St. Joseph the Workman
Saint Joseph
 |
| St. Joseph, Shadow of the Father by William Hart McNichols, S.J. |
Our Patronal Feast Day - May 1st
In 1955 Pope Pius XII instituted the Feast of St. Joseph the Workman and decreed it be celebrated on May 1st., the first day of the month devoted to Our Lady. Many countries of the world celebrate Labor Day on May 1st. The Church teaches that ordinary work and family life is a path to holiness, offering up our difficulties to those of the Savior on the cross.
More about Saint Joseph - Foster Father of Jesus
Saint Joseph Novena
Below is a Novena prayer to be made to St. Joseph. This can be made anytime, but is especially befitting leading up to the Solemnity of St. Joseph, Husband of Mary or St. Joseph the Workman.
Litany of Saint Joseph
Lord, have mercy on us.
Christ, have mercy on us.
Lord, have mercy on us.
Christ, hear us.
Christ, graciously hear us.
God, the Father of Heaven, have mercy on us.
God, the Son, Redeemer of the world, have mercy on us.
God, the Holy Ghost, have mercy on us.
Holy Trinity, One God, have mercy on us.
Holy Mary, pray for us.
Holy Joseph, pray for us.
Illustrious Son of David, pray for us.
Light of the Patriarchs, pray for us.
Spouse of the Mother of God, pray for us.
Chaste Guardian of the Virgin, pray for us.
Foster-Father of the Son of God, pray for us.
Faithful Protector of Christ, pray for us.
Head of the Holy Family, pray for us.
Joseph most just, pray for us.
Joseph most chaste, pray for us.
Joseph most prudent, pray for us.
Joseph most courageous, pray for us.
Joseph most obedient, pray for us.
Joseph most faithful, pray for us.
Mirror of patience, pray for us.
Lover of poverty, pray for us.
Model of working men, pray for us.
Ornament of the domestic life, pray for us.
Guardian of virgins, pray for us.
Pillar of the family, pray for us.
Consoler of the miserable, pray for us.
Hope of the sick, pray for us.
Patron of the dying, pray for us.
Terror of demons, pray for us.
Protector of the Holy Church, pray for us.
Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world, Spare us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world, Graciously hear us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world, Have mercy on us.
V. He hath made him master of His house.
R. And ruler of all His possessions.
Let us pray.
O God, who in Thy ineffable providence didst vouchsafe to choose blessed Joseph to be the Spouse of Thy most holy Mother: grant, we beseech Thee, that we may have him for our intercessor in Heaven, whom on earth we venerate as out most holy Protector. Who livest and reignest world without end. Amen.
Parish Staff
Most Rev. William P. Callahan, OFM Conv., Bishop of La Crosse
Father Charles Stoetzel, Rector
Father Todd A. Mlsna , Priest in Residence
Joseph A. Richards, Deacon
Dr. Brian W. Luckner, Director of Sacred Music
Carole Edland, D.Min., R.N., RCIA Coordinator and Parish Health Ministry Director
Sue Gilbert, Cathedral Pastoral Minister
Edward Jones , Parish Secretary
Frederick McGovern, Director of Maintenance
Most Rev. William P. Callahan, OFM Conv.
The Most Reverend William Patrick Callahan, OFM. Conv., born June 17, 1950, is a Conventual Franciscan of the St. Bonaventure Province in Chicago. A Chicago native, he attended St. Mary Minor Seminary in Crystal Lake, Ill., and studied at Junior College, Chicago, before being accepted in the Novitiate of St. Bonaventure at Lake Forest, Ill., where he continued his formation from 1969 to 1970. From 1970 to 1973, he studied at Loyola University, Chicago, earning a bachelor's degree in Radio and Television Communications. He earned his master's of divinity degree from St. Michael's College at the University of Toronto in 1976.
Bishop Callahan was ordained to the priesthood on April 30, 1977, by Milwaukee Archbishop William E. Cousins. His first priestly assignment was as associate pastor of the Basilica of St. Josaphat Parish, Milwaukee, from 1977 to 1978. Bishop Callahan then served as the director of vocations for the Conventual Franciscans from 1978 to 1984; as associate pastor of Holy Family Parish, Peoria, Ill., from 1984 to 1987; and as pastor of Holy Family Parish, Peoria, from 1987-1994.
In 1994, Bishop Callahan returned to Milwaukee and the St. Josaphat congregation. He served as rector and pastor of St. Josaphat Parish until 2005. At that time, he left the parish and went to serve as spiritual director for the Pontifical North American College, the seminary for Americans, Rome, until December 14, 2007.
Pope Benedict XVI named Callahan an auxiliary bishop for the Archdiocese of Milwaukee on October 30, 2007. He was the first Conventual Franciscan to be named a bishop in the United States. As an auxiliary bishop, Bishop Callahan serves the Church by helping the diocesan bishop in the pastoral and spiritual leadership of a diocese, and by assisting the diocesan bishop in his role as shepherd – through teaching, leading, serving and celebrating the sacraments with the people of the diocese.
On April 20, 2009, the College of Consultors elected him to serve as the administrator of the Archdiocese of Milwaukee until then Archbishop-designate Listecki was installed as Archbishop of Milwaukee on January 4, 2010. On June 11, 2010, Pope Benedict XVI named him as the Tenth Bishop of the Diocese of La Crosse.
The youngest of four children, Callahan has two older sisters and one older brother. His parents, Ellen and William Callahan, are deceased.
Father Charles Stoetzel
Fr. Stoetzel grew up on a farm near Ellsworth, WI. He went to high school and college seminaries in La Crosse and Milwaukee. Later, he earned a bachelors and licentiate degrees in theology in Rome, Italy while living at the North American College. After ordination to the priesthood, he was assigned as a teacher of religion at Aquinas High School in La Crosse and an associate pastor at a parish. He earned a masters degree in school administration at St. Mary’s University in Winona, MN during that assignment. Later, he was assigned as the principal of Regis High School for nine years. In 1995, he was assigned as pastor at St. John the Baptist in Marshfield, and the next year also at Christ the King Parish in Spencer. On July 1, 2011, he became rector of the Cathedral of St. Joseph the Workman in La Crosse, WI.
Since his priesthood ordination, he has served on various diocesan organizations: presbyterial council, St. Joseph’s Priest Fund, clergy personnel council, area representative to the diocesan office for Catholic schools, board of governors for the St. Joseph Nursing Home in La Crosse, chaplain to the Catholic Junior League for young women, chaplain of the separated, divorced and remarried Catholics in La Crosse, the general committee for the diocesan capital campaign, and dean of the Marshfield Deanery.
Father Todd Mlsna
Father Todd Mlsna was born on April 8, 1968 in Viroqua, Wisconsin to Allen and Bonnie Mlsna; the oldest of three children. Greg is second oldest and lives in Spencer; a father of five. Kristina has two children and lives in Oxford. He is very close to his family whom he loves very much.
He was born two months premature, and as a result has only partial eyesight. Out of his left eye he can only see light and a dark, and his right eye can see clearly 12 feet away. Father is legally blind yet successfully completed seminary studies to become a priest of the diocese.
Father Mlsna first attended Wisconsin School for the Visually Handicapped in Janesville and finished his schooling at Sparta High School. He went on to receive his undergraduate degree from St. Mary's University in Winona, Minnesota, and completed his studies at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul Seminary School of Divinity where he received his Master of Divinity (M. Div.). He was ordained to the priesthood on November 7, 1998 by then Bishop Burke.
Father Mlsna has been assigned to St. John the Baptist in Marshfield, Christ the King in Spencer, and St. Joseph's Hospital in Marshfield. He completed clinical pastoral education at Gundersen Lutheran Hospital in August 2003. He was assigned to the Cathedral in July of 2002 as a priest in residence, assisting with the sacrament of Confession and the Holy Mass. He began his ministry as chaplain of Franciscan Skemp Healthcare on October 1, 2003 where he continues today.
His interests include; music, theater, watching TV, listening to the radio, collecting baseball cards, and of course sports. He is an avid La Crosse Loggers fan as well as a an avid high school sports fan, especially Aquinas(La Crosse).
Deacon Joseph Richards
Deacon Joseph Richards was born in Cleveland, Ohio. While he was still a child in 1958, his parents were instructed by doctors to move to the west coast to make life more bearable for a brother who had contracted tubercular meningitis. Deacon Richards moved to La Crosse from California in 2000, with his wife and their three children. Since returning to the Midwest, the Richards family has educated their three (previously home-schooled) children at the La Crosse Aquinas Schools, all in preparation for their college education.
A building contractor by profession, he serves as the Director of Buildings and Grounds for Coulee Catholic Schools of La Crosse. Deacon Richards did his undergraduate studies in philosophy at St. Michael’s Norbertine Abbey in Orange, CA, and in theology at the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas (the Angelicum) in Rome. He completed his course of theological studies, receiving an M.T.S. from Madonna University’s Institute for Pastoral Theology. Ordained on January 27, 2007, Deacon Richards was assigned to St. Joseph the Workman Cathedral Parish.
Chief among his parochial duties at the parish is to serve within his capacity as deacon, according to the determination of the Cathedral’s pastor (presently Very Rev. Michael Gorman). His number one personal aspiration is to bring the benefits of his service at the altar, through his work in the service of charity, to those who are in need: in ministry to those who suffer illness, to the elderly, the impoverished, as well as to those who are homebound. And in whatever other way possible, the urge is to bring Christ to those among whom Deacon Richards has come to consider his own – all who are served by the Cathedral Parish of St. Joseph the Workman.
Dr. Brian Luckner
Brian Luckner (b. 1959) was appointed Director of Music and Organist at the Cathedral of Saint Joseph the Workman in July of 1988. In addition to his full-time position at the Cathedral, Dr. Luckner is Director of Music and Organist at the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe in La Crosse, and is director of the La Crosse Diocesan Chorale. He also serves as an adjunct faculty member at Viterbo University. His compositions are published by Paraclete Press, GIA Publications, Trinitas, MorningStar, and Mark Foster. Dr. Luckner served as head of the Conference of Roman Catholic Cathedral Musicians (United States and Canada) from 1997 to 2002. Prior to his appointment in La Crosse, he was the Assistant in Liturgical Music at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C. Earlier church positions include serving as organist and music director at the Church of the Guardian Angels (Roman Catholic) and at Holy Trinity Episcopal Church in Cincinnati, and at Christ Episcopal Church in Oberlin, Ohio. He previously held assistant organist positions at St. John the Baptist Catholic Church in Canton, Ohio, and at St. Joseph's Catholic Church in Massillon, Ohio. He holds the Doctor of Musical Arts degree and the Master of Music degree from the College-Conservatory of Music at the University of Cincinnati, and the Bachelor of Music degree from the Oberlin College Conservatory of Music. He participated in the "Accelerated Bachelor of Music Program for High School Students" at the Cleveland Institute of Music. His organ teachers include Roberta Gary, Garth Peacock, Margaret Irwin-Brandon, and Philip Hodel; he studied harpsichord with William Porter and Lisa Crawford. He has performed in master classes under David Craighead, Luigi Ferdinando Tagliavini, and Louis Robilliard. His choral conducting studies were with Daniel Moe. Awards include election to the national honorary music society Pi Kappa Lambda, the Selby Houston Memorial Award in Organ and Theory at Oberlin, and the University of Cincinnati Organ Playing Competition: Strader Awards (first place in 1981, second place in 1983). He is listed in Who's Who in America (2006-) and Who's Who in the World (2007-). Brian and his wife Danielle have two young sons, George and Harry.
Carole Edland, RN
Born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, she moved with her family to Antigo, Wisconsin at the age of 5. There she grew to love the Church under the guidance of her maternal grandmother, Frances. After graduating from Antigo High School she went to and graduated from St. Mary’s School of Nursing, Wausau, Wisconsin, met and married third-year medical student Robert Edland and moved to San Antonio, Texas, where he did his residency and she completed her Batchelor of Nursing degree at the Incarnate Word University. They then were transferred to Augsburg, Germany where Carole taught religious education and directed the church choir. She was asked to take over the NCCW religious education chairmanship for the European Command, which supplied catechetical materials and ideas to 10,000 CCD students and catechists. Needless to say, she had to work 6 months ahead of each liturgical season.
After her last child went to first grade, she completed an art major and music minor at the University of Wisconsin, La Crosse, Master of Arts in Pastoral Ministries at St. Mary’s University where her final thesis was the planning and implementation of an RCIA process for the Cathedral, and went on to earn a Doctor of Ministry degree at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, MN. Her doctoral thesis was “Coping with Suffering Following a Medical Crisis: Methods and Ministry.” From this research, she founded and is the facilitator for the Butterfly Ministry which supports and empowers individuals to rise above personal crisis and chronic stress by using Mind-Body-Spirit Skills. In addition, she has taken a number of professional training classes to teach and organize groups for skills training.
At the Cathedral. Carole has been the Director of the RCIA Process since its beginning in 1992, completed the diocesan lay ministry training course, is a Commissioned Lay Minister and Leader of Prayer for the Diocese of La Crosse, Lector, Eucharistic Minister and since 2006 has been the Director for the Parish Health Ministry. In that role, she visits various nursing homes weekly, provides health literature for parish members and has blood pressure screening at special times. Carole is also a Chaplain for the Country Jail Ministry and Eucharistic Minister at Franciscan Skemp Healthcare Center. She is on many advisory boards in the community.
Sue Gilbert
Sue Gilbert has been the Pastoral Minister here at the Cathedral since July of 2002.
Previous to that time, she was Director of the Office of Family Life for the Diocese of La Crosse for seventeen years. Earlier in her career Sue had worked as a social worker for the Diocese of Madison and also for the County of La Crosse. Sue lost her husband, Lee, in 2002, and feels blessed by her family of five adult children. She is passionate about the church’s teaching that claims “Family: Church of the Home.” In 2006 Sue received her Masters in Servant Leadership from Viterbo University.
Her responsibilities at the parish include facilitating the marriage preparation program, as well as administering the pre-marital inventory to all couples being married at the Cathedral. Along with Father Gorman, Sue visits the hospitals weekly to call on parishioners and brings Communion to the homebound. Presently she serves as chair of the Parish Pastoral Council, as chair of the Family Life Committee, as chair of the Ministry of Praise, as secretary of the Sacred Worship Committee, and is a member of the Newcomers Welcoming Committee. Sue feels privileged to be given the opportunity to serve as the Pastoral Minister of the Cathedral, and is inspired by the witness and faith which she encounters in parishioners on a daily basis.
Edward Jones
Edward Jones (b. 1959) began his full-time position as Cathedral Administrative Assistant in September of 2005 after working a number of years in credit client services for a major mid-west furniture manufacturer. In addition to Edward’s full-time position at the Cathedral, he practices real estate as a licensed Realtor® in the state of Wisconsin.
In his leisure time, Edward enjoys kayaking and windsurfing, listening to classical, sacred and world music from his 2,000 plus CD collection, and is an avid collector of both British and foreign films.
About Us
Welcome to the Cathedral of Saint Joseph the Workman! The Cathedral is a Roman Catholic parish in La Crosse, Wisconsin and the Mother Church of the Diocese of La Crosse. The bishop of La Crosse, currently the Most Rev. William Patrick Callahan, celebrates all the major feasts of the church year here: Holy Week, Christmas and many other major feasts. The Cathedral Gallery Singers, directed by Dr. Brian Luckner , is a very fine mixed choir that is devoted to singing sacred choral music ranging from Gregorian Chant through the best choral music of our own time. They sing at the 10:30 Mass on Sundays from mid-September through mid-June, and for selected major feasts and special liturgical celebrations.
The Cathedral is located at 530 Main
Street, La Crosse, WI 54601 at the corner of Main and 6th Streets.
For directions to the Cathedral, click here to use MapQuest .
Sacrament of Confession schedule is as follows; Monday - Friday: 7:30 am to 8:00 am Mass, and 11:30 am to 12:10 Mass; Saturday: 7:30 am to 8:00 am Mass, and 4:00 pm to 5:00 pm.
Daily Holy Mass schedule is as follows; Monday - Friday: 6:30 am (Marian chapel), 8:00 am, 12:10 am; Saturday: 6:30 am (Marian chapel), 8:00 am.
Sunday Holy Mass schedule is as follows; Saturday: 5:10 pm; Sunday: 7:00 am, 8:30 am, 10:30 am, 5:10 pm.
