St. Patrick's Parish, Menasha

St. Patrick’s Parish Menasha, Wisconsin

One of the first priests to pass through this area was Rev. Samuel Mazzuchelli. Around 1834, Rev. Theodore J. VandenBroek of Little Chute conducted Catholic services for the benefit of the government employees at Winnebago Rapids. In 1848, St. Malachy Mission was established to serve approximately twenty Catholic families. In 1849, Father Paul Farinacci was assigned to this mission. The exact location of our first Mission and Cemetery has been lost. We do know, however, that it was located on land owned by Patrick Garrey near the edge of the John Fitzgibbon Homestead Farm on Clayton Road. St. Malachy remained in use until 1857. Today a historical marker on the Fitzgibbon Homestead Farm marks the general location of St. Malachy Mission church and cemetery. What Was Neenah-Menasha Like in 1853?

Imagine a rural village with dirt roads, horse-drawn buggies. That is a sample of what life was like for St. Patrick's parishioners in the 1850's. By 1853 Menasha was incorporated as a village. Elisha Smith had opened a dry goods store in Menasha and the Kimberly's built a flour mill. One of the first Wisconsin railroads was in operation in Menasha. Harrison Reed and James Doty built "The Menasha," the largest vessel on Lake Winnebago. And in 1853, encouraged by Rev. F. M. Fusseder, construction began on the first Catholic Church in the newly incorporated village. The Catholic population of Neenah and Menasha was large enough to build a church. However, due to the lack of funds, it took five years to complete. In 1857, Rev. Martin Henni, Bishop of Milwaukee, dedicated the church, which was also referred to as the "Catholic Church on the Island," to St. Charles Borromeo.

Captain Laughland MacKinnon donated the land upon which the Church was built. The following was inscribed in marble over the door of the church. "The acre of land on which the Church is erected was presented to the Holy Catholic Church by Captain MacKinnon R.M. of England A.D. 1854." Eighty families belonged to the church at that time.

In 1861, the United States became embroiled in the Civil War. Many parishioners of St. Charles served their country. Thirty-three Civil War veterans are buried in St. Patrick's Historic Cemetery.

By 1867, the congregation had grown to approximately 275 families, with 250 families claiming Irish or German ancestors. Acting on the advice of Bishop Henni, the German-speaking Catholics of Menasha, with the support of those remaining at St. Charles, separated to build their own church. The church was dedicated to St. Mary.

In 1868, the first school was built. Also, in 1868 the Diocese of Green Bay was formed. The Irish and English Sisters of the Order of Servites came to staff the new school. In 1877 they were replaced by the Sisters of Notre Dame. On March 2, 1882, St. Charles Borremeo Church was destroyed by fire. It appears that a defective chimney caused the fire. A considerable amount of property was saved due to the noble effort of local residents. A New Church, A New Name

Up to this time, St. Charles was deeded to the Servites. Many parishioners declined to contribute to the rebuild because the diocese did not own the church. On May 15, 1882, the church and property were redeeded to Bishop Francis Krautbauer and the Diocese of Green Bay. Plans to rebuild commenced and on June 7, 1882, excavation began for our present church. Many parishioners mortgaged their farms and homes to raise money for the rebuilding. The new church was dedicated on July 5, 1883. In 1884, Father William DeKalver was assigned pastor of St. Patrick's. He remained in that role until 1915, giving the parish much-needed leadership stability. He served for thirty-one years and remains the longest serving pastor in St. Patrick’s history.

In 1889 the parish had a membership of 130 families of mixed nationalities. In 1900 the parish sold the school building to Jersild Knitting Mill. Jersild moved the building one block south and construction of our second school began. A New Century, a New Look

In 1916, a tower was added to the front of the church. The rationale for this addition is unclear.

In 1932, Bishop Peter Rhode approved a plan to build a Catholic Church in the city of Neenah: St. Margaret-Mary Parish was dedicated on June 11, 1933. Many members of St. Patrick’s residing in Neenah became original members of this church named in honor of St. Margaret Mary. In 1939, Father Joseph Ahearn became the pastor of St. Patrick's. Under his guidance, our second school was razed in June 1940, and our present school was dedicated in August, 1941. St. Patrick's continued to be a thriving Catholic community. St. Patrick's Celebrates its Centennial

Planned in 1953, remodeling of the church began in 1954 and was completed in time for Christmas Mass. A baptistery was built on the southwest corner of the new narthex. The sanctuary and interior were remodeled to reflect a simpler style. A mosaic mural made of 560,000 pieces of tessaire or colored stones was built behind the altar. The symbolism of the mural depicts the bishop’s mitre and crozier in the center. This represents St. Patrick, as does the serpent entwining the Irish Celtic Cross. Other symbols depict position of hands in offering the Mass. New Stations of the Cross and side altar statues were hand-carved by Italian artists. The church was blessed and the cornerstone laid on May 22, 1955. A corpus of the Risen Savior was added later. The bell tower was removed in 1956. In 1961, a new school addition and convent were built. These were the third and fourth major building projects completed during the pastorate of Father Ahearn. School Closes

In 1986, Father Roy Geenen became the pastor of St. Patrick’s. This was a difficult time to begin a pastorate for at this time the parish made the difficult decision to seek permission from the Diocese of Green Bay to close St. Patrick’s Grade School. The school had been an integral part of the parish for 119 years. The building re-opened in 1989 to house Seton Catholic Middle School. St. Malachy Mission Celebration

On September 12, 1998, the Catholic Communities of St. Patrick's, St. Mary's, St. John’s, St. Margaret Mary and St. Gabriel Parishes gathered at St. Mary Central High School to commemorate the sesquicentennial of St. Malachy Mission, and to celebrate 150 years of Catholicism in the Twin Cities. Bishops Robert Banks, Bishop Aloysius Wycislo, and the pastors of the five Catholic Parishes concelebrated the mass. This celebration was due to the research done by Dr. Sylvia Martin. Dr. Martin moved to the area and purchased the John Fitzgibbon homestead. Her studies brought us corrected information on the St. Malachy Mission and the early history of St. Patrick's Catholic Community. “Preserving Our Heritage, Building Our Future, Celebrating Our Parish” Campaign

Father Geenen assembled a long-term planning committee to study the needs of St. Patrick’s Parish. This committee planted the seed for our future renovation. In 1998, this long-term plan was put into action. A capital campaign committee was established to oversee the renovation of our church and building of a social hall, kitchen and gathering area. The primary goals of this committee were to make our church accessible to all, and to establish a reserve-maintenance fund to ensure the long-term needs of our buildings and finally to complete the project debt-free. The “Preserving Our Heritage, Building Our Future, Celebrating Our Parish” campaign was born in October, 1998. Groundbreaking took place on April 21, 2002. On June 30, 2002 the last mass was celebrated in the yet-to-be-renovated church. As during the 1953 renovation, weekend liturgies were held in the school gymnasium. On October 19, 2002, Bishop Robert Banks dedicated the renovated church and new building. The total renovation and rebuilding project was extensive. In the church proper, it included removing the side altars, replacing the front altar and ambo, replacing the carpeting and flooring, bringing the altar forward, removing the confessionals, enlarging the Liturgy of the Word for Children Room, adding a reconciliation room, placing a Christ Child statue between Joseph and Mary, replacing the sound and electrical systems and adding air conditioning. The building project included accessible rest rooms, a full-service kitchen, a social hall, and Gathering Area. All of the stained glass that was removed from church was adapted and placed in the Gathering Area. “Celebrating 150 Years”

March, 2003, began our yearlong sesquicentennial celebration. St. Patrick's is the mother parish of Neenah-Menasha. The year's festivities included an Old Fashion Ice Cream Social, Baptismal Gown display, Mass in the Park, Fish Fry's, and Bride's of Yesterday Tea. Our Sesquicentennial finale took place on September 18, 2004. Bishop David Zubik, Father Roy and former parish priests concelebrated the mass.