By Dan Sullivan
Catholic Herald

Phillips parish dedicates new church

PHILLIPS -- Our Lady of the North Parish resulted from the 1991 merger of the St. Mary and St. Patrick parishes in Phillips. On Dec. 18, parishioners joined with Bishop Raphael M. Fliss; Fr. Gerald Hagen, their pastor; and Benedictine Abbott Dismas Kalcic, a former pastor, for a celebration. Kalcic, who now heads the St. Procopius Abbey in Lisle, Ill., served as pastor of St. Mary Parish from 1988 to 1991. His Benedictine community had served the former Phillips parishes from 1915 until 1999.

The occasion not only marked the dedication of a new worship center, but also the renaming of this parish. The new church, adjoining the former St. Mary Church, was dedicated in honor of St. Therese of Lisieux. St. Therese was a Carmelite nun, who was born in France in 1873 and died in 1897. She is often referred to as the "Little Flower."

Hagen said this name change was done to stress a fresh start for this worship community.

"Having a new name helps to reinforce a new beginning for the parish," he said. "Our Lady of the North really had no roots in our Catholic tradition. This name change was an important start toward a whole new beginning for the parish."

To come up with this name, parishioners voted from a final list of six saints.

Therese Trojak, an admirer of St. Therese of Lisieux, is one parishioner happy with the change. "St. Therese won overwhelmingly," Trojak said. "She's a favorite saint of so many people. Many people admire her and pray to her."

St. Therese is Trojak's patron and namesake. In honor of the day, Trojak donated back to her parish a statue of St. Therese that she kept in her home since 1973.

"I pray to her on a daily basis," she said. "When the statue was in the house, I asked her to take care of me."

Trojak had purchased this life- size statue from the former St. Mary Church when it was set to be discarded.

"Prayerfully I will meet St. Therese some day and we two French ladies will have to dance the 'My Therese Polka,'" Trojak said. "If she doesn't know how to polka, I will teach her."

Marie Fojtik, a parish building committee member, said the new church was needed for many reasons.

"It's seen as a way to unify the parish," Fojtik said. "It brings people together. Both churches needed improvements and neither were large enough for the new parish community."

Being handicapped accessible was another important element for this church. "The new building is up to code and everything is on one level now," Fojtik said.

Some highlights of this facility include the addition of an entry and gathering space, lit by natural light from a skylight. "The area is very bright and inviting," Fojtik said.

At the heart of the new building is a worship center. The baptismal font is at the entrance of this center.

"The flowing waters remind us of our own baptism," Fojtik said.

Hagen said a baptismal fonts shouldn't be looked at as church furnishings. "They are an integral part of a church," he said. "This font will allow us to practice baptism by immersion that symbolizes the the dying and rising of Jesus."

The font is in the shape of a cross and is made of granite that matches the new altar. The altar was crafted by Rick Bejcek of Phillips.

The seats are arranged to surround the altar. "This way the congregation will be drawn to and engaged in the celebration of the Eucharist," Hagen said. "It allows the people to fully participate in the liturgy and not just be simple observers."

Several items from the old churches were used for the parish's new worship setting.

"The liturgical furnishings committee looked at treasures from both churches, Fojtik said. "They assessed what (items) could be used and incorporated them into the new facility."

The Stations of the Cross, presider's chair and other sanctuary chairs came from the former St. Patrick Church. Items moved from the former St. Mary Church are a cross-shaped stained glass window, now situated behind the altar; the tabernacle; the organ; and statues of Mary and Joseph. The crucifix that hangs over the altar in the new church can trace its origins back to both churches; the wooden cross came from the St. Mary and its corpus was a part of another cross from the St. Patrick Church.

Work and planning by many people made this new church complex possible.

"Many people poured a great deal of effort into making this building happen," Hagen said."We had an outstanding building committee, excellent help in the capital campaign and support of parishioners."

Ground for this new facility was broken in April. The estimated price tag of the project is $1.8 million. Plans call for the former St. Mary Church building to be turned into a social hall.

First Mass in Phillips celebrated in 1876

PHILLIPS -- Catholicism in Phillips extends back to 1876 when a Fr. July of Stevens Point, Wis., celebrated the first Mass here. Missionary efforts during the latter part of the 19th century were conducted from Stevens Point, Medford and Ashland, Wis. Under the pastoral care of Franciscan friars from Ashland, the congregation increased and in 1884 a former school property was purchased.

The St. Patrick Parish was established in 1888. Its first church was destroyed in the Phillips fire of 1894. Another church was wiped out by a tornado on July 7, 1900. Once again, the church was rebuilt and the first services were held on Christmas in 1900. This church was dedicated by Bishop James Schwebach of the Diocese of La Crosse in May 1901.

Phillips became a part of the the Diocese of Superior when it was established in 1905. In May 1918, the wooden St. Patrick Church was destroyed by another tornado. Despite the onset of war and scarcity of material, a brick church was completed in 1919.

With the increase of Slovenian families settling in this area, Bishop Joseph Koudelka gave permission to organize a new parish in Phillips where preaching would be in the Slavic language. St. Mary Immaculate Conception Church was established in 1916. A new church was built in 1932. Sermons in Czech were discontinued in the early 1950s.

Our Lady of the North Parish resulted from the merger of St. Mary and St. Patrick parishes in 1991. Catholics in Phillips were under the pastoral care of Benedictine monks from St. Procopius Abbey in Lisle, Ill, until 1999, when Fr. Gerald Hagen, a diocesan priest, became pastor. Worship continued at both churches.

A parish building committee was formed in 2000 to study parish needs and the feasibility of remodeling, renovating or building. A decision was made to construct a new church -- adjacent to the former St. Mary Church, also known as Our Lady of the North-South Church. On April 17, 2004 the last Mass was held at this location. A ground breaking ceremony for the new church took place following this liturgy.

The last Mass at Our Lady of the North-North Church, the former St. Patrick Church, was held Dec. 17. The new church, named St. Therese of Lisieux, was dedicated Dec. 18. The new name, to mark a new beginning for the parish, was chosen by parishioners from a slate of six saint names.

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© Superior Catholic Herald, 2004