As a fan of architecture and an occasional traveler to Europe and its many churches, I've seen a fair number of crypts – burial chambers beneath houses of worship – but I've never seen one quite like the crypt beneath Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist, 812 N. Jackson St.continue at OnMilwaukee
The crypt is open for free tours on Saturday, May 4, from 12:30 until 3:30 p.m., as part of the Milwaukee Archdiocese's 175th anniversary celebration in Cathedral Square Park.
A glove and blood-stained cotton gauze are among the relics of St. Pio of Pietrelcina — better known as “Padre Pio” — that will be on display Sept. 20 in La Crosse, Wisconsin, and Sept. 21 in Milwaukee.The Catholic Spirit
The relics have been on tour in the United States and will be traveling to 11 dioceses this fall. The relics will not be stopping in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis.
They will be on display 9 a.m.–7 p.m. at the Cathedral of St. Joseph the Workman in La Crosse and 9 a.m. –9 p.m. at the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist in Milwaukee.
Also displayed for veneration will be “crusts” from St. Pio’s wounds, a lock of his hair, his mantle and a handkerchief that was soaked with his sweat hours before he died in 1968.
Relics of St Padre Pio, a Capuchin priest who bore the stigmata of Jesus, will be on public display in several US dioceses and archdioceses in May and again in the autumn.
The Saint Pio Foundation announced that the tour corresponds with the 130th anniversary of the Italian-born saint’s birth.
— May 9 at St Paul Cathedral, Pittsburgh.— May 10-11 at the Cathedral Basilica of the Immaculate Conception, Denver.continue at UK Catholic Herald
— May 13 at Cathedral of the Risen Christ, Lincoln, Nebraska.
— May 18-19 at St Andrew Church, Pasadena, California.
— May 20-21 at St Ann Church, Arlington, Virginia.
— Sept 17-18 at St Patrick Cathedral, New York.
— Sept 20 at Cathedral of St Joseph the Workman, La Crosse, Wisconsin.
— Sept. 20 at Cathedral of St John the Evangelist, Milwaukee.
— Sept. 22-23 at Basilica of St John the Evangelist, Stamford, Connecticut.
— Sept. 24 at St Theresa Church, Trumbull, Connecticut.
— Sept. 29 at Cathedral of Mary of the Assumption, Saginaw, Michigan.
The recent news of yet another priest in custody inspired looking back on events in the Church in the U.S. and my Archdiocese of Milwaukee 15 years ago. First up, 'What a cathedral means', by Rembert G. Weakland, in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Feb. 10, 2002. The occasion was the reopening of Milwaukee's Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist after extensive renovations.
"In the Catholic tradition, there are many churches in a diocese but only one cathedral. It is the bishop's church, the symbol of unity for the entire ten counties that form the Archdiocese of Milwaukee - from Sheboygan and Fond du Lac in the north, to Kenosha and Walworth in the south."Which led him to say,
"For this reason, twenty-some years ago, I decided that the crypt of the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist would also be the burial chamber of the bishops. That is a part of the Catholic tradition. Archbishop Moses Elias Kiley, Archbishop William E. Cousins and Bishop Leo J. Brust are now all buried there. It is also where I hope my own body will eventually find a place of rest."Since he soon after was embroiled in scandal, he later looked for somewhere else to spend his retirement. But that was not to be and he remains among us. So his plans for his remains still are quite fitting, though not quite as he anticipated.
On the renovation, he later says,
"Still, the Cathedral of St. John is not a large church. ...
"I wonder ... when a successor bishop will have the courage to demolish this cathedral to build one that will hold at least two to three thousand worshippers. Just imagine the courage it took to destroy the medieval church of St. Peter's in Rome to build the present one."If there's anything indicating increasing, rather than shrinking, crowds at our Cathedral, I haven't seen it. And the building of the current St. Peter's does put me in mind of the connection between "deferred maintenance" and building projects. Also the sale of indulgences.
Archbishop Weakland goes on to discuss aspects of liturgical architecture, including many of what are, to me, aesthetic pokes in the eye involved in the renovation. He did not anticipate later controversies in which details of the design became associated, painfully for some. with the clerical sexual abuse scandal.
Please join me two weeks from today in praying a Rosary for the conversion of all those involved in abortion and other aspects of the culture of death. We will be gathering at the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist on Thursday, September 24th at 7:15 PM and will walk to the Women's Care Center on Farwell (0.8 miles each way) and should be back to the Cathedral by 8:30 PM. You can find more information about this event here: https://www.facebook.com/events/1475306499439795/ Please feel free to share this event with others who might be interested!
In the wake of the Holocaust, many wondered how an entire society could allow so many people to be brutally executed. Sadly, many did not know what was going on, and many good people who knew were afraid or unwilling to do anything. In the past few months, the Center for Medical Progress has revealed that Planned Parenthood is selling fetal remains, compounding the moral problem of its leading role in the abortion industry. (Those videos can be found here: http://www.centerformedicalprogress.org/.)
The most important thing which we can do to bring this atrocity to an end is to fast and pray, and we can support one another by praying publicly.
Therefore, you are invited to gather on Thursday, September 24, in the Atrium of St. John the Evangelist at 7:15 PM. We will pray the Rosary while walking from the Cathedral to the Women's Care Center on Farwell Avenue. Our intention will be the conversion of all mothers and fathers who aren't prepared to be parents and who believe they have no other option than abortion, the softening of the hearts of all who commit abortions, the conversion of all those who fail to see the evil of killing our own children, and the evangelical effectiveness of the World Meeting of Families.
continue at Cream City CatholicIn many respects, Milwaukee still lives in Weakland World. What is that? It’s a particular (incorrect) interpretation of post-Vatican II Catholicism that veers sharply to the left. Weakland World is heavily influenced by political correctness, multi-culturalism, and an ecclesiology that stresses community and self over Sacrament and tradition. Think of it as Oprah Winfrey with a few Catholic symbols thrown in for kicks. Russell Shaw once brilliantly called it “Archbishop Weakland’s Oprah Ecclesiology.” [LOL!] Wish I’d thought of that one.
You could say that Milwaukee was the epicenter for this strange brand of Catholicism for several generations. Weakland World is not as bold as it once was. Resigning in disgrace tends to dim the lights of any kind of narcissistic legacy one is attempting to establish. To be fair, there are some positive signs around, especially in the younger priests who are doing great work against incredible odds. But the Weakland residue, especially in liturgy, is remarkably resilient and stubborn, sticking to our archdiocese like dirty gum on a nice pair of Italian shoes. It’s like that tipsy guest at a party who never leaves and annoys everyone. Folks would be more than willing to chip in for a taxi just so he’d leave. For some inexplicable reason, leaders of the archdiocese have been reluctant to reset the out-of-socket joint.
Case in point: Why is a major building adjoining the Cathedral of Saint John the Evangelist named after Archbishop Weakland? A huge placard bearing his name still remains fixed to the cream city brick wall.
