By Julie Godfrey Miller
Superior Catholic Herald
Bishop presides at centennial Mass in Barron
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BARRON -- After more than a year of planning, St. Joseph Parish in Barron marked its 100th anniversary Oct. 14 with a Mass, celebrated by Bishop Peter F. Christensen, with former pastors of the parish and other priests of the diocese as concelebrants.
Christensen was joined at the altar by Fr. John Drummy, supervising pastor of the parish; Fr. Ron Levra, who served as pastor for a time; Deacon Michael Cullen, parish director for St. Joseph Parish, as well as St. Boniface, Chetek, and St. Peter, Cameron; and Deacon James Dennis of St. Boniface Parish.
The church was filled with parishioners and others to celebrate the occasion.
During his homily, Christensen recounted some of the high points in the history of the parish and congratulated them on 100 years of building a community, unifying the people in faith and being cared for by the sacraments. "Congratulations to each of you on the faith we have."
He also commented on the Gospel message for the day, Jesus' healing of the lepers. He noted that only one leper came back to express gratitude to Jesus. "This is faith. Jesus said, 'Your faith has saved you.'" Christensen continued, "You don't have to be a leper, Jesus has saved us all with his healing touch."
Eucharist is thanksgiving, he said, giving thanks for the past, thanks for the present and thanks for the future. This is how people grow as a community. Many people came before and nurtured the faith. "We need to be grateful for them."
He suggested that everyone think of a number of things to be grateful for, and thank the Lord Jesus Christ for them in their hearts. "Then we will join together at the table in the Eucharist (at this Mass), as well."
Following the homily, Cullen announced the blessing of a new statue of St. Joseph and said the new statue marked the transition from the first hundred years and St. Joseph would lead the parish into the future. He led the assembly in a Litany of St. Joseph, and Christensen, Drummy and Levra went out to the narthex of the church, where the bishop blessed a new statue of St. Joseph, which rests in a niche over the stairs leading to the lower level. (See box on page 4.)
Gift bearers represented various groups and ministries of the parish. Larry Lundgren, representing the Knights of Columbus, brought up a donation can from their annual Tootsie Roll fund-raiser; Emily Matye, representing the youth of the parish, brought up a 100-year-old chalice; and Flora Johnston, representing the parish prayer chain, brought up the personal prayer request book. The others in the procession were Norma Licht with a quilt and baptismal gown; Diane Mulheron, carrying a Bible; Anne Stephens with a home kit for Generations of Faith; and Yolanda Soto bringing a bouquet of roses to place at the foot of the statue of Our Lady of Guadalupe, which stands to one side of the altar.
The bread and wine were carried in by Sandy Eiden and Julie Steel, and the collection basket by Sean Klatt.
Following the Mass there was a dinner, and a display about the history of the parish and its sacraments and celebrations. The parish's major fund-raiser for the event was a pig roast.
Parish was incorporated in 1907
When St. Joseph Parish in Barron celebrated its 60th anniversary in 1967, they prepared a booklet recounting the parish's history. Here are some of the important milestones from that history.
Before the parish was started, a priest from Rice Lake and another from Almena periodically came to Barron to say Mass and minister to the Catholic families.
The parish was incorporated in October 1907. Bishop Augustine Shinner was the bishop of Superior. Fr. Francis Bourg was the first pastor.
With donations from the new congregation and others in the community, and a loan from the Catholic Church Extension Society, they purchased a small frame building, moved it to another location, and remodeled it for use as a church.
Bourg continued as pastor until 1912, when the parish became a mission of the parish in Chetek, with Msgr. L. Nowacki as its pastor. Mass was celebrated every other Sunday in Barron.
In 1940, St. Joseph became a parish, with Fr. Roman Fassbender as pastor, and the parish began to grow. Succeeding Fassbender as pastor were Fr. Ignatius Kinney and Fr. James A. Harte.
Although some remodeling had been done, the parish outgrew the church and in 1950 Bishop Albert G. Meyer decided they should build a new church. After much planning and fund-raising, construction began in 1957, under Bishop Joseph J. Annabring. The building was completed and turned over to the parish on July 10, 1959.
© Superior Catholic Herald, 2007