The Catholic Herald

Commission chair develops synod timeline

Tracy Rusch — Fri, 24 May 2013 03:16:52 +0000

Archbishop Listecki convokes 2014 synod

18-member commission will guide consultation process

Randy Nohl, director of the John Paul II Center and chairman of the Synod Preparation Commission, developed the following timeline for how parishes, clusters and districts are to prepare for the synod.

May 19, 2013

Archdiocesan Synod
announced
Pentecost Archbishop Jerome E. Listecki officially announces the 2014 Archdiocesan Synod for the Archdiocese of Milwaukee, to be held June 7-8, 2014.

Spring 2013

Parish leadership reflection sessions
Parishes hold reflection sessions for parish staff and pastoral council members on the Archbishop Listecki’s pastoral letter, “Who Do You Say That I Am?”

What is a synod?

Brian T. Olszewski
Catholic Herald Staff
olszewskib@archmil.org

     In his decree convoking the June 7-8, 2014 Archdiocese of Milwaukee Synod, Archbishop Jerome E. Listecki stated a synod “is an assembly of members of Christ’s faithful in a diocese which, for the good of the whole diocesan community, assists the diocesan bishop in his care for the community by proposing direction and priorities.”
     He continued that “a synod not only manifests and actualizes ecclesial communion in a diocese, it also builds up and fosters that same unity. The work of the synod is to promote acceptance of the church’s saving teaching and to encourage the faithful in their following of Christ.”
     Quoting a 1992 letter from the Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith regarding diocesan synods, repeated in a 1997 instruction of diocesan synods written by the Congregation for Bishops and the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, Archbishop Listecki said “since the church is ‘sent into the world to proclaim and bear witness to that communion by which it is constituted, as well as to actualize it and to spread it,’ a synod can serve as a means of evangelization. Preparation for and celebration of a synod can help the community of the ‘faithful reflect on and celebrate their Catholic identity and the true meaning of what it is to be church.’”

Summer 2013

Prepare for parish/cluster reflection sessions
Parishes prepare for parish/cluster reflection sessions to be held in the fall.

October-November 2013

Parish/cluster reflection sessions
Parishes and clusters hold a session based on the pastoral letter to give input on shaping the future of the archdiocese. Pastoral goals and future initiatives will begin to be identified.

February-March 2014

District gatherings
Each district holds a gathering to pray, dialogue and further discern the goals and initiatives identified at the parish and cluster sessions.

June 7-8, 2014

Synod Pentecost weekend
Delegates representing parishes, priests, deacons, religious communities, lay groups and Catholic high schools, colleges and universities will attend.

Synod will focus on prayer, presentations, discussion and formal approval of pastoral priorities for parishes and the archdiocese.

Synod to close with a Mass to celebrate God’s blessings and seek God’s guidance.

Fall 2014

Archbishop Listecki issues “synodal declaration”
Archbishop Listecki issues a “synodal declaration” identifying goals, priorities and recommendations for implementing the vision of the synod.

18-member commission will guide consultation process

Tracy Rusch — Fri, 24 May 2013 01:49:54 +0000

ST. FRANCIS — While Archbishop Jerome E. Listecki convoked the 2014 archdiocesan synod on Pentecost Sunday, May 19, planning for the synod began in spring 2012 with the archbishop’s decision to establish a Synod Preparatory Commission – a group Deacon Sandy Sites labeled “the dream team” – that has been meeting monthly since September.

“The very first reaction I had when I walked into the room and met my teammates – I just continue to be blown away by how, with just 18 people, there could be such an amazing cross section of people,” said Deacon Sites, parish director at Good Shepherd, Menomonee Falls, of the group that represents all districts in the archdiocese. “We have the presbyterate, episcopacy; we have canon lawyers, religious, deacon, parish director; we have Christian formation, prayer and worship, training; we have marketing background, communication background, the theological expert, spirituality expert, age and gender diversity.”

Work has been ‘great process’

Fr. John Burns, associate pastor at Christ King, Wauwatosa, and one of three priests on the commission, termed the work of the group “a great process,” and said members have asked a lot of “theological and practical questions.”

“What is the archdiocese? How is this going to look in the archdiocese? How can we prepare the way? How can we put together a system of parish gatherings and then cluster gatherings that lead up to this archdiocesan synod in a way that is connected so that it’s cohesive and synthetic, so that it’s moving, the conversation itself is advancing, the focus is advancing, moving toward this idea of a synod?” he said.

Archbishop Listecki convokes 2014 synod

Commission chair develops synod timeline

What is a synod?

“The whole purpose of the Synod Preparatory Commission is to lay out the plan, lay out the process for the archdiocese as a whole and to reflect and pray about the pastoral letter (“Who Do You Say That I Am?”) in hopes those prayers, reflections and feedback will inform what the Synod will be in 2014,” according to Margie Mandli, a member of St. Anne, Pleasant Prairie, and owner of a business communications consulting company.

Calling it “a wonderful time for grace for our church in southeastern Wisconsin,” Mandli said several things were converging – the Year of Faith, new evangelization, the archbishop’s pastoral priorities, i.e., Catholic identity, evangelization and stewardship and Catholics being encouraged “to take on more of that intentional discipleship in our parishes.”

“It just all seems to be focused on the same mission – that is to bring more people to come to know our Lord, and to be excited about our church and to renew our church in a way that creates more enthusiasm for who we are and to not be ashamed, embarrassed or apologetic about it, but rather be excited about who we are and what we stand for and what our Lord can do for us in our lives,” she said.

Deacon Sites also noted the links in the process.

“Given the Year of Faith, given the new evangelization, given the parallel and related experiences, we wanted to make sure there was integration and that it wasn’t just another program or one more thing to do,” he said, noting that the archbishop’s pastoral priorities were part of that integration. “It seems quite naturally, without forcing this, the integration of year of faith and evangelization is automatic.”

Work rooted in pastoral letter

The basis for the commission’s work has been the archbishop’s pastoral letter, which Shanedra Johnson, youth minister at St. Michael and St. Rose parishes, Milwaukee, termed a source of “good dialogue” among commission members.

“I was excited about it because (the pastoral letter) is going to be really great to share with the young adults in our parish and some of the more mature teenagers and to just break that all open to come and reflect around the pastoral letter and the questions,” she said. “And I love hearing their stories and I can share my story, and it allows that to happen.”

What struck Deacon Sites about “Who Do You Say That I Am?” was its “’from the ground up’ rather than ‘from the top down’ preparation.”

“If you look at the pastoral letter, it begins with the celebration and affirmation of the laity and the religious communities – the folks, from there a spirit growing and bringing about this assembly of church in southeastern Wisconsin and, given that that’s in the letter, the seed and start of the letter, in terms of the flow of it, proving out in process, there’s such a great commitment to getting to anybody and everybody we can with no hierarchy. All are asked and valued in participating,” he said. “I know that’s not theological or spiritual, but in terms of process, it’s a beautiful and powerful starting point.”

Fr. Burns said the pastoral letter “provokes conversation that starts with ecclesiology” – conversation that doesn’t end with the preparatory commission.

“… and then to situate that in the parishes and cluster gatherings, by saying this is who the church is, how are we embracing, understanding and living that reality as members of the church and how do we layer that with an understanding of the challenges and blessings of the current age of our culture and society and ultimately how we can look forward to anticipate where the church needs to go and where her members need to be looking, praying and opening themselves to the grace the Lord is trying to give to move the church into the next couple of decades,” he said.

Mandli noted that to help parishes begin to understand the letter, and to dialogue and pray about it, the commission devoted time to developing the discussion guide that accompanies it.
“We want this to be lived and breathed by the whole church, not something that is just pushed down but rather people feel a desire to learn this and read it,” she said. “We want to create ways to share the beautiful concepts in this letter. When it comes down to it, the pastoral letter is a beautiful reflection of the church so we want people to get as excited as we are about this.
We want people to have this dialogue at the local level so our work has been, ‘How do we do that?’”
Hopes for the synod
Johnson is excited about what could result from the process – at the parish, district and synod levels.
“My hope is that people realize we are one church and that we’re working together for the common good of all of us as Catholics and as the greater community, too. My hope is that we just don’t keep ourselves in our own places …” she said. “I can reach across and say, ‘St. Monica was part of this process, too. Gesu was part of this process, too.’” We’re all connected with each other.”
Johnson added that she wants participants to look at the “bigger picture” of the church.
“Whatever that plan looks like for our future, that we’re all invested in it,” she said.
Deacon Sites considers his parish a microcosm of what the archdiocese might experience in the decades to come.
“We’re already in significant change, and the parish is learning that change can be good. Therein lies my hope for the parish and for the archdiocese as well – that we move away from an attitude of ‘Oh no, what’s going to happen now?’ to ‘Oh boy, I can’t wait!’ That we are again excited about what church is, ecclesiology that we’re redefining, that we’re rallied around what we, as church in southeastern Wisconsin, will look like from 2014 to 2025. And that becomes uplifting and opportunity versus what I think in many cases has been overwhelming and a kind of heavy burden.”
Fr. Burns said the pastoral letter “set a common foundation for an archdiocesan-wide conversation that is going to culminate at the synod.”
“The highest act of the local church is to come together and reflect on a topic that’s exactly what the archbishop wants to do: call the local church together to ask questions about where we’re headed and how do we get there.”
Next week: Pastoral letter introduced to parish councils, staffs

Archbishop Listecki convokes 2014 synod

Tracy Rusch — Fri, 24 May 2013 01:45:17 +0000

What has been discussed since early 2012, and been in the planning stages since September of last year became official Pentecost Sunday, May 19, when Archbishop Jerome E. Listecki proclaimed from the cathedra and signed on the altar a decree convoking a synod for the Archdiocese of Milwaukee to be held Pentecost weekend, June 7-8, 2014. The declaration was made during the 8 a.m. Mass at the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist.

Referencing Pope Benedict XVI’s Oct. 11, 2011 letter, “Door of Faith, in which the Holy Father called for a Year of Faith that began Oct 11, 2012 and which will conclude Nov. 24, and Pope Francis’ statement that “faith is born from listening, and is strengthened by proclamation,” the archbishop noted that he had issued his pastoral letter, “Who Do You Say That I Am?”, “to spark a period of diocesan-wide focus on the theology of the church.”

Archbishop Listecki said he had studied and reflected on the needs of the local church, “and having heard from the People of God of southeastern Wisconsin, we have determined that the time is ripe for setting forth a vision of the future and determining the priorities that will move us forward.”

18-member commission will guide consultation process

Commission chair develops synod timeline

What is a synod?

Noting that he had consulted with and received support for the synod from the Archdiocesan Council of Priests, Archdiocesan Pastoral Council, the College of Consultors and the Archdiocesan Finance Council, the archbishop said the Synod Preparatory Commission “will guide the process of reflection and consultation for the synod in conjunction with parish and district discussion of the pastoral letter, ‘Who Do You Say That I Am?’ Through this process, inspired by the Holy Spirit, the issues for deliberation at the synod will emerge and vision for the future become clearer.”

Archbishop Listecki said the synod would include representatives of clergy, laity and religious who will engage in prayerful dialogue, discernment and deliberation “in order to address the pastoral priorities that will move us forward.”

He added that “through preparation for, celebration of, and implementation after the synod, together we can ‘rediscover the joy of believing and the enthusiasm for communicating the faith’” – quoting Pope Benedict’s “Door of Faith.”

He concluded the 590-word decree by asking the faithful to pray that the Trinity “guide our preparations, to inspire our deliberations, and to bless our synod results.”

New bronze doors help Holy Hill mark 150th anniversary

Tracy Rusch — Thu, 23 May 2013 20:42:16 +0000

Bronze dust covers the hands of Cody Joseph Swanson, a sculptor who resides in Italy, as he grinds unwanted material from an 80-pound bronze panel depicting the Annunciation.

Resting against a nearby work bench, an equally large, but finished panel highlights a cross of highly polished bronze projecting from the hands of St. John of the Cross, co-founder, along with St. Teresa of Avila, of the Discalced Carmelites.

The panels are among six featuring bronze relief sculptures to grace a pair of 1,400-pound bronze doors recently installed at the entrance to the Basilica of the National Shrine of Mary Help of Christians at Holy Hill near Hubertus.

Archbishop Jerome E. Listecki will bless the doors during a special 4:30 p.m. Mass on Saturday recognizing the 150th anniversary of Holy Hill, a destination over the years for millions of pilgrims from around the world.

“The intention of these doors is to thank our Lord, to glorify him and to bring the faithful closer to Christ,” Swanson said late last week while overseeing finishing work on the sculptures at Vanguard Sculpture Services, a Milwaukee bronze foundry that cast the door panels.

Since 2000, major improvements made

The Basilica of the National Shrine of Mary Help of Christians at Holy Hill will celebrate the 150th anniversary of its founding with a Mass on Saturday, May 25, at 4:30 p.m.

Archbishop Jerome E. Listecki of Milwaukee will be principal celebrant, with the Discalced Carmelite priests of Holy Hill concelebrating. Archbishop Listecki will also re-dedicate the shrine chapel.

Installation of the bronze doors, four in all including two slightly smaller ones to replace rosewood doors prematurely decayed by exposure to the elements, is the latest in an ongoing series of major improvements at Holy Hill since 2000.

The improvements are intended to maximize the Holy Hill experience for pilgrims, said Carmelite Fr. Don Brick, the shrine’s rector.

“People are able to leave their world, come here and speak to God. Holy Hill really leads people toward a deeper encounter with God,” Fr. Brick said. “We are a Marian shrine and being a shrine of Mary means assisting people in their faith, guiding them during their pilgrimage of faith.”

“The 150th anniversary fits in beautifully with the ‘Year of Faith’ because we are talking about a pilgrimage of faith for every individual who comes here,” Fr. Brick said.

Pope Benedict XVI, who promulgated the Year of Faith, designated Holy Hill as a minor basilica, similar to the basilica of the grotto and Lourdes. In 2012 the Vatican established a bond between Holy Hill and the Basilica of St. Mary Major in Rome. That means Holy Hill visitors receive the same benefits as visiting St. Mary Major.

Sits on sacred ground

But long before Holy Hill became a shrine and pilgrimage site, the cone-shaped hill was held to be sacred ground “even for the Indians because it was the high point,” Fr. Brick said.

“People would come here because it was the highest point around, but it wasn’t a place of pilgrimage,” Fr. Brick said.

Jesuit missionaries who frequently planted crosses on high hills mapped what was to become known as Holy Hill.

According to history, one of the maps found its way into the hands of a Frenchman living in Canada, Francois Soubrio, who traveled to Wisconsin and lived the life of a hermit on the hill.

Soubrio was known as the Hermit of Holy Hill, becoming more of a folklore legend than anything, according to Fr. Brick.

“The Hermit of Holy Hill was written about in history, but there is not any corroborating history to tie him here. No documents point to the Hermit of Holy Hill,” he said.

But the name caught on and people called it Hermit’s Hill although Catholics called it St. Mary’s Hill.

Irish dubbed it ‘Holy Hill’

History records the Irish, who settled in the Holy Hill area in the 1840s, referring to the hill informally as Holy Hill.

Holy Hill was known as Government Hill in 1855 when a local priest, Fr. Francis Xavier Paulhuber, bought the 40 acres from the U.S. government.

“Fr. Paulhuber said at the time he felt the hill would become a pilgrimage site for tens of thousands of people. That’s when Holy Hill really became significant for pilgrimages,” Fr. Brick said.

The first official reference to Holy Hill came on May 24, 1863 when, according to shrine history, Fr. George Strickner dedicated a small chapel he ordered built on the hill’s summit.

Fr. Strickner “preached the first sermon from the Shrine of St. Mary – Help of Christians to about 1,500 persons. In the sermon, Fr. Strickner used the name Holy Hill formally for the first time,” according to a history of the shrine compiled by the Discalced Carmelites.

Carmelites take over in 1906

The Discalced Carmelite friars, known as discalced or barefoot because they wore only sandals, were selected by Milwaukee Archbishop Sebastian F. Messmer in 1906 to take over operation of the growing shrine from diocesan priests.

Construction began on the first stone church in 1880 when the hill’s peak, already lowered several feet to make a flat surface for the initial log church, was lowered another 20 feet to accommodate the new shrine.

The current church, constructed between 1925 and 1931, required Holy Hill be lowered another 80 feet, meaning the existing hill is about 100 feet lower than the days when Jesuit missionaries made note of its presence.

When the existing church was finished it rose 250 feet above the countryside.

Shrine fell into disrepair

A severely leaking roof, falling bricks from the shrine’s 192-foot towers and other physical issues prompted a $7 million renovation beginning in 2000, said Carmelite Fr. Cyril Guise, former prior and shrine director at Holy Hill.

“The church was really going downhill fast,” said Fr. Guise, who was charged with overseeing the massive project.

The church’s asbestos shingle roof was replaced with slate from Vermont. Stained glass windows were covered with protective glass.

Solid bronze ceiling light fixtures, estimated to cost $1.5 million to replace, were taken down and polished.

“Everything was taken out of the church and cleaned,” Fr. Guise said. “People asked, ‘Are you going to change things?’ I told them no. I don’t believe you can take an old church like this and put contemporary ideas inside of it. It doesn’t work.”

‘More beautiful’ than in 1931

Conrad Schmitt Studios of New Berlin, whose craftsmen have worked on Holy Hill since the 1920s, painted and decorated the sanctuary, much of it in faux marble.

The only significant marble is in the 40-ton altar, Fr. Guise said.

“I felt elated,” Fr. Guise said of the renovation completion in 2006. “In some ways, the church is more beautiful than it was in 1931.”
Installation of the bronze doors, designed by architect Duncan G. Stroik with a project cost of more than $300,000, is the latest major improvement at Holy Hill.

“Those doors will outlast the building,” Fr. Guise said.

Swanson, who brought an arrow cast in bronze from Italy as part of a panel based on a 17th century sculpture by Gian Lorenzo Bernini depicting the “Ecstasy of St. Teresa,” of Avila, said the doors are designed “to lead you into the basilica in preparation to be in the presence of our Lord and the Eucharist.”

“Hopefully, people who see the doors will be inspired, emboldened, enlivened or even rekindled about their faith,” said Swanson. “It’s all very humbling. I’m very blessed to be called to do this.”

Fr. Brick said visitors to Holy Hill should leave “with a better hope God is still very much present in their lives.”

The number of pilgrims visiting Holy Hill, currently estimated at more than 300,000 annually, is steadily increasing, Fr. Brick said.

“We offer confession every day of the year,” Fr. Brick said. “Not many places do that anymore. So many people come to Holy Hill to avail themselves of the sacraments. People are trying to discover a deeper meaning in life, a reality and closeness with God.”

St. Patrick School, Elkhorn to close

Tracy Rusch — Thu, 23 May 2013 20:39:35 +0000

ELKHORN — The 2013 eighth-grade graduating class of St. Patrick School will be the school’s last.

A letter posted on the St. Patrick Parish website, written by pastor Fr. Oriol Regales, stated the school could no longer continue.

“I want you to know that my first concern has always been the good of the children,” Fr. Regales wrote. “I want to let you know that the main reason that has driven me to make this heartbreaking decision has been the decreasing amount of students we serve.”

The school, which has been in existence 55 years, has seen a gradual decrease in enrollment since the 2008-09 school year.

There are currently 58 students enrolled in the pre-kindergarten to eighth- grade school, down from 60 last year and 82 the year before. Next year the student body was projected at 54 students.

“Small schools need to be viable schools,” Kathleen Cepelka, superintendent of Catholic schools for the Archdiocese of Milwaukee, told your Catholic Herald. “Our trend in the archdiocese is schools that are strong and able to sustain themselves into the future. Small schools, in some cases in the archdiocese, can be strong schools and sustainable … but we have to look at many factors.”

She said declining enrollment and maintaining the financial needs of the parish while trying to keep the school proved to be too big of an obstacle.

According to Cepelka, the hope is that every parish support Catholic education even if it does not have a Catholic school on site.

To that end, she said the remaining students who are going on to Catholic school will have their first year tuition at the new school paid.

“The parish is going to pay full tuition for the first year for children going to Catholic school,” Cepelka said, adding this is the “responsible” decision.

Students and their families are being advised to consider Catholic schools near Elkhorn, particularly St. Andrew School, Delevan, which is less than 10 miles away.

Other options include St. Francis de Sales School, Lake Geneva; St. Peter School, East Troy; and St. Thomas Aquinas School, Waterford.

A letter sent to Archbishop Jerome E. Listecki on April 10 detailed the school’s efforts to increase enrollment by making banners and yard signs, and visiting religious education classes to create buzz for the school.

“Clearly, it’s very sad when a situation like this has to occur,” Cepelka said. “This is a complex process that we do not take lightly.”

Fr. Regales wrote that after two years at St. Patrick he’s very sad to have had to close the school.

“We really enjoyed having our very own school in Elkhorn,” he wrote. “However, we still have a school, possibly more than one, depending on where our students choose to continue their Catholic education. Please, join me as we continue to pray for those who are directly affected by this change.”

The Catholic Herald

Commission chair develops synod timeline

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May 19, 2013

Spring 2013

What is a synod?

Summer 2013

October-November 2013

February-March 2014

June 7-8, 2014

Fall 2014

18-member commission will guide consultation process

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Archbishop Listecki convokes 2014 synod

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