Bishop takes more than memories to Pittsburgh

By Tony Staley
Compass Correspondent

	What is a dalmatic? The dalmatic is a wide-sleeved over-garment with slit sides worn by a deacon. A deacon's stole hangs over the left shoulder and curves down to the right hip where the front and back are tied together with a cord, and continues to mid-calf. A proper fitting stole will not slide off the shoulder and must have the correct angle at the hip to look right, said Carolyn Keliher of Woolin' Inn Studios. • A chasuble is a sleeveless outer vestment a priest wears when celebrating Mass. • A miter is the tall headdress bishops and abbots wear as a symbol of office. It tapers to a point at front and back with a deep cleft between. • Priests and bishops wear stoles that go behind the neck and over both shoulders.
	About the Hmong The Hmong lived in the mountains of Laos. The U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) recruited the Hmong in the early 1960s to help fight the Vietnam War and later the U.S. Secret War in Laos. They formed a Special Guerrilla Unit that helped block supply lines on the Ho Chi Minh Trail and rescued downed American pilots. More than 40,000 Hmong were killed in action; thousands more were injured and disabled. After the Vietnam War and the communist overthrow of the Lao government, the Hmong had to flee retaliation. Many were resettled in the United States. More than 183,000 live in the U.S., including 38,000 in Wisconsin and 8,000-10,000 in northeast Wisconsin - primarily in Green Bay, Appleton, Oshkosh, Neenah and Manitowoc. Approximately 200 Catholic Hmong live in the diocese. Fr. Pete Renard, O.Praem., directs ministry to Hmong Catholics for the Green Bay Diocese, including offering Mass on a rotating basis in Green Bay and Appleton.

KIMBERLY -- When Bishop David Zubik is installed Sept. 28 as the 12th Bishop of Pittsburgh, he will take part of the Green Bay Diocese with him.

Indeed, he will be wearing a piece of the diocese in three of his liturgical vestments - the dalmatic, chasuble and miter, which he will wear to symbolize his ordination first as a deacon, then as a priest and finally as a bishop. The vestments are decorated with Hmong needlework and were made in Kimberly.

The Hmong community of Appleton and Green Bay gave Bishop Zubik the chasuble and miter in December 2005. The dalmatic and a matching deacon's stole were given to him on Sept. 19 as a gift from the diocesan staff.

Carolyn Keliher, owner of Woolin' Inn Studio of Kimberly, made the ivory light-weight woolen vestments, to which she attached nine-inch-by-nine-inch, ivory-on-ivory reverse appliqués. There are five squares on the front and six on the back of the chasuble and one each on the front and back of the miter. There is one on the front of the dalmatic and on the chest of the deacon's stole.

Hmong sisters initiate project

Chong Thao Ly and her sister, Micho Vang - who died in June - were the masterminds behind the vestments. They procured the appliqué squares and commissioned Keliher, whom they found through her ad in The Compass, to make the vestments for Bishop Zubik and other clergy who served the Hmong community.

Reverse appliqué is made by cutting a design in the fabric, turning it back about one-sixteenth of an inch, then using fine thread and needle and extremely small hand stitches to sew it on another piece of material. It can take a week to sew one square.

Some squares were done in Laos and Thailand by firelight in an area without electricity, with the fabric resting on the sewer's knee. Keliher said she sometimes smells the fire in the fabric.

The Hmong embroiders charge for materials, but not for their work, Keliher said. "They say our hours on this earth were given us and we give them in return."

Keliher said she pays $10 per square - twice the going rate, but well below their real value. Ly said if the Hmong charged by the hour for their work it would be more than anyone would pay.

The Hmong word for the reverse appliqués is pa ndau - "flower cloth" - because of the designs. The pattern on the new dalmatic and stole includes spirals, called snails, that connect to form a heart. They are surrounded by a border called a spider web. Vang's sister-in-law in Laos stitched the squares. Squares for the other vestments were made in the Appleton area and Minnesota.

The design on Bishop Zubik's chasuble is more geometric and was not available for the dalmatic.

Vestments worn at Christmas, Easter

Although the ivory-on-ivory design on the vestments is hard to see from a distance, it is perfect for Christmas, Easter or other occasions when white vestments are worn, Keliher said. Bishop Zubik has worn the chasuble and miter at ordinations.

	S p e c i a l   S e c t i o n: Shepherding God's People A Farewell to Bishop Zubik
	• Photo slideshow with audio: Bishop Zubik farewell Mass   (best viewed with a high-speed Internet connection; requires Flash plug-in) • Other articles from this special section • Previous coverage of Bishop Zubik's appointment to Pittsburgh
	Only in the Print Edition ... Articles found only in the special section of the Sept. 21, 2007 Compass print edition: • Friends from bishop's hometown recall ties • Bishop addressed four main goals while here • Farewell reflections from other bishops, community leaders     and readers • Profiles of the 11 men who have served as bishop of the     Diocese of Green Bay • Bishop David A. Zubik biography • Subscribe to print edition

"The squares on the dalmatic came with bright pink stitches as decorations in sculptured rows," Keliher said. "Chong told me it was OK to remove them by clipping them from the back. My 7½ year-old granddaughter, Kendra Keliher, used a tweezers to take them out from the front. She spent about two hours on one panel. When she heard I was using it on the bishop's vestment she was very proud of that."

The Green Bay/Appleton Hmong community also has given vestments to retired Bishop Robert Banks; Fr. Robert Kroll, OFM, when he was celebrating Mass for them twice a month in Green Bay; and Fr. John Bergstadt, pastor of St. John the Baptist Parish, Howard, when he was pastor of St. Bernard Parish, Appleton, where they have Hmong Masses twice a month. The Thao family also gave vestments to Msgr. John Schuh, pastor of St. Paul Parish, Wrightstown, and former master of ceremonies for four bishops.

Ly said she and her sister said they got the idea for the vestments from their childhood at a boarding school in Laos where the sisters had them embroidering for the priests.

Dalmatic serves as memento

Keliher estimated that it took three days to make the dalmatic, which also serves as a memento of the diocese, Bishop Zubik said.

"One of the beautiful memories I hold of the Church of Green Bay," Bishop Zubik said, "is its diversity and loving acceptance of the many cultures that are part of the fabric of the diocese.

"Two years ago I was so honored to be given a beautiful chasuble and miter by the Hmong community. The dalmatic that matches it is not only a reminder of the wonderful Hmong people, but also a rich reminder of my faith family in the Diocese of Green Bay," he said.

As for Keliher, she said she was honored to be asked to make the vestments Bishop Zubik will be wearing at the installation Mass.

"It's hard for me to put what I think about that into words, but I could put it into colors," Keliher said. "It would be a rainbow from purple to bright magenta."