A blended parish family
On November 9, parishioners at St. Martin of Tours parish in Franklin, WI, celebrated two significant anniversaries: 50 years of Dehonian ministry at the parish, and 20 years since the Dedication Mass of SMOT’s newly built church.
In 1998, Fr. Charlie Bisgrove, SCJ, was pastor of Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary parish when he learned that the Archdiocese of Milwaukee had decided – after several listening sessions – to merge the parish with nearby Holy Assumption. Two of the oldest parishes in the archdiocese, they were just a block away from each other geographically; however, the histories of each had remained separate for about 150 years.
Established in 1847, Holy Assumption was the older of the two. German-speaking Catholics formed Sacred Hearts in 1858, while Holy Assumption served a primarily Irish, English-speaking community. Holy Assumption was linked to another parish for many years, but it wasn’t nearby Sacred Hearts. Instead, it was a mission of St. Mary’s in Hales Corners. It had only been a mission of Sacred Hearts in the ten years leading up to the merge into what would become St. Martin of Tours parish.
It was a gradual combination of parish households, but St. Martin of Tours was functioning as a new parish within a year of the archdiocese’s decision. To meet the needs of the combined parish population, a larger church was built that incorporated the original Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary as a narthex to the new structure.
On October 2, 2004, Archbishop Timothy Dolan (now Cardinal Dolan) celebrated a Dedication Mass for the new St. Martin of Tours church. Among those joining him with parishioners: Bishop Richard Skilba, Fr. Tony Russo, SCJ (pastor at the time), and other former pastors, SCJs and diocesan priests and deacons.
50 years of Dehonian ministry
It was in the fall of 1974 that the first members of the Priests of the Sacred Heart were assigned to Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary: Fr. Luke Lindon, SCJ, was named pastor, with Fr. Sylvester Benedict, SCJ, as associate pastor. Among the SCJs who followed them in ministry to the parish (Sacred Hearts, and later St. Martin of Tours): Fr. Justin Guiltnane, Fr. Paul J. McGuire, Fr. Howard Melzer, Fr. Stephen Wiese, Fr. Charlie Bisgrove, Br. Duane Lemke, Fr. Robert Naglich, Br. Long Nguyen, Fr. Joseph Thien Dinh, Fr. Tony Russo, Fr. Joseph Quang Tran, Fr. Yvon Sheehy, Fr. Terry Langley, Fr. Son Nguyen, Fr. Henry Nguyen, Br. Andy Gancarczyk, and the current pastor, Fr. Andrzej Sudol.
Many SCJ priests have done their diaconate internship at the parish, including former provincial superior Fr. Ed Kilianski, and Fr. Henry Nguyen, province vocation director. Seminarians from Sacred Heart Seminary and School of Theology continue to assist at the parish.
In 2007, the parish welcomed the Vietnamese Catholic community of Milwaukee, which had formerly been worshipping together at St. Anthony’s parish on Milwaukee’s south side. Fr. Francis Vu Tran, SCJ, then associate pastor at St. Martin of Tours, and a Vietnamese immigrant himself, became pastor to the community. After several years away from the parish, he returned this year, serving once again as associate pastor to St. Martin of Tours and as the primary minister to the Vietnamese community.
An evening of celebration
On Saturday, hundreds filled St. Martin of Tours’ church for the 4:00 p.m. Mass. Fr. Tom Cassidy, SCJ, president-rector of Sacred Heart Seminary and School of Theology, represented Fr. Vien Nguyen, SCJ, provincial superior. Fr. Tom, a former provincial superior himself, is no stranger to SMOT. He had lived at the parish rectory when he first served in provincial administration and has helped out at SMOT since he was a deacon. In his homily, he spoke of the many people who have made the parish their home, from the earliest days of the German and Irish settlers who worshiped at Holy Assumption and Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary, to the Vietnamese Catholic community of Milwaukee.
Several of the parish’s former pastors were among the concelebrants, including Fr. Tony Russo, SCJ, who oversaw the construction of the church in which the anniversary Mass was held.
Along with the anniversaries, the parish also recognized its veterans with handmade Quilts of Honor on Veterans Day Weekend, and St. Martin of Tours’ celebrated its parish feast day (November 11)
The evening ended with banquet and a silent auction.
“Thank you,” said Fr. Andrzej Sudol, SCJ, pastor. “Thank you to all of you who continue to make this your home, and who continue to welcome others.”
