News

St. Jude marks 50 years of faith and family

By Heather Chrudimsky
Compass Correspondent

GREEN BAY -- Since its establishment in 1957, St. Jude Catholic Church has been a vital part of the Green Bay community and the diocese. While the neighborhood and the congregation have changed over the last five decades, St. Jude's mission to serve and build the Kingdom of God has remained the same.

St. Jude, on Division Street on Green Bay's west side, will mark a half-century on Sunday, Oct. 28, with a day-long event of worship and celebration.

Faith, family and thanks are the main focus of St. Jude's 50th anniversary.

"It will be a chance to share memories with fellow parishioners, past and present," said Terry Pasterski, anniversary planning committee chairperson. "It is a time of recollection and of giving thanks for our formation in our faith and the friendships we have all gained here at St. Jude Parish."

The planning committee is made up of eight parishioners, each with his or her own duty. Pasterski served as the committee's chairperson; Cathy Germain was in charge of obtaining addresses of former school staff and notifying them of the celebration; Claudette Heigl, a charter member, was in charge of organizing and identifying old pictures; Rheda Jelen, a charter member, sold tickets and will help with refreshments; Barb Klika planned liturgy and music and wrote invitations; Katie Klingbeil gathered information from the diocese and made invitations; Teri Klingbeil organized church decorations, table decorations and creating displays; Jerry Krausert is in charge of refreshments and worship; and Mickey Style, also a charter member, helped organize refreshments.

"The St. Jude 50th Anniversary committee is a very strong and hard working committee," said Pasterski. "I'm very proud of what we accomplished in a very short period of time. We are in the process of completing a DVD of this celebration sometime next year."

St. Jude was established on June 17, 1957 by Bishop Stanislaus Vincent Bona. The name St. Jude was chosen for the parish as one of the apostles of Pentecost, meaning that all 12 apostles were represented in the Green Bay Diocese.

Ground breaking for St. Jude Church took place on March 30, 1958, and just nine months later, the parish held its first Mass.

Fr. Anthony Baier was St. Jude's founding pastor. Fr. Baier was a native of the Green Bay area and attended St. Francis Xavier Catholic School. It was Fr. Baier's innovative ideas that launched the establishment of St. Jude. He led the parish for 19 years, celebrating his 40th year as a priest in 1975. Fr. Baier started the parish council at St. Jude, one of the first parish councils in the diocese. It became a model for many other parishes to follow.

It was in 1959, that St. Jude Catholic School opened with 14 classrooms staffed by the Franciscan Sisters of the Holy Cross of Bay Settlement.

The main building consisted of the school and what was at that time called the chapel. The actual church was to be built on the far west portion of the church property when the parish could afford it. However, that never happened and the chapel remains in its original location and is used as the church.

Fr. Baier wanted to keep the chapel-church simple and free of distractions, planning everything around the Trinity - the triangle design on the back of the sanctuary wall, the crucifix with dove, and the altar were designed by Fr. Baier to represent a chalice covered with a paten. A church in California is the only other one known to feature a similar design.

Throughout the past 50 years, St. Jude has welcomed many pastors including Fr. George Lenzner, Msgr. Peter Klauck, Fr. Charles Hoffman, Fr. Ron Belitz and most recently Fr. Donald Everts and associate pastor Fr. Andrew Kysely.

Committee members and St. Jude parishioners have been celebrating the parish's 50th anniversary throughout October. During the first weekend of the month, parish members honored anyone who had sacraments at St. Jude. The second weekend all former students and staff of St. Jude School were recognized. Last weekend, the parish honored couples who have been married for 50 years or more. And on Oct. 28, all charter members of St. Jude will be recognized at a special 10:30 a.m. Mass followed by a reception and dinner at Riverside Ballroom.

The reception begins at noon with dinner at 1 p.m. Adult dinner tickets are $14. Children's tickets are $8.

St. Jude 50th Anniversary Christmas ornaments are also available for purchase at weekend Masses.

The St. Jude 50th Anniversary planning committee has been meeting monthly, and more recently, weekly, since last spring to get ready for the upcoming celebration.

(The anniversary celebration is important) "in order to remember our history and celebrate our past," said Pasterski. "(We're) looking forward to renewing acquaintances with former members and staff."