By Kelley Kepler
Catholic Herald

Tier II of DSA campaign beginning in February

SUPERIOR --The 2002-2003 Diocesan Services Appeal is the first year of a special, three-year campaign to fund 36 vital programs and services for the diocese, as well as the preservation and enhancement of Cathedral of Christ the King.

Unlike in years past, this year's campaign divided the 113 parishes in the diocese into two tiers. The Tier I campaign began in the end of September, and Tier II kicks off in February. Parishioners will receive informational mailings over the month, and campaign weekend is March 1-2.

Steve Tarnowski, Director of the Department of Stewardship and Development, hopes that the two-tiered campaign will be a more effective way to reach the 35,000 Catholic families across the 16 counties of northern Wisconsin.

For the past eight years, $1 million has been the yearly goal for DSA. The goal for the cathedral project is to raise an additional $1, 083,000 per year, an annual total of $2,083,000.

According to Tarnowski, the additional education and training of parish volunteers has increased the level of stewardship. "We've already raised $700,000 in pledges, and we're hoping for the same amount of success with Tier II," Tarnowski said.

The Cathedral of Christ the King is a center of worship for the whole diocese, and it is home to the annual Chrism Mass, ordinations and other major liturgies. With the three year added initiative for the preservation and enhancement project, the cathedral should be ready for the celebration of the diocese's centennial in 2005.

"The cathedral is a huge element in this year's Diocesan Services Appeal, but the reason we have this appeal is to fund the services and ministries of the diocese. These are vital programs no one parish could provide on its own. We need to work together, and that's part of being Catholic," Tarnowski said.

DSA annually funds programs such as youth education and religious instruction, religious vocations to the ordained ministry, vowed religious life and lay ministry outreach, education of seminarians, services for the handicapped, housing for the elderly, assistance for the sick and poor, and programs that support the teachings of the Catholic church such as the importance of respecting life.

For more information about DSA and the cathedral project, call 715-392-2937 or go to the diocesan Web site at www.catholicdos.org.

Cathedral parish funded many projects over the years

Built in 1927, Cathedral of Christ the King has long been a place of diocesan gatherings and worship. According to Fr. Daniel J. Dahlberg, rector, for the last 75 years, the cathedral parish has maintained, repaired and remodeled the building without assistance from the diocese.

Dahlberg said Kress Hall was not completed until 1948, when the parish finished the basement level of the building.

Fr. Edward Meulemans estimates that between 1978 and 1998, the years he was pastor at the cathedral, the parish raised over $1 million for major maintenance projects.

According to Meulemans, some of these major projects have included:

* Replacing lower copper roofs and upper terra cotta tile roof ($210,000)

* Partial tuck pointing mortar ($40,000)

* Replacing two levels of cement steps approaching the cathedral, sections of sidewalk, and regrouting and resetting the granite steps going into church ($70,000)

* Blacktopping parking lots ($60,000)

* Rebuilding upper section of the chimney ($50,000)

* Triple glazing windows ($40,000)

* Rebuilding sacristy entrance ($20,000)

* Extensive remodeling of Kress Hall and its outside entrances ($100,000)

* Putting in a new elevator ($110,000)

* Adding three new church bells ($20,000)

* Waterproofing the tunnel between the church and school ($55,000)

In addition, cathedral parish spent about $150,000 on the repair and upgrading of Calvary Cemetery. Moreover, from 1972 to 1988, it raised $2 million in addition to tuition for the operation of Cathedral School.

The cathedral is now in need of further mechanical, structural and liturgical enhancements. Cathedral parish has already conducted its own appeal for the preservation and enhancement project and is close to reaching its goal of $750,000.

Last summer the diocese spent $1 million on repairs that included replacing the upper copper roofs, a complete tuck pointing, and cleaning and strengthening the bell tower. An additional $3.25 million needed for the project has been added to the Diocesan Services Appeal over the next three years. Meeting this goal will ensure that the cathedral is able to meet the spiritual needs of the diocese for many years to come.

Three goals guide for cathedral enhancment

According to Fr. Gabriel Baltes, OSB, director of the diocesan Office of Worship, the three goals in the preservation and enhancement project are to make Cathedral of Christ the King "more hospitable, more beautiful and more liturgically excellent."

First, he said, the cathedral needs to be welcoming and accommodate for the needs of the people in the diocese. This includes updating the heating, ventilation, lighting and sound systems in the building, as well as making the cathedral more handicap accessible and improving the washrooms, stairs and gathering places.

Next, the cathedral should follow standards of beauty because we associate beauty with God. "Beauty does not mean lush or expensive, it means well-crafted and designed," Baltes said. The goal in enhancing the interior of the cathedral is to make it more inspiring and harmonious.

Lastly, Baltes said, it is important that the "symbols and furnishings follow the principles of the liturgy and maximize the symbolic elements of the sacred rites." Examples of this are a baptismal font that allows for the immersion of infants and adults and maximizes the use of water, and an altar table that fully symbolizes Christ's presence in the midst of the community.

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© Superior Catholic Herald, 2003