Sebastian Gebhard Messmer (August 29, 1847 – August 4, 1930) was a

Swiss Swiss may refer to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Places * Swiss, Missouri *Swiss, North Carolina * Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses * Swiss-system tournament, in various games and sports *Swiss Internati ...

-born

prelate A prelate () is a high-ranking member of the Christian clergy who is an ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin , the past participle of , which means 'carry before', 'be set above or over' or 'pref ...

of the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

. He served as

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ...

of the Diocese of Green Bay (1892–1903) and Archbishop of the

Archdiocese of Milwaukee The Archdiocese of Milwaukee ( la, Archidiœcesis Milvauchiensis) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in the United States. It encompasses the City of Milwaukee, a ...

(1903–1930).

Biography

Early life and education

Sebastian Messmer was born in

Goldach, Switzerland Goldach is a municipality in the ''Wahlkreis'' (constituency) of Rorschach in the canton of St. Gallen in Switzerland. History Goldach is first mentioned in 789 as ''Goldaha'', though this comes from a later copy of the original document. In 84 ...

, the eldest of five children of Sebastian and Rosa (née Baumgartner) Messmer. His father, a farmer and innkeeper, also served in the

Federal Assembly of Switzerland The Federal Assembly (german: Bundesversammlung, french: Assemblée fédérale, it, Assemblea federale, rm, Assamblea federala), also known as the Swiss parliament (''Parlament'', ''Parlement'', ''Parlamento''), is Switzerland's federal leg ...

. His mother died when he was 10 years old. Messmer received his early education in Goldach, then attended the ''

realschule ''Realschule'' () is a type of secondary school in Germany, Switzerland and Liechtenstein. It has also existed in Croatia (''realna gimnazija''), the Austrian Empire, the German Empire, Denmark and Norway (''realskole''), Sweden (''realskola' ...

'' in

Rorschach Rorschach may refer to: * Hermann Rorschach, a Swiss psychiatrist ** Rorschach test, his psychological evaluation method involving inkblots * Rorschach (character), a character from the comics ''Watchmen'' * Rorschach (comic book), a 2020 comic * ...

for three years. From 1861 to 1866, he studied at the College of St. George, the diocesan preparatory seminary, in St. Gallen, Switzerland. He then studied philosophy and

theology Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing th ...

at the

University of Innsbruck The University of Innsbruck (german: Leopold-Franzens-Universität Innsbruck; la, Universitas Leopoldino Franciscea) is a public research university in Innsbruck, the capital of the Austrian federal state of Tyrol, founded on October 15, 1669. ...

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

Priesthood and ministry

Messmer was

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform var ...

to the priesthood by Bishop Atanasio Zuber on July 23, 1871. A week later, he offered his first

Mass Mass is an intrinsic property of a body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the quantity of matter in a physical body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physics. It was found that different atoms and different element ...

in Goldach. He accepted an invitation from Bishop James Bayley, who had visited Innsbruck to recruit

missionaries A missionary is a member of a religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thomas Hale 'On Being a Mi ...

for the United States, to join the Diocese of Newark in

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York (state), New York; on the ea ...

. After arriving in New Jersey in September 1871, Messmer was appointed professor of theology at

Seton Hall College Seton Hall University (SHU) is a Private university, private Catholic research university in South Orange, New Jersey. Founded in 1856 by then-Bishop James Roosevelt Bayley and named after his aunt, Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton, Seton Hall is the ...

in South Orange, remaining there until 1889. In addition to his academic duties, he served as one of the secretaries of the

Third Plenary Council of Baltimore The Plenary Councils of Baltimore were three national meetings of Catholic bishops in the United States in 1852, 1866 and 1884 in Baltimore, Maryland. During the early history of the Roman Catholic Church in the United States all of the diocese ...

(1884) and as

pastor A pastor (abbreviated as "Pr" or "Ptr" , or "Ps" ) is the leader of a Christian congregation who also gives advice and counsel to people from the community or congregation. In Lutheranism, Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy and ...

of St. Peter's Parish in Newark (1885–86). Messmer received a

Doctor of Canon Law Doctor of Canon Law ( la, Juris Canonici Doctor, JCD) is the doctoral-level terminal degree in the studies of canon law of the Roman Catholic Church. It can also be an honorary degree awarded by Anglican colleges. It may also be abbreviated ICD ...

degree from the Apollinare University in Rome in 1890, and served as a professor of

canon law Canon law (from grc, κανών, , a 'straight measuring rod, ruler') is a set of ordinances and regulations made by ecclesiastical authority (church leadership) for the government of a Christian organization or church and its members. It is th ...

at the

Catholic University of America The Catholic University of America (CUA) is a private Roman Catholic research university in Washington, D.C. It is a pontifical university of the Catholic Church in the United States and the only institution of higher education founded by U. ...

in Washington, D.C., from 1890 to 1892.

Bishop of Green Bay

On December 14, 1891, Messmer was appointed the fourth bishop of the Diocese of Green Bay by

Pope Leo XIII Pope Leo XIII ( it, Leone XIII; born Vincenzo Gioacchino Raffaele Luigi Pecci; 2 March 1810 – 20 July 1903) was the head of the Catholic Church from 20 February 1878 to his death in July 1903. Living until the age of 93, he was the second-old ...

. He received his

episcopal Episcopal may refer to: *Of or relating to a bishop, an overseer in the Christian church *Episcopate, the see of a bishop – a diocese *Episcopal Church (disambiguation), any church with "Episcopal" in its name ** Episcopal Church (United State ...

consecration on March 27, 1892, from Bishop Otto Zardetti (his former schoolmate in Rorschach), with Bishops

Winand Wigger Winand Michael Wigger (December 9, 1841 – January 5, 1901) was a German American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as the third Bishop of Newark from 1881 until his death in 1901. Early life and education Winand Wigger was bor ...

and John Keane serving as

co-consecrators A consecrator is a bishop who ordains someone to the episcopacy. A co-consecrator is someone who assists the consecrator bishop in the act of ordaining a new bishop. The terms are used in the canon law of the Catholic Church, Lutheran Churches ...

, at St. Peter's Church in Newark. During his 11-year tenure, Messmer encouraged the growth of

parochial school A parochial school is a private primary or secondary school affiliated with a religious organization, and whose curriculum includes general religious education in addition to secular subjects, such as science, mathematics and language arts. The wor ...

s and other religious institutions. He also invited Abbot Bernard Pennings to establish the Norbertine Order in the United States, which led to the founding of

St. Norbert College St. Norbert College (SNC) is a private Norbertine liberal arts college in De Pere, Wisconsin. Founded in October 1898 by Abbot Bernard Pennings, a Norbertine priest and educator, the school was named after Saint Norbert of Xanten. In 1952, the co ...

in De Pere.

Archbishop of Milwaukee

On November 28, 1903, Messmer was appointed the fourth archbishop of the Archdiocese of Milwaukee by

Pope Pius X Pope Pius X ( it, Pio X; born Giuseppe Melchiorre Sarto; 2 June 1835 – 20 August 1914) was head of the Catholic Church from 4 August 1903 to his death in August 1914. Pius X is known for vigorously opposing modernist interpretations of ...

. He was installed on December 10, 1903. He succeeded Archbishop

Frederick Katzer Frederick Xavier Katzer (February 7, 1844 – July 20, 1903) was an Austrian-born prelate of the Catholic Church. He served as bishop of the Diocese of Green Bay in Wisconsin (1886–1891) and archbishop of the Archdiocese of Milwaukee in Wiscons ...

. An opponent of

Prohibition Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholic ...

in the United States, Messmer issued a pastoral letter in 1918, declaring, " eoplefail to see the absolutely false principle underlying the movement and the sinister work of the enemies of the Catholic Church trying to profit by this opportunity of attacking her in the most sacred mystery entrusted to her." In 1921, he prohibited Catholic children in Milwaukee from participating in a

Fourth of July Independence Day ( colloquially the Fourth of July) is a federal holiday in the United States commemorating the Declaration of Independence, which was ratified by the Second Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, establishing the United State ...

Pilgrim pageant, which he described as "exclusively a glorification of the

Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...

Pilgrims," but later withdrew his objections. Messmer was also opposed to

women's suffrage Women's suffrage is the women's rights, right of women to Suffrage, vote in elections. Beginning in the start of the 18th century, some people sought to change voting laws to allow women to vote. Liberal political parties would go on to gran ...

. He denounced the

labor movement The labour movement or labor movement consists of two main wings: the trade union movement (British English) or labor union movement (American English) on the one hand, and the political labour movement on the other. * The trade union movement ...

as being tinged with

socialism Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the ...

, and drew criticism from Polish Catholics after condemning the ''

Kuryer Polski The ''Kuryer Polski'' was the first Polish-language daily newspaper in the United States. It was founded by Michał Kruszka in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in June 1888. History Kruszka had come to the United States in 1880 and relocated in 1883 to Milwa ...

'' newspaper. During his 26-year tenure, Messmer oversaw the establishment of Mount Mary College in Milwaukee and the elevation of Marquette College to

Marquette University Marquette University () is a Private university, private Society of Jesus, Jesuit research university in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Established by the Society of Jesus as Marquette College on August 28, 1881, it was founded by John Henni, John Martin ...

. He actively supported the

American Federation of Catholic Societies The American Federation of Catholic Societies was formed in 1901 to encourage Catholic unity and promote Catholic interests. Bishop James McFaul of Trenton was one of the key organizers of the federation. The Federation focused on social and econo ...

as well as ministries for

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...

and

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties for ...

Catholics. Nearly 30 religious orders were founded and charitable institutions were doubled during his administration; what became

Catholic Charities The Catholic Church operates numerous charitable organizations. Catholic spiritual teaching includes spreading the Gospel, while Catholic social teaching emphasises support for the sick, the poor and the afflicted through the corporal and spi ...

of the Archdiocese of Milwaukee, a nonprofit that still exists today, was founded in 1920. He founded the ''Catholic Herald'', the official newspaper of the Archdiocese of Milwaukee, in 1922. Messmer died on March 4, 1930, while vacationing in his Goldach, at age 82. At the time of his death, he was the oldest Catholic bishop in the United States. He is buried in Goldach. Messmer High School in Milwaukee, was renamed in his honor in 1928.

References

External links

Archbishop Messmer
at Archdiocese of Milwaukee {{DEFAULTSORT:Messmer, Sebastian Gebhard 1847 births 1930 deaths 20th-century Roman Catholic archbishops in the United States Roman Catholic archbishops of Milwaukee Roman Catholic bishops of Green Bay Seton Hall University faculty Swiss emigrants to the United States 19th-century Swiss Roman Catholic priests Catholic University of America faculty University of Innsbruck alumni 19th-century American Roman Catholic priests