Early history

In the 16th and early 17th century, the Wisconsin area was part of the French colony of New France. During this time, the French bishops in Quebec, which became a diocese in 1674, had jurisdiction over Canada and North America east of the Mississippi River.

When the British took control of New France in 1763, the bishops in Quebec continued to have jurisdiction in the region. In 1791, soon after the conclusion of the American Revolution, Pope Pius VI erected the Diocese of Baltimore.^[1] It covered all the American states and the Northwest Territory, which included part of present-day Wisconsin. The rest of Wisconsin became part of the territory after the Louisiana Purchase in 1803.

In 1843, Pope Leo XIII erected the Diocese of Milwaukee, which included all of present-day Wisconsin.^[2] The La Crosse area would remain part of this diocese for the next 25 years.

1868 to 1892

Pope Pius IX erected the Diocese of La Crosse on March 3, 1868, with territory from the Diocese of Milwaukee.^[3] The new diocese covered all of Wisconsin north and west of the Wisconsin River. The pope named Reverend Michael Heiss of the Diocese of Louisville as the first bishop of La Crosse.^[4]

When the diocese was erected, it had 22 priests, 23 churches and about 50 stations. Along with the English and German congregations, provisions were also made for Poles and Italians. Franciscan sisters and lay teachers were in charge of six parish schools. As bishop, Heiss built several churches, including the cathedral, and the episcopal residence. In 1880, Pope Leo XIII named Heiss coadjutor archbishop of the Archdiocese of Milwaukee.^[5]

Heiss was succeeded by Reverend Kilian Flasch of the Archdiocese of Milwaukee, appointed by Leo XIII in 1881.^[6] An outspoken supporter of Catholic education, he established 36 new schools during his tenure and, at the Plenary Council, unsuccessfully sought to require Catholic parents to send their children to parochial schools.^[7] In 1890, the Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration founded the St. Rose Normal School in La Crosse to prepare nuns to serve as teachers.^[8] Flasch died in 1891.^[9]

1892 to 1948

To replace Flasch, Leo XIII appointed Monsignor James Schwebach, the vicar general, in 1892 as the third bishop of La Crosse.^[4] He founded St. Michael's Home for orphans.^[7] In 1905, Pope Pius X erected the Diocese of Superior, with part of its territory taken from the Diocese of La Crosse.^[10]

Pope Pius XI appointed Auxiliary Bishop Alexander McGavick of the Archdiocese of Chicago to succeed Schwebach as bishop of La Crosse in 1921.^[11] During McGavick's tenure as bishop, the Catholic population grew from 116,000 to 140,000.^[12] When he first arrived, there were 156 parishes, 78 mission churches, 90 parochial schools, and 189 secular priests with 51 religious.^[13] By his first 20 years, he had established more than 20 parishes and 41 schools.^[12] He founded Aquinas High School in La Crosse in 1928.^[14] St. Rose Normal School in 1939 was transformed into Viterbo University.

In 1945, Pope Pius XII named Monsignor John Treacy as coadjutor bishop to assist McGavick.^[15] In 1946, Pius XII removed territory from the Diocese of La Crosse to form part of the new Diocese of Madison.^[16]

1948 to 1994

St. Joseph Cathedral 1911

When McGavick died in 1948, Treacy automatically succeeded him as bishop of La Crosse. During his 16-year tenure, Treacy founded Holy Cross Seminary, oversaw the construction of the Cathedral of Saint Joseph the Workman in La Crosse, and established 47 churches, 43 convents, and 42 schools.^[17][18] McGavick ordered the closing of the Necedah Shrine of Mary Van Hoof in Necedah, in 1950. Van Hoof had claimed to experience religious visions, but the Vatican had determined her claims to be false.^[19] Treacy died in 1964.

The next bishop of La Crosse was Bishop Frederick Freking from the Diocese of Salina, named by Pope Paul VI in 1965.^[20] During his tenure in La Crosse, he reduced the diocese's debt from $11 million to $4 million between 1965 and 1981.^[21] He established a diocesan commission on Christian renewal in 1965, and the first lay ministry training program in the United States in 1975.^[21] Freking also oversaw construction of 14 churches, 15 rectories, seven elementary schools, 22 religious education centers, five convents and the Newman Center. Freking also supervised 36 church renovations and expansions, and 59 priests were ordained while he was bishop. He was instrumental in the founding of the Bethany-St. Joseph Care Center for the elderly by the diocese and the Lutheran Church in La Crosse. Freking retired in 1983.

To replace Freking, Pope John Paul II named Auxiliary Bishop John Paul as bishop in 1984.^[22] In 1986, Paul convened the fourth diocesan synod following the revised Canon Law of 1983; in 1987, the decrees of the fourth diocesan synod were published as: The Bishop With His People.^[23] In 1992, Paul founded the Aquinas Middle School in La Crosse. Paul retired in 1994.

1994 to present

Monsignor Raymond Leo Burke succeeded Bishop John Joseph Paul in La Crosse, named by John Paul II in 1994.^[24] Some critics said that construction of the $25 million Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe was wasteful of on money that should have gone to the poor. Burke defended the shrine as being a fruitful way to raise spiritual devotion. Another controversy was the diocese's withdrawal from Church World Service's annual Crop Walk because some of the money raised was being used to purchase condoms in developing countries. Burke also welcomed numerous traditional orders, including the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest (ICKSP), whose priests offer exclusively the Tridentine Mass, to his diocese. Two priests left the diocese as a result of his policies.^[25][26] Burke closed a number of schools while also raising teachers' salaries. His style was noted by some of his aides to be more formal than that of his predecessor Paul, although his aides described him as warm and approachable in private.^[26]

After two years in La Crosse, John Paul II named Burke as archbishop in 2006 of the Archdiocese of St. Louis. The pope replaced Burke in La Crosse with Auxiliary Bishop Jerome Listecki of the Archdiocese of Chicago.^[27] At La Crosse, he initiated a $50 million fundraising campaign, a planning process to restructure ministry and parishes in the diocese,^[28] and was instrumental in the development of the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe. In 2009, after three years, Pope Benedict XVI named Listecki as archbishop of Milwaukee.

The current bishop of the Diocese of La Crosse is William P. Callahan, a former auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Milwaukee, named by Benedict XVI in 2010.^[29][30]

Sex abuse

Reverend Bruce Ball was charged in Jackson County in June 1992 of causing a child to expose a sex organ. He had dared two boys to walk around with their genitals exposed. That same month, he was charged in Clark County of indecent touching, his victim a 12 year old boy.^[31] During a police interview, he admitted to sexual abuse of four boys. In July 1992, as part of a plea bargain, the Jackson charges were dropped and Ball pleaded guilty to sexual contact with a client.^[32] He was sentenced to five years in prison.^[33]

In January 2002, Reverend Timothy E. Svea from the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign in Wausau was charged with false imprisonment and exposing a child to harmful material. The abuse began when the victim, a church volunteer, was 15 years old. During one incident in 1999, Svea handcuffed the victim to a bed and fondled him.^[34] Other victims were soon added to the case. Svea pleaded guilty in February 2002 to second-degree sexual assault of a child under age 16 and exposing himself to a child; he received a year and a half in prison.^[35]

In May 2019, Monsignor Bernard McGarty was charged with fourth degree sexual assault for allegedly groping a woman outside the La Crosse Public Library.^[36] The district attorney later dismissed the case, citing "McGarty’s age [95] and his current health problems indicate he is not likely to repeat this behavior and given the lengthy delay caused by the COVID-19 pandemic the State feels it is not necessary to pursue this case".^[37]

In June 2020, Reverend Charlie Richmond, a high school chaplain at McDonell Area Catholic School in Chippewa Falls, was charged with sexually assaulting a female minor between September 2016 and May 2017.^[38] Richmond was then suspended from active ministry.^[38] The victim said that Richmond would inappropriately touch her and have her sit on his lap. In December 2021, Richmond pleaded no contest to fourth degree sexual assault, a misdemeanor, and was sentenced to one year of probation.^[39]

Bishops of La Crosse

1. Michael Heiss (1868–1880), appointed Archbishop of Milwaukee
2. Kilian Caspar Flasch (1881–1891)
3. James Schwebach (1891–1921)
4. Alexander Joseph McGavick (1921–1948)
5. John Patrick Treacy (1948–1964)
6. Frederick William Freking (1965–1983)
7. John Joseph Paul (1983–1994)
8. Raymond Leo Burke (1995–2004), appointed Archbishop of St. Louis and later Prefect of the Apostolic Signatura and Patron of the Order of Malta (elevated to Cardinal in 2010)
9. Jerome Edward Listecki (2004–2010), appointed Archbishop of Milwaukee
10. William P. Callahan (2010–present)

Auxiliary bishops

• William Richard Griffin (1935–1944)^[40]
• John Joseph Paul (1977–1983), appointed Bishop of La Crosse

Other diocesan priests who became bishops

• Robert Herman Flock, appointed Auxiliary Bishop of Cochabamba in 2012 and later Bishop of San Ignacio de Velasco
• George Albert Hammes, appointed Bishop of Superior in 1960

Universities

Viterbo University – La Crosse

High schools

• Aquinas High School – La Crosse
• Assumption High School – Wisconsin Rapids
• Columbus Catholic High School – Marshfield
• McDonell Central Catholic High School – Chippewa Falls
• Newman Catholic High School – Wausau
• Pacelli High School – Stevens Point
• Regis High School – Eau Claire

Elementary/middle schools

The diocese operates 74 elementary schools with an approximate enrollment of 8,717 students.

Pacelli Catholic Schools

Pacelli Catholic Schools is a private Catholic school system located in Stevens Point. A consolidation of six parish schools, Pacelli includes:

• One early childhood center
• Two elementary schools
• One middle school
• One high school^[42][43]

Pacelli Catholic Schools is supported by seven parishes: St. Bronislava, St. Joseph, St. Stanislaus Kostka, St. Stephens, St. Peters, Newman and St. Mary (Immaculate Conception) of Torun.^[44]

Former high schools

• Campion High School – Prairie du Chien, (closed in 1975)
• Madonna High School – Mauston (closed in 1966)