called to another assignment in Rome' and simply could not re-schedule things conveniently.
His name?
Card. Jos. Ratzinger
By the way, the organ in that Cathedral was a gift, reportedly worth around $500K when it was given. It's too big for the church--except to us organist-types, of course.
And thank you commenter Steve for the tip on the Chapel at the St. Joseph Orphan Home in Superior. I'm now working on a post.
That altar is really distracting... obviously it has been wreck-o-vated from its original, but still a beautiful church nonetheless. Has anyone seen pictures of the original altar?
