Milwaukee Catholic Herald

Communication, consultation, precede merger of four parishes

Five-year process led to creation of Blessed Savior Parish on Milwaukee’s northwest side

By Cheri Perkins Mantz
Catholic Herald Staff

The corpus that hung in the sanctuary of Corpus Christi Church rests near the back of the church. With the merger of Corpus Christi and three other northwest Milwaukee parishes, a cross from one of the other churches will grace the Corpus Christi Church, which will be renamed Blessed Savior Church. (Catholic Herald photo by Sam Lucero)

MILWAUKEE — When the church bells toll on July 1 at Corpus Christi Parish on the city’s northwest side, it will be the end of one era and the beginning of another. Newly-named Blessed Savior Catholic Church, the parish site will be the spiritual home of parishioners from Corpus Christi; Mary, Queen of Martyrs; Our Lady of Sorrows; and St. Philip Neri. While the schools on each of those four sites will remain open and be called, as of July 1, Blessed Savior School North, South, East or West, each of the remaining church buildings will be closed and all parishioners will gather at the Corpus Christi site for Mass and worship.

The process has taken several years, according to Corpus Christi parishioner and transitional council spokesperson, Chip Swearngan.

How to undergo a successful merger: Pastors discuss key ingredients.

“The need to consolidate was driven by (the fact that) some of the parishes have an aging population and also a lower number of parishioners, as parishioners have moved away from the neighborhood or died,” he said. “Coming together as one parish, we believed we’d have a stronger community and a greater opportunity for ministry to the neighborhood.

“We had four very vibrant school communities and not as strong parish communities,” he continued. “We believe with a stronger single community of Catholics worshipping together, we will have a greater opportunity to do a number of things for outreach. Education being one of them. We’d have a greater opportunity through one strong community to support our schools.”

Each of the four parish sites has been serving the Milwaukee community since the 1950s. Mary, Queen of Martyrs is the result of a merger in 2001 that combined St. Stephen Martyr and Mother of Perpetual Help.

“Our biggest challenge right now is we’re waiting for our new priest or priests to be assigned,” said Swearngan. “We believe the budget for the new parish would allow us to support two priests and we believe with the volume of ministry service we need to provide and the size of our school population with four campuses, that we could certainly justify two priests.”

Swearngan estimated that Blessed Savior will have 3,000 parishioners.

“We have had a process now over the last nearly-two years of praying for our four communities at every Mass,” he said. “Our parishioners are beginning the process of saying goodbye to the artifacts and elements of their community. (March 30) at Corpus Christi, they held a Stations of the Cross and they used that opportunity to remove the Stations as the worship space at Corpus Christi will be transformed and renovated by bringing other elements from other churches to that site.”

Instead of any major construction projects, the Corpus Christi site will be renovated with religious artwork and furniture from the other three churches involved in the merger. According to Swearngan, the corpus from the cross has also been removed from the church to make room for those furnishings from the other churches.

“So everyone will recognize something from his or her parish community in the new community,” he said. “We need to make sure the new worship site includes elements from the other worship sites.”

Swearngan said that, for the most part, the reactions of parishioners have been positive. That might be attributed to more than five years of discussion that has been integral to the process.

“For the most part, the parishioners have been supportive of the merger,” he said. “There are always questions and mixed emotions by anyone who would be going through this type of change. But I believe because we have been effectively talking about it over the last five years and then actively engaged in the process since 2003 and more actively over the last year and a half, I believe most parishioners are accepting the proposal and, in fact, endorsing it.”

Swearngan said that communication was a key element in the process, as parishioners were regularly kept apprised of the progress through listening sessions and published merger updates.

“We’ve had our pastors talking about the merger from the pulpit and we have engaged our parishioners in the naming process,” he said.

Members of the four parishes suggested 220 names, which the pastors narrowed to 13. Parishioners were asked to name their three preferences. Those names were narrowed to the three most popular and presented to Archbishop Timothy M. Dolan for selection.

“(Blessed Savior) was the name that was most preferred by our parishioners and it was the name the archbishop chose to give to the parish,” Swearngan said.

Eva Diaz, the archdiocese’s parish consultant for the northwest side of Milwaukee, said she has experienced an inspiring, beautiful outlook on the merge from the parishioners.

“The parishioners’ heart-felt vision goes far beyond their own needs,” she said. “I’ve been inspired by their outlook on mission, ministry and evangelization. By pooling their talents and resources, these communities of faith will be better able to carry on the mission of the church and be a strong Catholic presence in the northwest area of the city.”

While merging parishes can be difficult, Diaz said the practice of gathering parishioners was something started early in the process.

“From the beginning of the planning process the priests and planning committee began to hold regular town hall meetings and other gatherings, a practice which has been continued by the Transitional Parish Council,” she explained. “The most frequently asked questions were answered, as much as possible, in the merger updates which are distributed to parishioners on a regular basis.”

Diaz noted that the town hall meetings provided opportunities to share information, answer questions, pray, and “for parishioners to extend hospitality to one another, to meet new people and to support old friends.”

Fr. Dennis Witz, pastor of St. Philip Neri for almost three years, said, “Some parishioners said when we first started the process, ‘It’s about time.’ Overall, it’s been positive and something that’s necessary.

“Basically what all four of us pastors are saying, rather than a dying, it’s a rising. We’re giving life to a new entity.”

Fr. Witz said he hoped he’d be at St. Philip Neri longer, but that he has been assigned as associate pastor of St. Matthias in Milwaukee.

“The overall thing is that we’re part of bringing new life and that’s exciting,” he said. “It’s a commitment to this area. It’s been a very positive experience and that’s helped the people.”

In October 2006, St. Philip Neri reopened its Shoenstatt Shrine to the delight of many. With the parish closing, Fr. Witz said it will remain open on the St. Philip Neri site — for now.

“There’s a recommendation that in the future, if the funds are available, possibly moving the shrine to the main site of Blessed Savior. But for now it will remain,” he said.

Fr. Mark Molling, pastor of Mary, Queen of Martyrs since the parish was established six years ago, said discussing this merger with his parishioners has been difficult.

“For a number of them, we’ve been in the process of healing from the last merge and now we’re going into another one,” he said. “It makes it a bit more difficult for some parishioners. Some are resistant and not as hopeful as I am.”

He continued, “The overall message we’re trying to give is to give it a chance. Give it a year and see how things work out. Trying is the number one thing right now.”

Fr. Molling sees the merger as the best thing for the parish, which could not increase the number of parishioners during its existence.

“I think that there’s a good possibility that with the merger there will be vitality and the possibility for the Catholic community to be strong in this neighborhood,” he said. “I wish we had been able to accomplish more here at Mary, Queen of Martyrs. The age of our parishioners increased, people moved away, and our numbers continued to fall. From a number standpoint, we had to join up with the merger.”