06/24/2023
(This is a copy of a letter that was sent to all parishioners on Friday, June 23.)
From: Fr. Robert Schaller
T0: Parishioners of St. Vincent de Paul and SS Peter & Paul
Friday, June 23, 2023
As you read this letter Bishop William Callahan will have already ordained four new priests to serve in the Diocese of La Crosse. Providing a sufficient number of good priests to serve the faithful is one of the most important responsibilities for a bishop. Out of consideration for the spiritual, emotional, and physical health of priests, our bishop has begun to assign priests in teams (a pastor with an associate). My assignment as the new pastor of St. Vincent de Paul, along with the assignment of Fr. Daniel Williams as associate, reflects that intention.
This new arrangement of the two Eastside Parishes of WI Rapids being served by the same pastor and associate (and Deacons Jerry Ruesch & Tony Biolo) provides opportunities for some real benefits for both parishes. While retaining each parish’s identity, we will be able to cooperate in some ways to provide better pastoral care. For example, where currently each parish office is only open about half time, we will soon be able to provide 35-40 hours each week. Staff will be able to share some common tasks which will increase effectiveness (and save money). While Fr. Williams and I will reside at the SSPP rectory, our offices will be at St. Vincent.
The most noticeable change will be the Mass and Confession schedule for our two parishes. Several principles have governed my decisions: 1) provide daily Mass, Monday through Friday, and Saturday morning; 2) two Masses at each parish in observance of the Lord’s Day (1 Sat. eve & 1 Sunday, or 2 Sunday); 3) schedule Masses so that 1 priest is able to celebrate them alone, if necessary; 4) Confessions 1 hour before EVERY Mass.
After having consulted with the Pastoral & Finance Council members of both parishes, I have determined to set the following schedule, effective July 4, 2023:
Daily Mass: MWF, 8am at St. Vincent de Paul (Wed. at 2:45pm during school)
Tues, 5:3opm; Thur. & Sat. 8am, at SSPP.
Sat/Sunday Sat. 4:30pm at St. Vincent de Paul
Sun. 7am at SSPP
Sun. 9am at SSPP
Sun. 10:30am at St. Vincent de Paul
Confessions begin 1 hour before EVERY Mass, except the Sunday 7am Mass. The Deanery Sunday Mass remains at 6pm at SSPP.
Fr. Williams and I will alternate Masses at each parish so that all the faithful will see us at both parishes equally. The new schedule was set so that some historic practices could be observed, or with small adjustments to better suit both parishes. Holy Day Masses will be at 8am and 5:30pm, when they fall on weekdays.
For some people from both parishes this schedule will mean a change in their Sunday Mass routine. To maintain parish identity and commitment I strongly encourage the faithful regularly attend their own parish for Mass, if possible, or to attend the other Eastside Parish where you will still get to see your pastor (and
associate, and deacons!) and fellow parishioners.
I have been accustomed to holding an annual Parish “Town Hall” meeting each year, and will schedule one at each parish sometime in September. This will give the people from both Eastside Parishes the chance to let me know what’s on your mind, and to make an account of how our parishes are doing.
Although this will be a new experience for these two parishes who now share a pastor, the connections go back to 1956, when then Bishop John P. Treacy appointed Fr. Carl Dockendorff, associate pastor of SS Peter & Paul, as the founding pastor of St. Vincent de Paul Parish. Fr. Dockendorff had been at SS Peter & Paul 6 years before his new assignment. So have I. He grew up in La Crosse. I grew up on a farm 10 miles north of La Crosse. He made his home here in WI Rapids. So have I.
Pray for me and Fr. Williams, and for Deacons Ruesch & Biolo. Pray especially for Fr. Jerome Patric who soon leaves St. Vincent de Paul to be the new pastor of St. Florian Church in Hatley, and St. Agnes Church in Weston.
God Bless you!
Fr. Robert Schaller
Pastor, SS Peter & Paul: June 29, 2017 -
Pastor, St. Vincent de Paul: July 4, 2023 -
