St Francis Minor Seminary - Via Yearbook (Milwaukee, WI)

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DIAMOND JUBILEE zEsE 1879-1882 In the month of July, 1879, Very Rev. C. Wapel- horst had resigned his oHice as Rector, and the Very Rev. Kilian Flasch was appointed his successor. For twenty-five years the sacred walls of this priestly home of training had withstood the terrific wintry blasts of the open lake and the intensive heat of Wisconsinls summers and for that length of time St. Francis Seminary had prepared and trained hun- dreds of the followers of Christ for the work of the Church in the Northwest. These sons of the first quarter century had proved their worth and now were to return and celebrate the Silver Jubilee of their beloved St. Francis. This occasion was fittingly ob- served on June 29 and 30, 1881, with great pomp and solemnity. Nine archbishops and bishops, 240 priests and a vast number of the Catholic laity par- ticipated in the joyful festivities of the Silver Jubilee of the Seminary. Banners and bunting decorated the house in the best of gala attire. On the first day of the jubilee, Archbishop Patrick Feehan of Chicago pontif'icated, assisted by the Very Rev. Vicar-General L. Batz and the Revs. P. M. Abbelen, William McGill, James J. Keogh, and Louis Moench. Bishop Coadjutor M. Heiss of Milwaukee, Bishops Dwenger of Fort Wayne, Fink of Leaven- worth, Spalding of Peoria, Vertin of La Crosse, Hen- nessey of Dubuque, Vicars-General Katzer of Green Bay and Muehlsiepen of St. Louis, and the Very Rev. H. Kampschroer, administrator of La Crosse, assisted in the sanctuary. Bishop Dwenger preached the sermon on the divine institution of the priesthood. At the banquet which was served in the two refectories, Archbishop Heiss, although scarcely re- covered from a recent illness, welcomed the guests in very appropriate and touching words. He said that he was the only one left of the original founders of the Seminary. When the venerable prelate re- ferred to the first years of the Seminary and spoke of the trials and hardships which he and his lamented friend Dr. Salzmann had had to endure in those early pioneer days his voice failed him, his eyes filled with tears, and the whole audience felt the weight and deep significance of his words. In the afternoon all assembled in the Seminary auditorium where appropriate addresses were delivered by the students in Latin, English, German, Hebrew, Greek, Slavonian, Polish, Bohemian, and French. In the evening the Seminary and its surroundings were ablaze with fireworks. On the second day of the jubilee, Bishop Francis Krautbauer of Green Bay pontificatecl, assisted by the Very Rev. Muehlsiepen, V. G., and the Revs. J. Hennessey Cater made bishopl, F. Pape, W. Neu, and P. Dumin. Bishop Spalding preached the sermon on the advantages of higher education for the clergy and the need of a Catholic University. At the ban- uet addresses were given by the retiring Rector, Bishop-elect Flasch, and his newly appointed suc- cessor, the Very Rev. August Zeininger. The after- noon was partly devoted to a church concert in the chapel under the able direction of Mr. J. Singenberger and the Rev. Charles Becker. The jubilee seemingly was destined to be re- splendent with joy. On August 24, the Right Rev. Kilian Flasch was consecrated Bishop of La Crosse in the Seminary chapel. Bishops as well as priests took part in the joyful celebration. Soon after the beginning of the new scholastic year a new professor arrived from Europe, the Very Rev. Otto Zardetti, D. D., formerly canon of the cathedral of St. Gallls, Switzerland, and honorary canon of St. Maurice in the canton of Wallis. He was a man of splendid gifts, who by his great elo- quence was very favorably known in Germany and Switzerland. He taught dogmatic theology and homi- letics till 1886, when he accepted a position as Vicar General to Bishop Marty at Yankton, South Dakota. In 1889 he was raised to the episcopal dignity as first Bishop of St. Cloud, Minn. In 1894 difficulties having risen in the kingdom of Roumania concerning the appointment of an Archbishop of Bucharest, the Cardinal Prefect of the Propaganda, Cardinal Led- ochowski, turned his eyes to Bishop Zardetti and offered him the very honorable but also very difficult position. He accepted, left for Europe, and was soon installed as Archbishop of Bucharest. After a short but very successful administration he resigned, to the great regret of the king, clergy, and people, and spent his last days in Rome, where he received the title of Canon Sancta Maria Maggiore. It was also in the year of the silver anniversary that the angel of death bade the venerable Archbishop Martin Henni follow him to join the 1finnumerable caravanil marching in deathly silence to the haven of eternal bliss. He had ruled the diocese for a period of nearly forty years, and with anxious eyes had seen it grow from small beginnings to the present flourishing condition and could rightly say: fouorum pars magna qu. On September 10, the entire student body left for Milwaukee on an extra train to take part in the solemn obsequies in St. John,s Cathedral. Bishop McMullen of Davenport preached the funeral sermon. On April 23, 1882, the Pallium was conferred on Archbishop Heiss in the cathedral of Milwaukee. It was a joyful solemnity in which all the students took part. The Right Rev. John Ireland, Coadjutor Bishop of St. Paul, delivered the sermon on this occasion. I321

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EBN miza wWPZon meHZPNM. , gnaw ?.?:dn iew 1876 AFTER TWENTY YEARs CRear 6'U 73m

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Qie At a previous meeting of the bishops of the province a committee of bishops had been appointed to visit the Seminary from time to time, to assist at the examination for orders and to promote the interests of the institution. The three bishops ap- pointed were the Most Rev. M. Heiss of Milwaukee, the Right Rev. Flasch of La Crosse, and the Right Rev. J Ireland of St. Paul. Upon their visit on Sept. 19 the prelates were given an enthusiastic welcome. The evening was devoted to songs and addresses. 1882-1886 An institution which grows with the times must keep abreast of modern time- and labor-saving devices and conveniences. On March 18,1883,the telephone , a recent invention, was introduced into the Seminary. This self same year records a conHagration which appeared seriously dangerous at the moment of its discovery. The roof of the older division was slowly being ravaged by fire. The Milwaukee fire department was called on for assistance, but the kind hand of Providence warded off the danger even before the help arrived. Ere the year ended the Most Rev. Archbishop Heiss left for Europe to make his visit 84d liminaii. The students were at the station to bid their spiritual father a hearty bon-voyage and God-speed on his journey. The Archbishop returned the following year, 1884. Again the student body was on hand to extend a most enthusiastic welcome. SAINT FRANCIS SEMINARY I331 The even tenor of 1885 was varied by visits from Bishops Marty of Yankton, South Dakota, Blondel of Helena, Mont., Juenger of Nesqually, and the South African missionary, the Rev. P. Cronenbergs, S. J. In September of this year the Rev. John Morrissey resigned from the Seminary faculty and was suc- ceeded by the Rev. Francis P. Reilly. Opening of the first Provincial Council of the Milwaukee Diocese took place in St. John,s Cathedral at Milwaukee on May 23, 1886. Several of the faculty took part in the proceedings, the Very Rev. A. Zeininger, Rector, as notary, the Revs. J. Rainer and S. Lebl, D. D., as secretaries, the Rev. Charles Becker as Magister Cantorum, and the Very Rev. 0. Zardetti as Theologian of Bishop Marty of Yankton, South Dakota. At the procession for the opening of the Council the Seminary choir and the students of Theology were present. This was a year of improvement. A new heating plant for both buildings was erected, the walls in the interior of the Seminary were newly frescoed, the earthen rampart in front of the building was re- moved and the main entrance renewed, Ere escapes were built, and two bowling alleys were constructed. The past thirteen years had enjoyed a prosperity unknown in the early days and held out even greater promise for the period about to open. Under Goch hand the word had been: Semper crescat. JOHN SONNLEITNER 136