Video of St. Mary of Czestochowa Farewell Liturgy
Over 10 years ago, the merged parishes of Our Lady of Czestochowa and St. Casimir decided to sell the school, rectory, and church of the St. Mary Czestochowa site to Messmer Catholic Schools. Until approximately 4 years ago, we were still able to have Mass in the Church through the hospitality of Messmer. Unfortunately, severe building limitations prevented us from using the space and the church has remained empty. This spring, Messmer Catholic Schools partnered with the Milwaukee Robotics Academy and that space will be used to provide needed technology education for the Riverwest and Harambee neighborhoods and beyond. This is such blessed news as that space will no longer be empty but used to help children grow in knowledge and opportunity!
On May 27th, Bishop Jeff Haines, Fr. Tim Kitzke, and Fr. John Baumgardner presided over a Mass of Farewell at St. Mary of Czestochowa Church. Representatives from the OLDP Parish Council and Messmer Catholic Schools were also in attendance. With trust in the Holy Spirit moving forward, it was a beautiful opportunity to thank God for the many sacraments, graces, and memories received here in the past. The video recording of the Mass can be found above or at https://youtu.be/IizGztzdHsw. We are grateful to DV Productions for their assistance in making this recording possible!
New Locations of Sacred Art, Artifacts, and Blessed Objects from St. Mary of Czestochowa
The official permission received from Archbishop Listecki to “de-consecrate” the church space required all sacred objects to be properly cared for. Many thanks to Mike Brauer and Messmer Catholic Schools for their sensitivity, patience, and care in helping us find the following new homes for our sacred items:
- Parishes of Our Lady of Divine Providence, Three Holy Women, St. Mary & St. Anthony Menomonee Falls, St. Monica & St. Eugene, St. Robert & Holy Family, Gesu, St. Mary Elm Grove, and St. Mary Lomira (Archdiocese of Milwaukee)
- Cistercian Nuns of the Valley of Our Lady Monastery (Prairie du Sac)
- Catholic Ecology Center (Neosho)
- St. Bakhita Catholic Worker House (Milwaukee)
- Chesterton Academy (Milwaukee)
Should anyone be interested in the specific new location of a particular sacred item, don’t hesitate to contact the parish office at 414-264-0049 and we can happily provide those details!