Sept. 17, 2014

Contact Rochelle Potaracke, FSPA, rmpotaracke@viterbo.edu or 608-782-3334

Former St. Wenceslaus Parish to Celebrate 100th Anniversary

LA CROSSE, Wis. – A reunion to celebrate the 100th Anniversary of the St. Wenceslaus Church building will be held Sunday, Sept. 28.

The existing church structure, now San Damiano Chapel on the Viterbo campus, was built in 1914. In its early years, St. Wenceslaus served many of Czechoslovakian descent. The parish was disbanded in 1974 when the church community was combined with the parishes of St. Joseph the Workman Cathedral and Holy Trinity. Also adjacent was the St. Wenceslaus School where nearly 90 Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration worked and taught and many La Crosse residents attended. Nearly 29 diocesan priests were also a part of the St. Wenceslaus worshiping community.

Rochelle Potaracke, FSPA, a member of the committee planning the reunion, was a teacher at the school. “The parish holds wonderful memories for so many people and we are looking forward to the reunion and rekindling the memories. Families at ‘St. Wenc’ held strong ties and many children’s faces pass before me as I reflect on those times.”

The reunion will feature a 4:30 p.m., open house, 5 p.m. program, 6 p.m. Mass followed by hors d’oeuvres and refreshments.

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