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St.
Patrick's Parish makes TOWN OF ERIN -
An independent advocacy group has named St. Patrick’s Parish, a rural
Catholic church in the middle of contentious debate, as one of Wisconsin’s
Ten Most Endangered Historic Properties. Built in 1857, St. Patrick’s was chosen for the Endangered Property List because it served as a community focal point for the town of Erin, said Michael Hamer, executive vice president for the Wisconsin Trust for Historic Preservation. Another religious building, St. Joseph’s Church in Marinette, was placed on the group’s Preservation Watch List. St. Patrick
has been surrounded by bitter feelings since the Archdiocese of Milwaukee
closed it in June 1999 and consolidated the parish with St. Kilian in
Hartford. “If a church
feels the need to consolidate and can’t cope with two or three churches,
we’re not here to tell them how to run their business,” he said. “Our
concern is that the property be saved.” Although the
first preference of Hamer’s organization is to have the facility saved as
a church, he said buildings can perform other services to the community. “The
question then becomes what will the church allow the property to be used
for. It is normally happy if (the structure) can be used for a youth center
or day care,” he said. The
announcement is welcome news to the Save St. Patrick Parish organization,
which has been rallying to preserve the church building since it was closed
following the consolidation. “We are
thrilled,” said Maureen Fitzsimmons-Vanden Heuvel, group spokeswoman.
“Hats off to their organization,” she added, referring to the Wisconsin
Trust for Historic Preservation. However, the
Archdiocese contends the designation is a misstatement, as the church
building is not in jeopardy of being sold or demolished, said Jerry
Topczewski, spokesman for the Milwaukee Archdiocese. “We have no
intention of selling or doing anything to the St. Patrick’s property other
than maintaining the building and the cemetery and using it as a chapel of
St. Kilian,” he said. Churches, in
general, are a priority for the organization, Hamer said. St. Patrick and
St. Joseph’s churches were picked because they are “of the greatest
significance,” he added. “(The
Wisconsin Trust’s) focus is preservation,” said Fitzsimmons-Vanden
Heuvel. “They look at any option as long as the building is not
demolished. We are looking at any option so we can get inside our church
building.” Topczewski
contends that the building can be - and has been - used for funerals,
weddings and special services. “We don’t
want to get into a fight with the parish,” said Hamer. “It can get
awkward when it comes to who is buying and preserving it. The business of
ownership and control makes it difficult to do the things everyone knows
should be done.” Fitzsimmons-Vanden
Heuvel said the church is not actively seeking a buyer at this time. In
order to dissolve the church corporation, a board consisting of the
archbishop, bishop, pastor and two church trustees are needed to sign off on
the sale - which St. Patrick’s representatives will not do, she said. The group
would consider buying the church “but our ultimate goal is to become a
parish once again. Buying the church will not solve the problem.” Topczewski
said the archdiocese is committed to preserving the building but not to
re-establishing St. Patrick as an independent parish. “A fund has
been established to maintain the church building and cemetery
perpetually,” he said. “That should be a clear message to reasonable
people that we are not looking to do anything to the St. Patrick
building.” Hamer said
many rural churches are threatened. “Often they
were one of the first landmarks built and were the center of the
community,” said Hamer. “We try to
draw public attention to the situation so it becomes more visible and people
become more aware of the issue. Sometimes people get together and the
building can be saved.” Hamer said the
WTHP did a survey a few years ago and found public attention gained by the
endangered list saved structures about half the time. “(The list)
has a real impact - people get excited,” he said. The St.
Patrick’s group submitted information to the WTHP in an effort to keep the
church from being sold or torn down. That
information came from Erin resident Nancy Henke. Henke is documenting a
history of the church, collecting photos and reminiscences. Her husband,
Evarist, made a replica of St. Patrick’s that was used for the recent Erin
St. Patrick’s parade. She was
pleased the church made it to the endangered list. “My history
is here. My parents, grandparents and great-grandparents were parishioners
at St. Patrick’s.” Hamer said the
WTHP tries to pick properties where there are indications the structure will
be demolished or will collapse from neglect. The condition of St.
Patrick’s is listed as good because of recent updates after soot damage
caused by a furnace malfunction, but a brief description of the property
provided by the WTHP states the main threats to the facility are disuse and
the possibility of development. Hamer said
WTHP campaigns have proved successful in preserving and revitalizing
historic structures about half the time. The WTHP is a
Madison-based group with more than 1,300 members throughout the state. The preservation trust will have two displays with photographs and commentary touring libraries and local historical societies in the state until fall. This is the ninth year that the group has designated endangered historic properties. The endangered structures were announced at the March 23 Preservation Day ceremony at the Capitol in Madison. |