The seminary was founded in 1845 in the home of Archbishop John Henni, two years after the Archdiocese was established in Milwaukee.[3] It is one of the original Roman Catholic seminaries in the United States and the oldest in continuous existence. It was founded to meet the demand for German-speaking priests in the Wisconsin Territory.
Henni Hall was dedicated on January 29, 1856[4] after a new location was chosen for the seminary along the south shore of Lake Township. The building was 4.5 stories tall, Italianate-styled, with a U-shaped floor plan. The gingerbread ornamentation was added at a later date.[5] It was expanded in 1868 and again in 1875,[6] and later renovated in 1989.[7] Christ King Chapel within Henni Hall was consecrated in June 1861 by Archbishop Henni. Archbishop Michael Heiss and Fr. Joseph Salzmann, the first two rectors, are buried beneath the chapel.[8] The seminary's Salzmann Library was erected in 1908 and now contains more than 89,000 volumes. The Miller Gymnasium, a gift from the estate of Ernest G. Miller, was dedicated in 1927.[9]
Over the past 170 years, Saint Francis de Sales Seminary has graduated over 4,000 priests and over 400 deacons and lay ministers.[citation needed] Until 1941, it had included a minor seminary component, but in that year those students were merged with the students at Pio Nino High School to form the new St. Francis de Sales Preparatory Seminary. Since 2006, the seminary once again focuses solely on priestly formation.[10]
Forty-nine tall maple trees line the long road that leads up to Saint Francis de Sales Seminary. Planted by Austrian immigrant Siegfried Wegerbauer in the 1930s, their canopy now forms cathedral arches shading the path.[12]
Our Lady of Lourdes Grotto
Our Lady of Lourdes Grotto
The Our Lady of Lourdes Grotto was built by German born Paul Dobberstein while training at the seminary in 1894.[citation needed] During his studies he contracted double pneumonia and promised the Blessed Virgin Mary he would build a grotto in her honor, once he recovered. This monument can be found in Saint Francis de Sales Seminary's wooded area. It is free for anyone to view.
Standing a mere ten feet tall, this grotto was Dobberstein's first attempt at grotto building. He used the knowledge and skills gained during its construction to build other grottos in Wisconsin and Iowa, including the massive Grotto of the Redemption found in West Bend, Iowa. It is believed to have inspired Mathias Wernerus (who also attended Saint Francis de Sales Seminary) to build the Dickeyville Grotto in Dickeyville, Wisconsin in 1930 and started the grotto building movement in America.[citation needed]
Notable alumni
Dismas Becker – Wisconsin legislator and civil rights activist
The Archdiocese of Milwaukee is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory, or archdiocese, of the Catholic Church in southeast Wisconsin in the United States.
The Shrine of the Grotto of the Redemption is a religious shrine in West Bend, Iowa, in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Sioux City. A conglomeration of nine grottos depicting scenes in the life of Jesus, it contains a large collection of minerals and petrifications and is believed to be the largest grotto in the world.
John Hennessy was a 19th-century Irish-born prelate of the Roman Catholic Church who served as bishop and archbishop in the United States. He served as bishop and then the first archbishop of the Archdiocese of Dubuque, Iowa, from 1866 to 1900.
Jerome Edward Listecki is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church who has served as Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, since 2010.
Michael Heiss was a German-born prelate of the Roman Catholic Church who served as the first bishop of the Diocese of La Crosse in Wisconsin (1868–1880) and the second archbishop of the Archdiocese of Milwaukee in Wisconsin (1881–1890).
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Green Bay is a Latin church diocese in the northeast region of Wisconsin in the United States. It is a suffragan diocese of the Archdiocese of Milwaukee. Its mother church is the Cathedral of Saint Francis Xavier in Green Bay.
Frederick Xavier Katzer was an Austrian-born prelate of the Catholic Church. He served as bishop of the Diocese of Green Bay in Wisconsin (1886–1891) and archbishop of the Archdiocese of Milwaukee in Wisconsin (1891–1903).
Augustine Francis Schinner was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as the first bishop of the Diocese of Superior in Wisconsin from 1905 to 1913 and as the first bishop of the Diocese of Spokane in Washington State from 1914 to 1925.
Joseph Nathaniel Perry is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church who served as an auxiliary bishop for the Archdiocese of Chicago from 1998 to 2023.
Joseph Salzmann, one of the best-known Roman Catholic pioneer priests in the Northwest Territory of the United States, was the Austrian founder of several Catholic educational institutions, including the prominent Saint Francis de Sales Seminary known as the "Salesianum."
John Martin Henni was a Swiss-born prelate of the Roman Catholic Church who served as the first Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Milwaukee, Wisconsin from 1843 until his death in 1881.
Paul Matthias Dobberstein was a German American priest and architect.
Joseph Maria Koudelka was a Czech-born prelate of the Roman Catholic Church who served as the second bishop of the Diocese of Superior in Wisconsin from 1913 until his death in 1921.
Paul Peter Rhode was a German-born prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as bishop of the Diocese of Green Bay in Wisconsin from 1915 until his death in 1945.
John Jeremiah Lawler was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as bishop of the Diocese of Lead in South Dakota from 1916 until his death in 1948. He previously served as an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Saint Paul in Minnesota from 1910 to 1916.
Donald Joseph Hying is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church, serving as the bishop of the Diocese of Madison in Wisconsin since 2019. Hying previously served as bishop of the Diocese of Gary in Indiana from 2015 to 2019 and as an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Milwaukee in Wisconsin from 2011 to 2015.
The St. John the Baptist Roman Catholic Church is a Roman Catholic church in Johnsburg in Fond du Lac County, Wisconsin. The church is part of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Milwaukee. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.
David J. Malloy is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church who has served as the bishop of the Diocese of Rockford in Illinois since 2012.
Jeffrey Robert Haines is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church who has been serving as an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Milwaukee in Wisconsin since 2017. He also serves as rector of the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist in Milwaukee.
James Thomas Schuerman is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church who has been serving as auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Milwaukee in Wisconsin since 2017.
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