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

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DIAMOND Pontihcal High Mass was observed in the usual fitting manner. The plays enacted during the remaining part of the school year were T1The Rivals, by Sheridan, and McCarthyis 11H I Were King? Both plays were staged by the classical department and directed by Fathers EiIers and Felsecker respectively. On May 1, the Seminary rejoiced in the news that the Very Rev. Francis Johannes, an alumnus, was con- secrated Coadjutor Bishop to the Right Rev. Ward, D. D., of the Diocese of Leavenworth. The newly elevated prelate was born in 1874 at Mittelstreu, Bavaria. In 1882 he came to America and settled in Missouri. Having studied at St. Benedict1s College at Atchison, Kansas, he came to St. Francis where he completed his studies and was ordained in 1897. Since his ordination Bishop Johannes had held im- portant positions in the Diocese of St. Louis. The Seminary wished him 60ch speed in his new work. The deaths of two members of the Board of Direc- tors occurred during 1928. Monsignor Dumin, pastor of St. Roseis Church in Milwaukee, died on March 21. On May 9, Monsignor James F. Ryan, rector of St. Johns Cathedral and former professor of the Seminary for a period of 18 years, was called to his eternal reward. Monsignor Ryan in his long career as professor had gained for himseIf among the members of the student body, the faculty, and the priests of the diocese the title: TTSemper Fidelis et Paratufi His loss was genuinely felt by all with whom he had had contact as teacher or director of souls. Another priestly leader had gone to his noble reward. During the summer months the biennial reunion of the Alumni Association was held. At the opening of the school session in Septem- ber a capacity group of 330 students was enrolled. After the annual house retreat, which takes place at the beginning of the scholastic period, the seminarians took up their duties with great zest and spirit. The Reverend Bernard Felsecker was appointed to the faculty in October. As the result of a special mission study during the previous year, known as the Paladin Round Table, 43 students were rewarded with Paladin Companion degrees late in September. This special study which takes place outside of the regular class and study periods shows the love the students have for the spread of the Church in foreign countries. Mission Sunday and Faculty Day, which replaces the Rector,s nameday, were observed in a fitting and proper manner. Programs by the students were ar- ranged for these occasions. During the year 1929 many interesting events took place at St. Francis. Some of these were of a minor nature while others were intimately connected JUBILEE 8E5? with the life of the institution. In the first place a new feature in the FieId of entertainment was intro- duced by the students in the nature of operettas. Two of these were presented during the year. The first, 1iThe Vagabondsi was staged in January. The other, 1The Child of the East,,, composed by the students themselves, was played on December 19, as an open- ing event to the program in honor of Pope Pius X1 who was to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of his ordination to the priesthood on the next day. Besides these operettas three major plays viz, 8The Third of May,,, The Merchant of Venice , and 11BelisaW, were presented by the St. Stanislaus Kostka Society under the direction of Father Bednarski, the St. Thomas Society under the direction of Father John- son, and the Blessed Albertus Magnus Society under the direction of Father Bronner respectively. 1928-1 929 On various occasions the seminarists had the op- portunity of hearing addresses given by Monsignor Dr. Schurmann, Apostolic Administrator of St. Rosa, Republic of Honduras, Dr. Edwin 0,1-1ara who was later made Bishop of the Great Falls Diocese, Right Reverend Charles D. White of Spokane, Monsignor Frank Thill of the Mission Crusade, and Father St. John of the Extension Society. On April 3, the Seminary was honored by the election of the Rev. Francis Haas, professor of Sociol- ogy, to the presidency of the Catholic Association for International Peace at its annual convention at the Catholic University in Washington, D. C. On June 10 and 14, the celebration of the Silver Sacerdotal Jubilee of Father Ziegler, the dean of the High School department, was observed by the stu- dents and priests in turn. Shortly after this event the classes of 1904 and 1914 renewed acquaintances with their Alma Mater. Such reunions no doubt give new courage to weary pilgrims on their way to their final earthly end and heavenly goa1, hence the Sales- ianum is ever ready and eager to welcome her child- ren back to the scenes of the joyous, treasured student days. In September the students were greeted by the newly appointed Rector, the Very Rev. Aloysius J. Muench, D. S. Sc., who had been chosen to succeed Right Reverend Monsignor Breig. On August 16, the latter had requested Archbishop Messrner and the Board of Directors to accept his resignation so as to allow him more time for his library work. His resig- nation was reluctantly accepted. Immediately His Grace appointed Dr. A. J Muench, an alumnus of the Seminary who had made his entire course at St. Francis, had later spent several years abroad in post- graduate work at some of the leading Universities of Europe, and for the past seven years had been on the faculty of the Seminary. i761

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l93I SAINT FRANCIS SEMINARY Former Faculty Members ,IIWWHN'FDL ' ' . - ' ' REV: OHN KINSELLA' 1873-1879 L 1 ' 1360-1861 1871-1372 '- 'REVQ KILIAN FLASCH 1860-1867w18754881 REV. PETER DEBERGE ' , yzsssx3361751s72-1876 , i752!

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Qis The year 1930 was to be a trying year for St. Francis Seminary. Her faculty, for the past few years rated with the countryls best, was to suffer a loss by the death of two members, one in the prime of his career and the other in advanced old age. Besides this intimate loss to the teaching staff the great lover of the Seminary Archbishop Messmer was to be called to his eternal reward. Though the vacancies left by these men have been filled, still their deaths were a personal loss to the students, the faculty, and the Archdiocese. Time cannot efface the remembrance of the noble work they did for the Church, especially in the Milwaukee Province. On January 5, the death of Rev. Thomas M. Schmitz, professor of Natural Science, occurred. Father Schmitz was born July 14, 1889, at Waunakee, Wisconsin. He had studied with his classmate, Dr. A. J. Muench, at St. Boniface parochial school, Mil- waukee, and at St. Francis Seminary for the full course. After his ordination on June 8, 1913, he was sent to Madison as an assistant pastor. Later he was made assistant supervisor at St. Aemilianis Orphan- age. Father Schmitz came to the Seminary as pro- fessor in 1919. During his illness previous to his death, Dr. John GaEney, a layman, of Madison took up the duties of Father Schmitz. The deceased was both priest and scientist and his death is mourned by all who knew him for his learning, his zeal, and his priestly companionship. 1930 On January 29, the patron feast was again solemn- ly celebrated. The Pontifical High Mass was sung by the Right Reverend P. J Lochman, V. G., P. A., and the sermon delivered by the Right Rev. F. Rempe, V. G., P. A., of Chicago. In the afternoon the academic degrees were again conferred upon a large number of the students. The baccalaureate address was delivered by the Reverend Robert G. Condon, Ph. D., D. D., of La Crosse. The Mission Reading Room in the new gym was formally opened by the moderator of the society, Dr. Breig, on April 12. The room is furnished with a spacious reading table, chairs, and book cases, while the walls are decorated with appropriate pictures of artistic merit. The Hoot is covered with an attractive linoleum carpet, making the general appearance of the room one of beauty and comfort. Mission litera- ture of every description is available in the room for student use. On April 18, Good Friday, the Tre Ore service was held for the first time in the history of the Semi- nary. It was conducted by the Very Rev. Rector, Dr. Muench, and the Spiritual Director, the Rev. Maas. On the night of Ma 21, a fire which completely destroyed the building broke out at the St. Aemil- SAINT FRANCIS SEMINARY ianis Orphan Asylum. The seminarists aroused from their slumbers by the noises of the fire engines and cars passing through the grounds were encouraged by the Rector to hasten to the scene of the fire to see whether they could be of any assistance in trans- ferring the boys and nuns from the burning building to safety. This was done and all inmates of the institution were safely lodged in the infirmary or other rooms of the Seminary. The fire, fanned by a steady wind from the west, soon spread out throughout the entire building, and as the dawn came nothing re- mained but a few walls and a mass of smouldering ruins. Provisions were made at the Seminary for the needs of the near future. A dormitory was quickly improvised and set up in the new gymnasium. The things worth saving from the ruins were transferred by the students during the next day to the basement of the gymnasium. For the following three months the Seminary played the roles of both Seminary and Orphan Asylum, for the homeless children were not removed to their new quarters until the latter part of the vacation period. The death of the Most Reverend Archbishop Messmer, on August 4, caused universal mourning throughout the Catholic world. The Archbishop was visiting the little Alpine village of his birth when summoned to his eternal reward, and his earthly re- mains were placed in his native soil far from the land in which he so zealously and unsellishly labored. Born on August 24, 1847, Most Rev. Sebastian G. Messmer received his early education at his native village. His high school studies were made at Ror- schach on Lake Constance. In 1861 he entered the diocesan college of St. George near St. Gall. From here he went to the University of Innsbruck in Tyrol, Austria, and was ordained a priest for the American Missions on July 23, 1871. In this country he became professor of theology at Seton Hall College, South Orange, New Jersey, and seven years later was ap- pointed secretary of the Council of Baltimore. In 1885 he was appointed pastor at St. Peter,s Church in Newark. He remained here five years and was then appointed to the chair of Canon Law at the Catholic University. In 1892, the Rev. Dr. Messmer received the call to govern the destinies of the Green Bay Diocese. In 1903 he was appointed to the Metro- politan See of Milwaukee. This great Churchmank career was filled with zealous activity for the mainten- ance and spread of the faith. A scholar himself, he was intensely concerned about Christian education from the parochial schools to the Catholic Universities. During his administration the Archdiocese was devel- oped, new churches being built, new institutions founded, and old institutions enlarged and the scope of their activity broadened. That he was a lover of St. Francis Seminary is evident from his frequent visits and 1771