Saint Francis de Sales Seminary facts for kids
| Motto | Vos estis sal terrae |
|---|---|
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Motto in English
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"You are the salt of the earth" (Matthew 5:13a) |
| Type | Private Seminary |
| Established | 1845 |
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Religious affiliation
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Roman Catholic |
| President | Most Reverend Jerome E. Listecki |
| Location | , , |
| Campus | Suburban |
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Henni Hall
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Henni Hall
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| Location | 3257 S. Lake Dr. St. Francis, Wisconsin |
| Architect | Victor Schulte |
| NRHP reference No. | 74000103 |
| Added to NRHP | July 24, 1974 |
The Saint Francis de Sales Seminary is a special school for people who want to become priests in the Roman Catholic Church. It's located near Milwaukee, in a town called St. Francis, Wisconsin. The main building, known as Henni Hall, is a very old and important building listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Its motto, Vos estis sal terrae, means "You are the salt of the earth" from the Bible.
Contents
Who Was Saint Francis de Sales?
The seminary is named after Francis de Sales, a Bishop and saint from the 1600s in the Roman Catholic Church. He was a very important religious leader.
History of the Seminary
The seminary started in 1845 by Archbishop John Henni in his own home. This was just two years after the Catholic Church set up its main office in Milwaukee.
It is one of the oldest Catholic seminaries in the United States that has been open without stopping. It was first created to train German-speaking priests for the Wisconsin Territory.
Henni Hall's Story
Henni Hall was officially opened on January 29, 1856. A new spot was chosen for the seminary along the south shore of Lake Township. The building was 4.5 stories tall and built in the Italianate style. It had a U-shaped design.
Later, in 1868 and again in 1875, the building was made bigger. It was also updated in 1989. The Christ King Chapel inside Henni Hall was blessed in June 1861 by Archbishop Henni.
Two important leaders, Archbishop Michael Heiss and Father Joseph Salzmann, are buried under the chapel. The seminary's Salzmann Library was built in 1908 and now holds over 89,000 books.
The Miller Gymnasium, a gift from Ernest G. Miller, was opened in 1927.
Training Future Leaders
Over the last 170 years, Saint Francis de Sales Seminary has helped more than 4,000 people become priests. It has also trained over 400 deacons and lay ministers.
Until 1941, the seminary also had a program for younger students. But that year, those students joined others at Pio Nino High School. This formed a new school called the St. Francis de Sales Preparatory Seminary.
Since 2006, the seminary has focused only on training people to become priests.
Seminary Woods and Special Places
The land owned by the Church makes up a big part of the City of St. Francis. On the seminary grounds, there is a large natural area called the Seminary Woods.
This wooded area has a small cemetery and a special place called a grotto, which honors Our Lady of Lourdes. Archbishop Frederick Xavier Katzer is also buried here.
Forty-nine tall maple trees line the long road that leads to the seminary. These trees were planted in the 1930s by Siegfried Wegerbauer, an immigrant from Austria. Their branches now form beautiful archways over the path.
Our Lady of Lourdes Grotto
The Our Lady of Lourdes Grotto was built by German-born Paul Dobberstein. He was training at the seminary in 1894 when he became very sick with pneumonia. He promised the Blessed Virgin Mary he would build a grotto if he got better.
This special monument is found in the Seminary's wooded area. Anyone can visit it for free.
This grotto is only ten feet tall, but it was Dobberstein's first time building one. He used what he learned from building it to create other grottos in Wisconsin and Iowa. This includes the very large Grotto of the Redemption in West Bend, Iowa.
It is thought that this grotto inspired Mathias Wernerus to build the Dickeyville Grotto in Dickeyville, Wisconsin in 1930. Wernerus also attended Saint Francis de Sales Seminary. This helped start the grotto building movement in America.
Notable Alumni
Many important people have studied at Saint Francis de Sales Seminary. Here are some of them:
- Dismas Becker – A politician and civil rights activist from Wisconsin.
- Fabian Bruskewitz – A Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Lincoln.
- Solanus Casey – A blessed priest.
- Edward Joseph Dunne – A Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Dallas.
- Mariano Simon Garriga – A Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Corpus Christi.
- Augustus F. Gearhard – A high-ranking chaplain in the U.S. Air Force.
- Daniel Mary Gorman – A Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Boise.
- James Groppi – A civil rights leader in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Milwaukee.
- Francis J. Haas – A Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Grand Rapids.
- Jeffrey Haines – An Auxiliary Bishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Milwaukee.
- James Michael Harvey – A Cardinal.
- John Joseph Hennessy – A Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Wichita.
- Donald J. Hying – A Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Gary.
- Francis Johannes – A Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Leavenworth.
- Frederick Katzer – A Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Green Bay.
- Bernard B. Kroenke – A politician from Wisconsin.
- John Jeremiah Lawler – A Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Rapid City.
- Francis Peter Leipzig – A Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Baker.
- Thomas Mathias Lenihan – A Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Cheyenne.
- Joseph Patrick Lynch – A Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Dallas.
- Aloisius Joseph Muench – A Cardinal.
- Thomas Lawrence Noa – A Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Marquette.
- Joseph Perry – An Auxiliary Bishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago.
- Paul Peter Rhode – A Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Green Bay.
- Vincent James Ryan – A Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Bismarck.
- James T. Schuerman – An Auxiliary Bishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Milwaukee.
- Augustine Francis Schinner – A Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Superior.
- Thomas Seery – A politician from Wisconsin.
- Richard J. Sklba – An Auxiliary Bishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Milwaukee.
- Paul Francis Tanner – A Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of St. Augustine.
- John Henry Tihen – A Bishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Denver.
- Charles Daniel White – A Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Spokane.
- Paul Ssemogerere - A Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Kasana-Luweero, in Uganda.
