Most Reverend Jerome E. Listecki
Archbishop of Milwaukee
Last weekend, I fulfilled a promise to the members of the Archbishop’s Circle, namely, a trip to Saint Mary of the Lake University, Mundelein Seminary. Last year when we planned the trip, it unfortunately had to be cancelled when I experienced an unforeseen heart event that landed me as an emergency patient at one of our excellent Catholic hospitals, Columbia St. Mary’s.
On Saturday, we boarded a bus at the Cousins Center at 8:30 a.m., traveling the Wisconsin and Illinois highways. During our trip, we prayed the rosary for our archdiocese. God provided spectacular 75 degree weather with sunshine, blue skies and billowy white clouds, which made Mundelein all the more glorious. I spent 25 years of my life on that campus, and I am well aware of the treasures that exist there.
The staff at the seminary could not have been more welcoming. We were greeted by Father Robert Barron (of the Catholicism series) who is the rector, Father Tom Franzman and Mr. Mark Teresi. We began our tour at the center of the complex, the chapel dedicated to the Immaculate Conception. It seats over 800 and is a copy of the First Congregational Church in New England. Cardinal Mundelein was the first Cardinal of the West and he left his mark on the Church by combining his love of Rome and his dedication to the United States of America.
On display in the seminary library were some of the great works usually kept locked away in vaults. We examined the complete set of signatories of the Declaration of Independence; Letters of Mary Todd Lincoln; early books when printing was just beginning; and many handwritten letters of the saints. One letter in particular was from Saint Francis De Sales, who is the patron of our seminary. Also on display were various chalices used by Popes and a vestment made from the gown of Maria Teresa of Austria, to name just a few. We celebrated Mass in the deacons’ chapel and were treated to lunch. The group then walked to the seminary mall, which overlooks the lake. Being a gorgeous day, everyone drank in nature’s beauty.
Before we left, we stopped at the cemetery where we offered a prayer at the grave of Albert Cardinal Meyer, who was the seventh Archbishop of Milwaukee. His motto, Adveniat Regnum Tuum (Thy Kingdom Come), was placed on the body-length stone, marking the spot of his burial. Francis Cardinal George opened his villa, a copy of George Washington’s Mount Vernon, and we toured this elegant home from top to bottom. The home looks like something akin to the estate seen in the movie “Gone with the Wind.”
As we boarded the bus for our return home, I told our pilgrims that they had seen more of Mundelein Seminary then 95 percent of all Catholics in the Archdiocese of Chicago (approximately 2.4 million). One person told me it was like traveling to Rome. Without a doubt, we were viewing one of the great treasures of the Catholic Church in America.
It was obvious to me, and hopefully to the other travelers, that our Catholic ancestors had a vision for the Church. This vision was to provide for the community the very best expression in the creation of beauty in order to praise God and this they would bequeath to those who would follow them as a statement of their faith. We are called to do the same. So the question we must answer is, what will we pass on to the generations that follow us? Whatever we accomplish, it must reflect our love for God and that we LOVE ONE ANOTHER.
Note: This blog originally appeared as the June 11, 2013 "Love One Another" email sent to Catholics throughout the Archdiocese of Milwaukee by Archbishop Jerome E. Listecki. If you are interested in signing up for these email messages, please click here.