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In 1894, the Congregation of Sisters of St. Agnes purchased property at 70 E. Merrill Street for $1000 as a convent for their sisters who were teaching at St. Mary’s School across the street. By 1901, the house was deemed inadequate and demolished. Put up in its place was a new convent that would also house St. Cecilia’s Academy of Music. The building soon became known by that name.With the influx of Italian immigrants in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, stringed instruments such as the mandolin and guitar were gaining in popularity. Young women were keen to learn how to play and the music school filled that need.The three-story brick building was designed by A.D. Werner and constructed for $8553. It is unclear how long St. Cecilia’s operated as a music school, but the sisters used the building until 1955, when a new convent was built on Amory Street. The St. Cecilia’s building was sold and renovated for use as apartments.

Mother Agnes Hazotte, Sister Ambrose Gross (center), and two visiting sisters with some music students, 1890s.

Sister Felicitas Dreiling and a music pupil at St. Mary's convent, Fond du Lac, c. 1950.

The former St. Cecilia's Academy of Music and St. Mary's convent as it appears today.

Congregation of Sisters of St. Agnes History

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The Congregation of Sisters of St. Agnes had been teaching music students for many years in Fond du Lac before they established St. Cecilia's Academy of Music at St. Mary's convent in 1901.  It is unknown how long the academy operated, but the sisters used the convent until 1955.  The building is currently used for apartments.

St. Cecilia's Academy of Music

We show gratitude for the past and hope for the future by recognizing the institutions and mission sites in and around Fond du Lac where CSA has and continues to provide joyful service to the Church.  For more information on CSA and its history go to:  https://www.csasisters.org/about-us/history.cfm

In 1849, residents of Marytown received approval from Archbishop Martin Henni to establish a parish which they called St. Mary of the Visitation. Mathias Burg donated 60 acres to the church, approximately 45 of which were sold to area residents. Parishioners erected a log church and Reverend Fabian Bermadinger, OFM Cap., became the first resident pastor. A year later, Father Caspar Rehrl, founder of the Congregation of Sisters of St. Agnes, took over the role. New priests cycled into the small parish about every year or two into the 1890s. The Sisters of St. Agnes began teaching at the parish school in 1865, one year after 17-year-old Mother Agnes Hazotte had been elected superior general of the congregation. Mother Agnes taught school and catechism at Visitation and performed as the church organist until 1869 when she returned to the motherhouse in Barton. The School Sisters of St. Francis took over at Marytown in 1895, but the Sisters of St. Agnes returned in 1910 and stayed until 1988, when they closed their mission there. In 1907, a fire started in the chimney of the convent and spread to the church roof, rectory, and several nearby residences. The church walls had withstood the flames, so the building was reconstructed by Hutter Construction Company.  In 1918, a new school and convent, built by George Hayes, was financed through a variety of fundraising efforts. In 1954, a new convent was built, and in 1957 room was made in the school to accommodate first- and second-graders whom the sisters had been teaching in the public school.  In early 1969, Sister DeMontfort Barta, Principal of Visitation School, voiced her concern about declining enrollments and the lack of available teachers in rural areas. She and concerned parents formed a committee which promoted merging area schools including St. John the Baptist in Johnsburg, St. Claudius in St. Cloud, and Holy Cross in Mt. Calvary to create Consolidated Parochial Elementary School (CPES). The school, now spread among four separate buildings, opened in the fall of 1969. Visitation and Holy Cross educated the primary grade students while the middle and junior high students attended classes in the other buildings. St. Ann School in St. Anna was a member of CPES from 1970 to 1985. Several Sisters of St. Agnes served as administrator of CPES from its founding until 1980. In 2015, CPES changed its name to Holyland Catholic School.

St. Mary of the Visitation Parish was founded in 1849 in Marytown, Wisconsin.  The Congregation of Sisters of St. Agnes began teaching at the school and playing the church organ in 1865.  The sisters served there until 1895 and again from 1910 to 1988.  In 1969, the school merged with three other area schools to form Consolidated Parochial Elementary School, now known as Holyland Catholic School.

St. Mary of the Visitation Parish

St. Peter's Parish was organized in 1866 by 42 families, mostly of German origin. B.F. O’Laughlin donated two acres of land and a wood frame church was built for a cost of $2724.29. Two more acres were donated by Martin Gruenheck, which were used for St. Peter’s Cemetery. Two years later, a school and convent for the Sisters of St. Agnes were constructed. Church meeting minutes from 1884 state that Sister Cecilia’s regular pay was $140, plus two bushels of cleaned wheat from each family. By 1906, the teachers’ salary was $400 with “no further inclusions.” A pipe organ was purchased in 1898, and in 1914 construction began on a new church after $22,000 had been raised from parishioners. The Immel Construction Company completed the work. The parish was served by the Capuchin Fathers of Mt. Calvary but didn’t receive its first resident pastor until 1927. Father Charles Schmitz and church trustees raised $24,000 to build a parsonage for Schmitz. In 1932, the church was renovated with altars, stations of the cross, and new pews and in 1941, central heating was added. St. Peter’s School closed in 1969 due to funding problems and the withdrawal of the sisters who taught there.  In 2000, all Fond du Lac area Catholic churches merged into one parish — Holy Family. Mass continues to be celebrated at St. Peter’s on Wednesdays and weekends.

St. Peter's Church was established in 1866, and in 1868, parishioners built a school staffed by the Congregation of Sisters of St. Agnes, as well as a convent for the sisters.  The sisters taught at St. Peter's until 1969.  In 2000, the church became part of the Holy Family Catholic Community.

St. Peter's Catholic Parish

In 1977, Sister Anne Jude Van Lanen of the Congregation of Sisters of St. Agnes, approached her general superior, Sister Judith Schmidt, and requested permission to start a hospice program. Hospice was a fairly new idea, started in England in 1967 to provide physical, emotional, spiritual, and social support to patients with limited life expectancy — and to their families. Sister Anne Jude spent many years ministering with the indigenous people of Nicaragua and after her return to the United States, she saw firsthand the differences in the way each culture treated their sick and dying. She heard about the hospice movement in England and began researching the topic. Just days after that conversation with Sister Judith, Frank Murphy, the hospital consultant for CSA, met with Sister Judith and said the congregation should consider starting a hospice program. Sister Anne Jude partnered with Sister Mary Agreda Touchett and Peg Cerny, a retired nurse, to study the need for the program in Fond du Lac and educate the community and medical personnel on the concept of hospice. Many people were initially skeptical of the program, thinking it was akin to euthanasia or would interfere with their providing medical services to patients. In June 1980, the state approved the program and in August the team began home visits. In the first year, 67 patients were admitted to the program and 30 physicians, 70 volunteers, and the hospice staff of Sisters Anne Jude, Mary Agreda, and Mary Christopher Esler, and a part-time lay nurse participated in the care of patients. Services were provided regardless of ability to pay and by the mid-1990s, Hospice Hope annually served over 300 patients with 40 staff members and 200 volunteers making over 1000 home visits. In 1982, St. Agnes Hospital set aside five beds for inpatient hospice care. In 1986, Hospice Hope had a reputation as the best program in the state and two years later Hospice Caring of Central Wisconsin merged with Hospice Hope. The success of the program necessitated a new facility to care for inpatients. In 1999, Agnesian HealthCare leased land on the west side of County Road K from the congregation to provide a peaceful natural setting for a hospice building. Groundbreaking for Hospice Home of Hope occurred in June 1999, and the building was dedicated on March 3, 2000. An addition was completed in 2017. The 18,600 square-foot facility includes 20 private rooms, a sunroom and porch, chapel, and large common areas. The interdisciplinary staff and volunteers, including six Sisters of St. Agnes, strive to bring physical, emotional, and spiritual comfort to those in need of its services.

The hospice movement in the United States was in its infancy when Sister Anne Jude Van Lanen began exploring the feasibility of starting a program in Fond du Lac in 1977.  It was approved by the State of Wisconsin in 1980 and hospice staff and volunteers began making home visits to individuals throughout the region.  Inpatient care would become available in 1982 when St. Agnes Hospital provided five beds for hospice care, and in 2000, Hospice Home of Hope opened to provide 20 rooms for individuals seeking end of life care.

Hospice Home of Hope

After the Congregation of Sisters of St. Agnes opened St. Agnes Hospital in 1896, they needed an inexpensive supply of milk, eggs, meat, and vegetables for the hospital as well as the convent. Mother Agnes Hazotte and her council decided to purchase Cold Springs Farm from Owen A. Wells in March 1898 for $31,000 and renamed it St. Joseph Springs Farm. In 1899, Mother Agnes purchased another 117 acres from Wells.  Several acres were set aside for what would become St. Joseph Springs Cemetery, the final resting place for most sisters. Up until that time, sisters generally were buried in the towns or cities where they had died.  The farm was operated by the sisters and hired help. By 1960, there were no more sisters available to work at the farm and their service there ended, but some sisters continued to live in the farmhouses. While the farm continued to be administered by the congregation, the land was rented to and managed by local farmers. In 1976, the cattle and chickens were sold and several buildings demolished. When the congregation decided to build its new motherhouse on the property, the remaining buildings were razed, with as much of the material as possible being recycled for use at the motherhouse site or by Amish farmers. The last remaining sisters moved out of the farmhouses in 2000 in preparation for the new construction. A portion of the land is still rented to farmers who use environmentally safe agricultural practices.

In 1898, Mother Agnes Hazotte of the Congregation of Sisters of St. Agnes purchased Cold Springs Farm and renamed it St. Joseph Springs.  The farm helped supply fresh meat and dairy to the convent and St. Agnes Hospital.  Several acres were set aside for what would become St. Joseph Springs Cemetery, the final resting place for most sisters.  In 2000, the last sisters moved off the property in preparation for construction of the current CSA motherhouse.

St. Joseph Springs Farm

As Father Caspar Rehrl, one of the founders of the Congregation of Sisters of St. Agnes, traversed the land east of Lake Winnebago, he came across seven springs and blessed them with his holy water. Later he wrote, “Oh, how I wish that the Sisters of St. Agnes might someday live on this beautiful tract of land watered by these prolific springs.” In 2002 the congregation fulfilled his vision and opened their current motherhouse on the land which had been used as St. Joseph Springs Farm. The building, designed and constructed by Hoffman Corporation of Appleton, Wisconsin, contains residences for 36 sisters, a chapel, offices, and meeting rooms. The design focus was responsible stewardship of resources. Natural and locally available building materials were selected including the stone used inside and outside, Niagara Drift from a nearby quarry. Gravel and stone from the foundation of the barn that was previously located on the property were crushed and recycled into pavement for the driveway. Barn boards were removed for recycling, and beams and arches were given to Amish farmers for their future building needs. The residences and chapel are linked to the administrative offices and meeting rooms by a passageway elevated above one of the spring-fed streams which had impressed Father Rehrl so many years earlier. The convent chapel was designed by Mark Joseph Costello, OFM Cap. The four cornerstones embedded into the stone pillars at the entrance to the chapel represent three expansions to the former motherhouse at 390 E. Division Street and the current motherhouse. Other artifacts from previous convents were incorporated into the new chapel including the leaded glass doors for the Blessed Sacrament Chapel and altar marble used to frame the new tabernacle. The windows were inspired by springs which brought the sisters to this site. The opal blue glass swirls represent the water which flows across the grounds. The bright horizontal and vertical bands of bubbly glass represent the water flowing underground and coming to the surface. The bright horizontal bands of red, orange, yellow, and violet may be seen as threads in a tapestry that tie the panels together. The windows were fabricated almost entirely by women, at Derix Glasstudios in Taunusstein, Germany. The glass was made by Lamberts Glassworks in Waldsassen, Germany, from a design by artist Guy Kemper. In 2015, the congregation installed solar panels on its property as part of its longtime commitment to the conservation of the land entrusted to it. The 880 panels provide half of the motherhouse’s energy needs and generate $35,000 worth of electricity every year.

In 2002, the Congregation of Sisters of St. Agnes opened their current motherhouse on land that had previously been operated as St. Joseph Springs Farm.  Care was taken in designing the structure to honor and accommodate the natural features that surround it such as the spring-fed streams that run through the property.  The motherhouse is comprised of administrative offices, meeting rooms, a chapel, and residences for 36 sisters. 

Congregation of Sisters of St. Agnes Motherhouse

In 1963, the Congregation of Sisters of St. Agnes determined there was need to build a retirement home to bring together the retired, sick, and infirm sisters who were now housed at the motherhouse, St. Agnes Hospital, and St. Clare Hospital in Monroe. The home, Nazareth Heights Infirmary, was constructed on the Niagara Escarpment near St. Mary’s Springs Academy overlooking Lake Winnebago to the west.  Architectural firm Schmidt, Garden, and Erikson designed the facility for 100 residents. Building began on April 1, 1964, by Hutter Construction Co. The 63,000 square foot convent infirmary was completed for a cost of $1.5 million and dedicated on September 1, 1965, by Archbishop William Cousins. It provided the sisters a place to pray and facilitated activities that encouraged the sisters to remain independent and contribute to the community. Two inner courts of the rectangular building were populated with a variety of flora including white birch, flowering crabapple, Juneberry, Russian olive, mountain ash, and Cotoneaster. Conrad Schmitt Studios designed the chapel’s stained-glass windows which depicted the Stations of the Cross. Nazareth Heights was used as the sisters’ retirement home until 1998 when the new Nazareth Court and Center assisted living facility, adjacent to St. Agnes Hospital, was completed. The Heights was then transformed into the temporary CSA motherhouse when the previous building at 475 Gillett Street was torn down for hospital expansion. In 2002, a new motherhouse was constructed on the west side of County Road K and Nazareth Heights was razed. The land is now a restored prairie and site of CSA’s hermitages which are available to individuals seeking retreats.

Nazareth Heights was built as an infirmary for retired members of the Congregation of Sisters St. Agnes in 1965.  The facility sat on a bluff along the Niagara Escarpment overlooking Lake Winnebago.  In 1998, residents moved to the new facilities of St. Francis Home and Nazareth Court and Center near St. Agnes Hospital.  A year later, the building was re-purposed as the temporary motherhouse for the congregation as they built their current motherhouse nearby on Route K.

Nazareth Heights Infirmary

In 1901, local businessman John Boyle wished to build a memorial for his mother on the Niagara Escarpment, commonly referred to as the ledge. The land was on the eastern edge of Fond du Lac and owned by the Sisters of St. Agnes, who operated St. Joseph Springs Farm there. Boyle proposed to the sisters that he would build a sanitarium for people recuperating from tuberculosis and other chronic illnesses and then donate it to the congregation to operate. Mother Agnes Hazotte wrote to Archbishop Frederic Katzer asking permission for the project, as required by canon law. Initially, he had reservations about financial obligations, the physical toll it would take on the sisters, and the risk of the sanitarium attracting people simply looking for a resort. In the end he granted his permission and was present to help lay the cornerstone on June 12, 1901. The $25,000 building was dedicated on May 14, 1902, by Bishop Sebastian Messmer of Green Bay and made entirely from stone quarried from the ledge. It was named St. Mary’s Springs Sanitarium in honor of Boyle’s mother and boasted 28 rooms and cupolas on each of its four corners. Sister Bernardine Laughlin became its first superior.  During the construction process, administrators at St. Agnes Hospital realized they did not have enough space to continue offering hydrotherapy, so the sisters decided to add a two-story annex to the sanitarium to offer this service using natural spring water from the ledge. The structure cost $14,500, of which Boyle donated $5000, and was completed in time for the May dedication. By 1909, it became clear that the sanitarium was not able to attract enough patients to keep it afloat so Boyle suggested to the congregation that he renovate the buildings for the sisters to operate a girls’ boarding school. The sanitarium buildings would become the foundation of St. Mary’s Springs Academy.

In 1901, local businessman John Boyle built a sanitarium east of Fond du Lac for people recuperating from tuberculosis and other chronic illnesses.  He donated it to the Sisters of St. Agnes to operate but it struggled to attract clients.  In 1909, the congregation proposed opening a boarding school for girls at the site and the two sanitarium buildings were converted into dorms and classrooms and renamed Boyle Hall and St. Agnes Hall.  The school, now co-educational K-12, is called St. Mary's Springs Academy.

St. Mary's Springs Sanitarium

In 1902, local businessman John Boyle built a sanitarium on the Niagara Escarpment, which is commonly referred to as the ledge. He donated it to the Sisters of St. Agnes but it was unable to attract enough patients to sustain itself. The two buildings that made up St. Mary’s Springs Sanitarium were renovated by Boyle as a girls’ boarding school to be operated by the sisters and renamed Boyle Hall and St. Agnes Hall.  St. Mary’s Spring Academy opened on September 9, 1909, and was officially dedicated by Archbishop Sebastian Messmer on October 7. Sister Angeline Kamp was the first principal and the school had a staff of 13 sisters and one chaplain. They started with 17 students, but by the end of the year enrollment had almost doubled. Room, board, and tuition came to $75 per year. The school offered classes for grades one through eight as well as a two-year commercial course and four-year classical curriculum. Art and domestic classes were also offered. The school’s brochure also touted the recreational opportunities for its students stating, “Exercise in the open air during all seasons is indulged in three or four times a day.” A new four-story main building was constructed in 1929 at a cost of $500,000. It included a chapel, auditorium, and eight-story tower. The new space allowed the school to accept day students who paid annual tuition of $700. Traditionally, parochial schools educated boys and girls in separate institutions but the Great Depression caused enrollments to decline so Archbishop Samuel Stritch gave the sisters permission to make SMSA co-educational with the goal being to erect a boys’ school when feasible. The 1940s brought expansion to many facets of the school including the introduction of both football and band programs, a new physics lab, and additional classes such as aeronautics. However, due to increasingly large enrollments, elementary grades were dropped incrementally throughout the decade and the school became exclusively a high school. Overcrowding continued to affect the school so in 1955, boarding students were no longer accepted. A plan to build a boys’ school was developed in the mid-1960s but never came to fruition. Instead, it was decided to construct a new academic building on campus.  In October 1969, the sisters entered into co-sponsorship of the school with the Archdiocese and transferred SMS land and property to the new St. Mary’s Springs High School Corporation. The school operated as an archdiocesan high school and was managed by a board of directors comprised of representatives from the 22 Fond du Lac County parishes and the Sisters of St. Agnes. The new L-shaped 102,000 square foot St. Mary’s Springs High School was dedicated on May 24, 1970. In January 1971, St. Agnes Hall was razed and in October 2005, Boyle Hall was torn down. In 2008, the Fond du Lac Area Catholic Education System merged with St. Mary’s Springs to create a consolidated PreK-12 system and a year later, during its centennial year, the school resurrected the St. Mary’s Springs Academy name. In 2016, after a two-year construction project, the new St. Mary’s Springs Academy campus opened and was able to accommodate all PreK-12 students in one building.

St. Mary's Springs Academy was established by the Congregation of Sisters of St. Agnes in 1909 as a boarding and day school for girls.  Classes were held in the former St. Mary's Springs Sanitarium buildings, which were renamed Boyle Hall and St. Agnes Hall.  The school began accepting male students in the 1930s and stopped accepting boarders in the 1950s.  In 2008, the Fond du Lac Area Catholic Education System (FACES) merged with St. Mary's Springs to create a consolidated PreK-12 system at SMSA.

St. Mary's Springs Academy

The Congregation of Sisters of St. Agnes had opened Marian College in the east wing of their convent on Division Street in 1936, because the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction would not allow student teachers into public schools to complete their training while wearing their habits. The college opened its doors on September 8, 1936, to 21 full-time students and 25 part-time students. Sister Vera Naber served as the first dean and the faculty consisted of four sisters and two priests. In the first year the curriculum included courses in German, history, algebra, apologetics, English, biology, Latin, art, psychology, and music. Classes were held in evenings and on Saturdays to accommodate sisters and rural teachers who were still working to complete their bachelor’s degrees. By 1950, there were 86 full-time and 145 part-time students and the congregation realized they needed a new campus to accommodate expanding enrollments, provide modern science laboratories, and support more extensive library holdings. Sister Fidelis Karlin, President of Marian from 1952 to 1963, purchased a house on Division Street for a lay student residence, curriculum library for the education department, and space for Alpha Omega sorority to meet. The house was renamed Hazotte Hall and used as a residence from 1953 to 1962. Afterwards it was used as the elementary education center. In 1960, Marian College was accredited by the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools and the congregation felt confident that the time had come to create a new college campus separate from the motherhouse. George Hutter, Jr., a local building contractor, donated 14.7 acres of land for a new residence hall, which would be called Regina Hall and opened in 1962. During the 1963 General Chapter, the congregation approved the construction of a 28-acre campus bordered by National Avenue and Division Street and designed for six to seven hundred students.  The campus buildings, made of precast concrete, limestone, and glass, were designed by architectural firm Schmidt Garden &amp; Erikson. The first phase of construction, which began on May 1, 1965, included the administration and humanities building, the Ben Sadoff Science Building, and Cardinal Meyer Library. During the second phase of the project Dorcas Chapel, Hornung Student Center, and Naber Residence Hall were constructed. The entire project cost four million dollars, of which $1.6 million came from government grants and loans.  Dorcas Chapel was partially funded with a $10,000 donation from Father Benjamin Blied, a longtime instructor at the college. Blied wanted to honor the women of the church involved in domestic work and requested the chapel be named after Dorcas who made clothes for the poor and was healed by St. Peter. The circular chapel represents a sewing basket while the cross atop the chapel depicts a needle. The chapel’s stained-glass windows were designed by Gabriel Loire of Chartres, France. The Wausau Tile and Terrazzo Company earned national citation of merit for superior craftsmanship from the National Terrazzo and Mosaic Association for their work on the chapel. In 1964, Marian began accepting nursing students into its BS Nursing program as St. Agnes School of Nursing began to wind down its program before graduating its final class in 1966. During the 1969 Chapter, the congregation decided to admit men to the college, appoint lay people to the board of trustees, and consider the appointment of a layperson as president of the college. The first lay president, James Hanlon, served from 1971 to 1979. In 1972, Marian joined the Wisconsin Independent College Athletic Conference with men’s and women’s basketball teams. That same year, the college contracted with George Hutter to build Greenbriar apartments to house the influx of mostly male students. The college opened the Howard L. Sadoff Gymnasium in 1982 and expanded academic offerings as enrollment continued to grow through the 1990s and 2000s. The Stayer Center for Technology &amp; Executive Learning was added to the campus in 2001, and the construction of Smith Soccer Fields, Herr-Baker Baseball Field, and Lenz Field House between 2002 and 2011 enhanced Marian’s athletic program, which joined the NCAA in 1999. In 2008, Marian College added five new schools to the traditional two and transitioned to university status. In 2018, Marian celebrated the opening of the newly renovated science building, renamed for former president Richard Ridenour and his wife Leslie. The campus now comprises 78 acres of land. Through its sponsorship and the active ministry of sisters on campus, the Congregation of Sisters of St. Agnes continues to support Marian University’s commitment to providing value-based education for traditional and adult students more than 80 years after its founding in the CSA motherhouse.

In 1936, the Congregation of Sisters of St. Agnes opened Marian College in their motherhouse in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin.  The college provided an education to the congregation's candidates and sisters as well as instruction for lay teachers seeking state certification.  In 1965, the congregation moved the college to the newly constructed buildings at National Avenue and Division Street.  The college became co-educational in 1970, and in 2008, was renamed Marian University.

Marian University

The Sisters of St. Agnes opened St. Agnes Hospital School of Nursing on October 3, 1910, in order to train sister nurses to staff St. Agnes Hospital in Fond du Lac and St. Anthony Hospital in Hays, Kansas. Lectures and instruction were conducted by three doctors and two sisters in the community room at the St. Agnes motherhouse. In 1912, the school was accredited by the Wisconsin State Board of Nurses. During World War I, the shortage of nurses convinced the sisters to open up the school to lay students in 1917. Sister Digna Desch, director of SASN, embraced the new requirements for nursing schools mandated by the Wisconsin Board of Nursing Education in 1921, and under her leadership over 26 years the school earned a reputation of holding its students to the highest professional standards. In 1931, a five-story brick building was constructed to house the School of Nursing. Dedicated in December of that year, the project cost between $200,000 and $250,000 to complete. The first two floors held classrooms, lounges, a library, and a combination gymnasium and auditorium. The other three floors had accommodations for 137 students. During World War II, the School of Nursing took part in the Cadet Nurse Corps program which offered federal funding to nursing schools that accelerated their course of study to graduate more nurses. Between 1943 and 1948, St. Agnes School of Nursing graduated 240 cadet nurses. By mid-century, nurses with bachelor’s degrees became more desirable and the School of Nursing began looking at ways to integrate their successful three-year diploma program with a college program. In 1964, nearby Marian College enrolled its first students in the Division of Nursing and in 1966, St. Agnes School of Nursing graduated its final class. The building, renamed St. Agnes Hall, was used for housing Marian students. In 1975, when the decision was made to leave their longtime motherhouse at 390 E. Division Street, the Sisters of St. Agnes moved into St. Agnes Hall. Renovations included turning the first floor science laboratory into the chapel, and the gymnasium into the dining hall. The second floor held administrative offices and meeting rooms, while the third through fifth floors provided housing for the sisters. St. Agnes Hall was used as the motherhouse until March 1999, when the administrative offices temporarily moved to the former Nazareth Heights building on Johnson Street while the congregation studied space needs and renovation costs for 475 Gillett. On December 27, 1999, CSA agreed to transfer the property to Agnesian HealthCare and the building was razed.

St. Agnes Hospital School of Nursing opened in 1910 to train sister nurses for work at St. Agnes Hospital and St. Anthony's Hospital in Hays, Kansas, both of which were operated by the the Sisters of St. Agnes.  The school began enrolling lay students in 1917 to help fill the shortage of nurses resulting from World War I.  A new School of Nursing building containing dorm rooms and classrooms was constructed in 1931.  In the 1960s, the school merged into Marian College's nursing program.  The building was repurposed for use as a college dorm and then as the CSA motherhouse when the convent at 390 E. Division Street was demolished.

St. Agnes Hospital School of Nursing

St. Agnes Hospital was founded in 1896 by the Sisters of St. Agnes after local business leaders had pleaded with the congregation for ten years to open a hospital. After St. Paul Hospital, an Episcopalian endeavor, failed after only a year in 1888, Dr. Frank Wiley, brothers John and Henry Boyle, and Father J.J. Keenan, pastor of St. Patrick Church, visited Mother Agnes Hazotte in 1894 asking her again to consider the establishment of a hospital for Fond du Lac. In January 1895, the Fond du Lac Business Men’s Association pledged $55,000 for the project to be secured through loans and other sources. The CSA Board of Directresses minutes from January 25, 1895, stated “it appears... that the erection of a Hospital and its management by the Sisters would be a work of charity and humanity… for the care of the sick regardless of religious denominations.” In addition to securing funding from business leaders such as the Boyles, and receiving approval from the Archdiocese of Milwaukee, the congregation also had to prepare sisters to staff and manage the hospital. Mother Agnes sent Sisters Evarista Ulrich, Amanda Hildebrand, and Charitas Schnitzler to St. Joseph’s Hospital in Chicago to study nursing and surgical techniques. Meanwhile, Dr. Wiley took postgraduate courses in Europe to prepare for his role as of chief of staff. St. Agnes Sanitarium, as the hospital was called until 1900, opened on July 1, 1896, although seven-year old Otto Schmidt, suffering from typhoid fever, was brought in the day before as the hospital’s first patient. The final cost of the building, equipment, and furnishings was $47,965. Beds in a ward cost $5 and private rooms, board and nursing ranged from $8 to $15 per week. Despite initial difficulty in attracting patients the first year, use of the hospital steadily increased and an east wing was added in 1913, more than doubling the 60-bed capacity. Other major expansion and modernization projects took place in 1924, 1954, 1974, and 2006. In 2018, CSA transferred sponsorship of St. Agnes Hospital to SSM Health. In support of the community fundraising efforts in 1913, Episcopalian Bishop Reginald H. Weller praised the work of the sisters saying, “To my mind the whole responsibility for the hospital rests upon the Sisters of St. Agnes. It is their broad vision and their timeless work and support that has made this institution possible.” From these modest beginnings, CSA, which had traditionally been a teaching order, would eventually staff, administer, and sponsor hospitals and clinics in Wisconsin, Kansas, and Nicaragua; and educate 1575 nurses through its St. Agnes Hospital School of Nursing.

St. Agnes Hospital, originally called St. Agnes Sanitarium, was founded in 1896 by the Sisters of St. Agnes at the request of community leaders.  The sisters staffed and administered the hospital, which underwent several major expansions between 1913 and 2006.  In 2018, the Sisters of St. Agnes transferred sponsorship of the hospital to SSM Health.

St. Agnes Hospital

In 1992, Dick Kester, co-chair of the Care for the Poor Committee at St. Agnes Hospital saw a need to expand hospital services to the underserved in the Fond du Lac community and took the idea to his co-chair, Rev. Byron Bunge. The hospital collaborated with the Salvation Army, the Congregation of Sisters of St. Agnes, Advocap, Fond du Lac County Department of Social Services, Fond du Lac County Dental Society, and Giddings &amp; Lewis to create the Samaritan Free Clinic, now called the Samaritan Health Clinic. Doreen Holland was the first clinic coordinator and organized the participation of the various hospital departments that were necessary for providing quality health care to uninsured adults. Doctors John Lent and Al Pennings were the first physicians to commit to the project and recruited other volunteer doctors, nurses, and medical staff. The clinic opened on December 8, 1992, in the Salvation Army building at 237 N. Macy Street. In its first ten years, the clinic served over 4500 patients, and its 80 volunteers donated more than 16,000 hours of time in the clinic. Staff members and volunteers hosted lunches with other clinics throughout Wisconsin in order to exchange ideas on effective delivery of health care to underserved populations. Samaritan Health Clinic and its volunteers have been recognized by the Wisconsin Health &amp; Hospital Association, Advocap, and the Wisconsin State Medical Society. Eventually the clinic expanded its services to Dodge County and now serves patients at St. Agnes Hospital and Waupun Memorial Hospital.

The Samaritan Free Health Clinic is a collaborative effort of St. Agnes Hospital, Waupun Memorial Hospital, the Salvation Army, the Congregation of Sisters of St. Agnes, and other local civic and governmental agencies to bring medical, dental, and vision care to adults who are not eligible for Medical Assistance and are not able to purchase insurance.

Samaritan Free Health Clinic

In 1870, Father Nicholas Pickel, pastor of St. Mary’s parish, invited the Sisters of St. Agnes to move their motherhouse from Barton, Wisconsin, to Fond du Lac, assuring Mother Agnes Hazotte that the pastors of all three local parishes would welcome them. During an earlier visit to Mount Calvary, Father Francis Haas also had encouraged Mother Agnes to move from Barton. Recognizing the greater opportunities which the second largest city in Wisconsin offered the congregation, Mother Agnes made up her mind quickly and, for $6300, purchased twelve lots of property on East Division Street that included a frame house and new barn and stable.  The sisters moved into the existing house on East Division Street on August 1, 1870, and used it as their first motherhouse in Fond du Lac for the next seven years. As the sisters attracted more candidates, it became clear a larger motherhouse would be necessary. Construction began on the 390 East Division Street convent in 1877.  The frame house continued to be used by the sisters and when it was determined the new motherhouse would need to be expanded in 1908, the original convent was moved to 357 Sheboygan Street and renovated for use by the congregation’s hired help and hospital workers. The house was moved again to 1st Street in the 1980s and is currently used as a private residence.

The Congregation of Sisters of St. Agnes first moved to Fond du Lac in August 1870.  They settled on 12 lots of land along East Division Street which they had purchased for $6300.  The congregation used the existing house on the property as their first motherhouse.  The house has been moved twice and is now a private residence.

Congregation of Sisters of St. Agnes First Fond du Lac Motherhouse

In 1870, Father Nicholas Pickel, pastor of St. Mary’s parish, invited the Sisters of St. Agnes to move their motherhouse from Barton to Fond du Lac, assuring Mother Agnes Hazotte that the pastors of all three parishes would welcome them. During an earlier visit to Mount Calvary, Father Francis Haas also had encouraged Mother Agnes to move from Barton. Recognizing the greater opportunities the second largest city in Wisconsin offered the congregation, Mother Agnes quickly made up her mind and purchased for $6300 twelve lots of property on East Division Street that included a frame house and new barn and stable. The sisters made the move on August 1, 1870. Shortly after their arrival, the sisters opened St. Agnes Academy to students of all religious denominations in the city. Classes were taught in the barn on the newly acquired property and some students boarded in a rented house a few doors down from the motherhouse. The tuition paid by these students helped support schools for poorer children in the community. In 1872, Mother Agnes built a two-story brick-veneered house for $338, which housed the school on the first floor and a chaplain’s residence on the second floor. St. Agnes Academy closed in 1888. The congregation also opened a convent school 1874, which was later known as St. Agnes High School. This school educated the candidates and novices in the classics, physics, math, and government, as well as teaching methods. St. Agnes High School operated at the motherhouse until 1957, after which aspirants were enrolled at St. Mary’s Springs Academy. As more women entered the community, the need for a larger motherhouse took on great urgency. In 1876, Mother Agnes purchased another two and one-half acres and hired Wilhelm Schickel as the architect, who planned a four-story E-shaped structure. The financial panic of 1876 delayed the start of the project, but groundbreaking finally occurred on May 1, 1877. The first wing of the brick and stone convent cost $41,373.33, and housed 120 sisters and 22 orphaned children. Sister Claude Feldner described the convent as such: <blockquote>The basement held the kitchen, refectories, vegetable cellar, and trunk rooms. The first floor contained administration,chapel, and the assembly hall. The second floor had a balcony looking over the chapel for the infirm, and sisters’ rooms and dormitories. On the third floor there was a huge wooden water tank which sometimes overflowed. The candidates slept in a dormitory on four-and-a-half, an attic with wooden rafters, primitive washroom facilities (pitchers and basins) and ever-present bats.</blockquote> A three-day fair was held on October 9-12, 1877, to raise money and celebrate the opening of the convent, which was officially blessed by Father John Huber on November 3. In 1887, the chapel wing was completed on land Mother Agnes had purchased the previous year. The chapel boasted a three-story-high vaulted ceiling and a fresco of the martyrdom of St. Agnes painted by German-American artist Wilhelm Lamprecht in 1890. In 1909, two wings were added to the motherhouse that included an elevator and music practice rooms. In addition, the congregation purchased more land next to the convent. A few years later Mother Antonia Schmitz installed new lighting fixtures, where there had been kerosene lanterns, and purchased etched glass doors and twelve statues for the chapel. The doors would follow the sisters to all but one of their future motherhouses. In 1933, the congregation embarked on building the final wing of the motherhouse which would house the aspirants, candidates, and novices. And in 1936, they opened Marian College in the new east wing of the motherhouse, primarily to train teachers, but they also offered general education and theology courses. In 1965, the congregation opened a new 28-acre campus for Marian College at National Avenue and Division Street. By the 1970s, the convent had reached the end of its lifespan and would require expensive renovations to remain up to code. At the same time, adjacent St. Agnes Hospital needed to expand in order to provide modern health care to the Fond du Lac community. It was decided to raze the motherhouse in 1975 and have the sisters move into St. Agnes Hall, the former St. Agnes School of Nursing at 475 Gillett Street.  The last Mass was celebrated at the motherhouse at 390 E. Division Street on March 19, 1975.

Mother Agnes Hazotte moved the Congregation of Sisters of St. Agnes from Barton, Wisconsin to Fond du Lac, Wisconsin on August 1, 1870.  The congregation settled on twelve lots of property on the south side of Division Street which had been purchased by Mother Agnes.  In 1877, ground was broken on the first wing of a new motherhouse which would dominate that part of Division Street for nearly 100 years.

The Congregation of Sisters of St. Agnes had served the elderly population of Fond du Lac at the Boyle Catholic Home for the Aged for nearly three-quarters of a century when they realized the home was too small and outdated to continue to fulfill that mission. In 1976, the Boyle Home’s board of directors acquired two and one-half acres of land west of St. Agnes Hospital at 365 Gillett Street for a new nursing home. A groundbreaking ceremony for the $1.7 million St. Francis Home took place on March 19, 1977, and was dedicated on March 12, 1978, by Archbishop Rembert Weakland. Designed by Grust-Zimmerman and built by Hutter Construction, the new skilled nursing facility provided multiple levels of care and better quality of life for its residents by incorporating modern conveniences not available at the Boyle Home. St. Francis Home was able to accommodate 70 residents when it first opened. Residents transferring from Boyle Home were able to select their draperies, carpeting, bedspreads, and paint colors for their rooms. The main floor chapel was made accessible from the second floor by a balcony where residents in wheelchairs and beds could participate in liturgies. The facility boasted occupational and physical therapy rooms, lounges, a gift shop, and beauty shop. In 1984, a house across the street from St. Francis Home at 340 Sheboygan Street was purchased to serve as a community-style residence for older people who were not dependent on nursing care. Called St. Clare Terrace, the house had room for eight residents. Seeing the growing need for retirement living in Fond du Lac, the congregation purchased homes at 345, 347, and 357 Sheboygan Street, as well as 360 E. Division Street to construct a new St. Clare Terrace that provided 30 independent living units. The building was dedicated on October 4, 1991, by Bishop Richard Sklba. It soon became clear there was a gap between the skilled nursing care St. Francis Home provided, and the independent living at St. Clare so the congregation began a large construction project to provide a continuum of care for older citizens of Fond du Lac as well as sisters who were no longer active in ministry. Groundbreaking for a new interconnected complex took place on May 12, 1997. In the spring of 1998, the new 100-bed St. Francis Home was opened at 33 Everett Street. That fall, a 15-unit assisted living facility called St. Francis Terrace opened on the first floor of the former St. Francis Home site. At the same time, Nazareth Court and Nazareth Center were opened to care for the sisters. The entire campus was dedicated on December 10, 1998, by Archbishop Rembert Weakland.

St. Francis Home, a skilled nursing facility, was built by the Congregation of Sisters of St. Agnes in 1977 to replace the Henry Boyle Catholic Home for the Aged.  St. Clare Terrace is an independent residential facility first established in 1984, and St. Francis Terrace is an assisted living facility built in 1998.  The interconnected complex provides a continuum of care for older Fond du Lac residents.

St. Francis Home/St. Clare Terrace/St. Francis Terrace

Members of the Congregation of Sisters of St. Agnes had enjoyed their own retirement home, known as Nazareth Heights Infirmary, since 1965. In 1994, the congregation began to look at the needs and options for future retirement living and ultimately decided to leave Nazareth Heights and build a facility that would provide a continuum of care for sisters from residential care to assisted living to skilled nursing care. CSA already sponsored similar facilities in St. Clare Terrace and St. Francis Home, which were located on the western edge of the St. Agnes Hospital campus. The congregation would renovate and build onto those facilities, while new construction would create Nazareth Court, which provides residential care for sisters, and Nazareth Center, which provides assisted living.  Ground was broken on December 8, 1997, for Nazareth Court and Center, which was designed by Hoffman Corporation. As part of the groundbreaking celebration, a ground-mixing ceremony was held in which soil from Nazareth Heights and St. Francis Home were brought together.  On April 2, 1998, the 30 sisters needing skilled nursing care moved from Nazareth Heights to the newly expanded St. Francis Home. Then on November 10th, the remaining 56 residents of Nazareth Heights moved into Nazareth Court and Center. Movers had to contend with 60-70 MPH winds and intermittent rain that day. The interconnected facilities are located very near the spot where the original CSA motherhouse in Fond du Lac stood, so sisters were returning to their roots. With their proximity to downtown, sisters at Nazareth Court and Center are able to enjoy cultural activities and engage in ministry in the school system, health care, or social services.

Nazareth Court and Nazareth Center were built in 1998 to provide residential and assisted living options for members of the Congregation of Sisters of St. Agnes.  The interconnected facility was built adjacent to St. Agnes Hospital and St. Francis Home, a skilled care residence, but is still located close enough to Fond du Lac's city center to allow sisters opportunities for volunteer work and recreation.

Nazareth Court and Center

Beacon House is a treatment center for women recovering from alcohol and/or drug dependency. The organization was founded as Friends of Women in Recovery in 1992, and the house opened in June 1993, after much dedicated work from volunteers.  Founders Mary Ann Steffes, an associate of the Congregation of Sisters of St. Agnes, Sharon Bloodgood, Patti Eickerman, and Lynn Behrends saw a need for the facility which would accommodate women with children. At the time of its founding, Beacon House was only one of three facilities in Wisconsin that kept children with their mothers during the initial recovery process. In 1997, Beacon House purchased a second home in order to accommodate more families. Several sisters of St. Agnes have volunteered at the facility and served on the board of directors of both Beacon House and the Beacon House Foundation. The congregation also supports the organization through regular contributions.

Beacon House is a treatment center for women recovering from alcohol and/or drug dependency. The organization was founded as Friends of Women in Recovery in 1992, and the house opened in June 1993.  Beacon House was unique when it was founded because it allowed mothers to have their children with them while they went through the recovery process.

Beacon House

Bethany House of Hospitality first opened on March 27, 1989, and provided temporary shelter for between 12 and 15 people per night. In the first year, Bethany House served 161 men, 87 women, and 52 children. Administered by an ecumenical board of advisors, the house received support and contributions from people of all faiths. Residents were helped by countless volunteers as well as an advocate for the homeless who assisted individuals and families as they transitioned to permanent housing. In 1998, Bethany House opened a second site, Father Martin Home on Seymour Street, to help with emergency housing needs. The staff also focused on coordinating services so former residents had a better support system after they moved out. The Congregation of Sisters of St. Agnes has supported Bethany House through contributions, sisters’ volunteer efforts, and leadership on the board of advisors. In 2007, Bethany House merged with FAVR (Friends Aware of Violent Relationships), a domestic abuse shelter established in 1982, to create Solutions Center. Today, Solutions Center provides safety and support to people dealing with homelessness and domestic abuse.

Bethany House of Hospitality first opened on March 27, 1989, and provided temporary shelter for between 12 and 15 people per night. Administered by an ecumenical board of advisors, the house received support and contributions from people of all faiths.  In 2007, Bethany House merged with Friends Aware of Violent Relationships to form Solutions Center.

Bethany House

St. Joseph’s Church, considered the mother parish of Fond du Lac, has occupied the same location at Second and Marr Streets since 1847. Mayor Mason Darling donated land for the construction of a 30’ by 40’ structure initially named St. Louis Chapel.  The 30 founding families organized the parish under missionary priest, Father Caspar Rehrl. Father Anthony Godfert became the first resident pastor at St. Louis during the winter of 1849-1850. He was soon succeeded by Father Louis Dael who enlarged the church and built a rectory. As the Catholic population of Fond du Lac grew, new parishes emerged from St. Louis along ethnic lines. St. Patrick’s was formed in 1855 to serve the Irish population and the Germans established St. Mary’s in 1868. A French-speaking congregation was formed in 1862 and took the name St. Louis, while the original parish was renamed St. Joseph and retained a mix of ethnic groups with English speakers being in the majority.  In 1874, construction began on a new church building. Pastor George Willard was inspired by the Cathedral at Lourdes, France, but a lack of funding and construction delays prevented Father Willard from seeing his dream completed before he was reassigned in 1879. The structure, finally completed in 1888, measured 135 feet by 75 feet and was designed to seat 1,100 people.  On the night of September 24-25, 1908, flames from a fire at the Crescent Garage shot across the street and started the church on fire. The conflagration destroyed St. Joseph’s as well as First Congregational Church. Portions of Grant School, St. Peter’s Lutheran Church, and St. Joseph rectory were also severely damaged that evening. Parishioners worshiped at Armory E while a new gothic-style church, designed by Jones and Trumbell of Chicago, was constructed. The old cornerstone, salvaged from the burnt ruins, was laid near a new cornerstone on August 16, 1909. The church was dedicated on September 27, 1910. Pastor John Collins began advocating for a school as early as 1917, but it wouldn’t be until April 22, 1928, when the cornerstone was laid. The school was dedicated in October of that year with the Sisters of St. Agnes missioned there to teach. In 1974, St. Joseph’s School merged with St. Mary’s and in 1992, all Catholic elementary schools in Fond du Lac were united into Fond du Lac Area Catholic Education System (FACES). In this consolidated system, St. Joseph’s served K-5 students from 1992 to 2008, when the PreK-12 FACES-Springs Catholic Educational System was created. St. Joseph’s School then operated as St. Mary’s Springs Academy until all students were transferred to the new SMSA on Route K. The school has now been converted into residential living and in 2017 was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. In 2000, all Catholic parishes in Fond du Lac merged into one Catholic community — Holy Family. The last Mass at St. Joseph’s was held on November 12, 2007, and the building was sold and now operates as Thrive Church.

St. Joseph's Church is considered the mother church of Fond du Lac.  Originally founded as St. Louis Parish at Second and Marr Streets in 1847, the growing parish eventually split into several churches along ethnic lines.  A new St. Louis congregation was established by French speakers in 1862, and the mother parish was renamed St. Joseph's.  The church was destroyed by fire in 1908 and a new structure was completed in 1910.  St. Joseph's School opened in 1928 and was operated by the Congregation of Sisters of St. Agnes.

St. Joseph's Catholic Parish

In the late 1980s, few resources existed for survivors of sexual abuse in Fond du Lac. Valerie Graczyk, Director of the Health Resource Center and Volunteer Services at St. Agnes Hospital, and Susan Griffiths, the hospital’s Director of the Counseling Center began working toward a solution. A year later, Sister Rhea Emmer of the Congregation of Sisters of St. Agnes joined them and the group created FOCUS to educate clergy, law enforcement, educators, and social service organizations. The most urgent need in the community was finding immediate help for survivors. After a year of exploring models in other cities, the women founded ASTOP (Assist Survivors through Treatment Outreach Prevention) in 1992. St. Agnes Hospital agreed to provide space and support for the non-profit agency, which also serves the communities of Ripon, Wautoma, and Redgranite. ASTOP provides cost-free 24-hour crisis response and professional counselors who will see clients within one working day. Counselors also provide services to spouses and boy/girlfriends of survivors. In addition, ASTOP offers medical and legal advocacy and prevention education for grade school aged children and the adults in their lives. The Congregation of Sisters of St. Agnes has and continues to support ASTOP through leadership on the board of directors, contributions, and work by sisters as crisis line volunteers, committee members, and advocates.

ASTOP was founded in 1992 to assist survivors of sexual assault and educate the community on the resources available to treat and prevent abuse.  Founders Valerie Graczyk and Susan Griffiths of St. Agnes Hospital were later joined by Sister Rhea Emmer of the Congregation of Sisters of St. Agnes to create an organization that provides 24-hour crisis support, professional counseling services, and prevention education.

ASTOP (Assist Survivors through Treatment, Outreach, Prevention)

In 1894, the Congregation of Sisters of St. Agnes purchased property at 70 E. Merrill Street for $1000 as a convent for their sisters who were teaching at St. Mary’s School across the street. By 1901, the house was deemed inadequate and demolished. Put up in its place was a new convent that would also house St. Cecilia’s Academy of Music. The building soon became known by that name. With the influx of Italian immigrants in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, stringed instruments such as the mandolin and guitar were gaining in popularity. Young women were keen to learn how to play and the music school filled that need. The three-story brick building was designed by A.D. Werner and constructed for $8553. It is unclear how long St. Cecilia’s operated as a music school, but the sisters used the building until 1955, when a new convent was built on Amory Street. The St. Cecilia’s building was sold and renovated for use as apartments.

St. Mary’s School was founded in 1857 on Merrill Avenue in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, by German immigrants wanting to educate their children. It was the first Catholic school in the city and was built eight years before St. Mary’s Church and parish were established.Local citizens German Scherzinger, Anton Rothgery, and John Dana initiated the school project when the pastor of St. Louis Parish showed little enthusiasm for a school. The one-room schoolhouse was opened in 1857 with John H. Gores as the schoolmaster. St. Mary’s was a bilingual school with students learning in both German and English languages. It became known in the community as “The Old Dutch College.”With a significant rise in German immigration to the area, the need for a German parish was urgent. The parish was established on November 15, 1865, comprised of 21 families. Land was purchased at the corner of Merrill Avenue and Marquette Street for $800. The 40’ x 60’ church was completed in late fall 1866 and dedicated by Archbishop John Henni on December 8, with Father Eusebius Hensler installed as the first pastor. Hensler stayed at St. Mary’s for a year before Father Nicholas Pickel took over. By 1875 a rectory had been built behind the church and additions increased its size to 40’ x 108’. A pipe organ and raised pulpit were also installed. Three years later, lightning struck the building and started a fire that caused about $500 in damage to the structure, but ruined the church organ. The newspaper reported the lightning bolt struck the church bell and the sound alerted a policeman who quickly called in the fire department.In 1879, Father Pickel was transferred out of Fond du Lac after difficulties arose with the parish trustees. Pickel was replaced by Father Francis Haas, OFM Cap., who, while a popular choice among many parishioners, had been disparaged for years by another faction of the congregation. Haas requested all collection monies be turned over to him as required by archdiocesan law, but the trustees refused. The trustees then incorporated the parish as a civil entity and tensions among the factions grew to the extent that a police presence was necessary at Masses. At the end of December, Haas announced that if the trustees did not turn over parish records, that day’s service would be the last in the church. Supporters of the trustees broke into the church, nailed up the pews, and demanded Haas leave. He refused and church was placed under interdict. Mother Agnes Hazotte of the Sisters of St. Agnes offered the use of the convent chapel for Haas to preside over the Feast of the Circumcision, a holy day of obligation, when the city’s other pastors refused him. About two-thirds of the parish attended Mass that day at the convent and Father Haas promised them he would build a new church. On February 29, 1880, Sacred Heart Church was dedicated at the corner of Main and Merrill. Then on March 6, Father Sebastian Schwinn was named pastor of St. Mary’s. In a May 25 letter, Archbishop Henni stated that he never intended for the Capuchins to open a parish in the city and ordered that Sacred Heart be closed in three days. After an appeal by the Capuchins, Henni reversed himself and left the matter to be resolved by Rome. Ultimately, the Capuchins were asked to leave the city. Father Schwinn was replaced by Father Joseph Fessler, whose task it was to reunite the parish.In the same year the discord began, the Sisters of St. Agnes began teaching at St. Mary’s. By 1883, a second classroom was built with an eye toward future expansion. On December 1, 1887, the new St. Mary’s school was dedicated by Archbishop Michael Heiss. A two-story red brick building that could accommodate 200 children was designed by Van Rynn and De Gellene architectural firm of Milwaukee and built by Julius Ley. The cost of the building was $7,700. The first floor held four classrooms and a hall while the second floor housed a gym and stage. The latest technology, including electric lights, was installed in the new building. The original school building was moved closer to the church and served as a winter chapel and then as an annex until 1901.By this time, the congregation had outgrown the church and a new structure was completed in 1901, designed by H. Messmer and Son and built by Gordon Georgerson for $21,196. Archbishop Frederic Katzer dedicated the church on February 2, 1902.St. Mary’s School was also undergoing changes. A two-room addition was built in 1900 and the gym stage was converted to classrooms in 1925. Under Father Peter Gersbach, the school no longer required the teaching of German language and classes were now all held in English, whereas students previously had been taught in German for half of the day. The school could not keep up with increasing enrollments so fundraising efforts began in 1928. Parishioners made 1125 pledges for $75,499. Two homes on Rees Street were purchased for the new school site before the Great Depression hit and pledges dried up. But by 1938 fundraising efforts began anew and a parish meeting was held in 1939 to decide if the project should proceed. A plan was agreed upon and sent to Archbishop Moses Kiley for approval. He recommended waiting a year, then with the advent of World War II, construction of the new school was again put on hold.In 1948, the building committee hired the architectural firm of Frank Stepnoski and Son and received permission from the archdiocese to begin building. Hutter Construction Company began work on June 12, 1949. The school opened in September 1950 and included a modern cafeteria and kitchen and 10-lane bowling alley for the nearly 600 students who attended that first day. In 1974, St. Mary’s merged with St. Joseph’s School and in 1992, all Catholic elementary schools in Fond du Lac were united into Fond du Lac Area Catholic Education System (FACES). In this consolidated system, St. Mary’s served students in the intermediate and middle grades from 1992 to 2008, when the PreK-12 FACES-Springs Catholic Educational System was created. In 2016, the school was sold, converted into apartments and in 2017 was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.In 2000, all Catholic parishes in Fond du Lac consolidated into one — Holy Family. St. Mary’s underwent a complete renovation in 2016 and continues to serve the Holy Family community with weekend Masses.

St. Mary's School was established by German immigrants in 1857, eight years before the parish was founded. The first St. Mary's Church was built at Merrill Avenue and Marquette Street in 1866. The Congregation of Sisters of St. Agnes began teaching at the school in 1879. In 1974, St. Mary's School merged with St. Joseph's School and the school was renovated into an apartment building. The church underwent a major renovation in 2016 and is part of the Holy Family Catholic Community.

St. Mary's Catholic Parish

At a conference for hospital administrators in the early 1940s, Sister Blandine Eisele of the Congregation of Sisters of St. Agnes noticed a session being offered on AA. Curious because she didn’t know what AA was, she walked into the room and came out with a new personal mission. She brought back what she learned about Alcoholics Anonymous to St. Clare Hospital in Monroe, Wisconsin, and fought misunderstandings about the disease with doctors, hospital administrators, and even her own congregation. Through dogged persistence she eventually succeeded in creating an alcohol rehabilitation unit at St. Clare which became known nationwide for its treatment program. She returned to Fond du Lac in 1962 and worked as the medical librarian at St. Agnes Hospital while also serving as a member of the Fond du Lac County Alcoholic Services Board.  Spurred by Reverend Duane Mills of St. Paul’s Cathedral and M.J. Coon, director of the Fond du Lac County Alcoholic Referral Service, a fund drive to create a residential treatment center for recovering alcoholics began in 1969. The Ben Sadoff Foundation made a major contribution to the project with the stipulation that the center be named after Sister Blandine.  Blandine House opened in the spring of 1970 and is operated under the auspices of the Episcopal Church. It’s first administrator-director was Reverend Wilfred Upson, OMI, and Sister Blandine also made herself available for consultations with residents of the center. In 1980, the Blandine House board of directors established the Sister Blandine Foundation in honor of Sister’s 85th birthday. Today, the Blandine House organization also operates Integrity House, where men in recovery can stay for up to a year after leaving Blandine House. Alcoholics Anonymous chapters in Iowa, Kansas, and Wisconsin bear Sister Blandine’s name in tribute to her pioneer work in the treatment of alcoholism.

Blandine House is a residential treatment center for recovering alcoholics named after Sister Blandine Eisele, CSA, who was instrumental in founding alcohol treatment programs in Wisconsin hospitals during the 1940s and 1950s.   The Ben Sadoff Foundation provided much of the funding for Blandine House, which opened in 1970 and is operated under the auspices of the Episcopal Church. 

Blandine House

At the turn of the 20th century, local businessman, Henry Boyle, was concerned about caring for the growing number of older people in Fond du Lac. He constructed the Henry Boyle Catholic Home for the Aged for about $20,000, then turned over the deed to the Sisters of St. Agnes to operate. In addition to the land and building, he also gave the congregation $39,500 in bonds and cash for immediate expenses. Boyle made one stipulation that the home had to be used to care for the elderly. Adolph Werner designed the building, with general contractor Thomas O’Connor and Hutter Construction completing the project in 1902. It was dedicated by Archbishop Frederic Katzer on February 10, 1903.  The three-story home included 27 residential rooms. The first floor contained a kitchen and dining room for residents as well as a private dining and pantry for the sisters. Sitting rooms were found on both the first and second floors. On February 27, 1919, a fire broke out on the second and third floors. Three residents died of smoke inhalation and six were injured while escaping. In addition, Sister Patrice Lahey was injured while attempting to rescue a patient and the superior of the house, Sister Delphine Keenan, died a week later from shock and exposure. Damage to the home topped $30,000, but repairs and renovations were made quickly after the fire. In 1930, Henry Boyle’s widow, Julia, spent roughly $20,000 to construct St. Patrick’s Chapel on the north end of the home. Then, using funds acquired though several bequests, most notably $53,000 from the estate of Emma C. Cavanaugh, a new wing was added to the south end of the home in 1959 that included more dining space, a recreation room, eight guest rooms, and a fireproof stairway. The porch, which extends across the front of the building, was enclosed sometime between 1974 and 1988. By the 1960s, it was clear Boyle Home was unable to accommodate all the people who wished to live there so the congregation began planning for a replacement. In 1976 the board of Boyle Home acquired two and one-half acres of the old CSA motherhouse property on Gillett Street for a new nursing home which would be known as St. Francis Home. The Boyle Home was renamed the Boyle Apostolic Center and became a home for retired Sisters of St. Agnes thus continuing the ministry of caring for the elderly in accordance with the Boyle Home’s long-standing mission. The sister residents volunteered in health care, child care, teaching, physical therapy, library work, cooking, handicrafts, and ministering to shut-ins by telephone. After nearly 100 years of fulfilling the mission of serving the elderly at the Boyle Home/Apostolic Center, the sisters left in 2000, and the property reverted to the Boyle heirs.

In 1902, local businessman Henry Boyle funded the construction of a retirement home for needy elderly residents of Fond du Lac.  He turned it over to the Sisters of St. Agnes to operate, which they did until 2000.  In 1976, congregation built St. Francis Home to accommodate Fond du Lac's growing elderly population and converted Boyle Home into a residence for retired sisters called Boyle Apostolic Center.

Henry Boyle Catholic Home for the Aged

St. Patrick's Parish grew out of the original St. Louis Parish (later renamed St. Joseph) when Irish members decided to establish their own parish in 1855. A year earlier some Irish members of St. Louis formed St. Patrick’s Temperance Society. Membership grew to 250 within a year and this group formed the core of what would become St. Patrick’s Parish. The new church would be located on the north side of Follett Street just east of Main Street on land donated by local businessman John Macy. Parishioners dug the foundation themselves somewhere between 1855 and 1858, but construction took more than a decade due to financial hardships and a lack of building materials resulting from the Civil War. Finally, on July 7, 1867, Archbishop John Henni consecrated the church. Improvements were made to St. Patrick’s beginning in the 1880s under Father Joseph Keenan, with the addition of a parish hall and church bell. By 1911, a tower and two side entrances were added to the structure. Father Keenan, known for his extensive library and commitment to ecumenism, served St. Patrick’s for 30 years. He was succeeded by his nephew, Father T.J. Cosgrove who oversaw improvements to the church including new pews, stained glass windows, a new organ, central heating, and electricity. Church records indicate the Sisters of St. Agnes operated a school in St. Patrick’s sacristy for a year in 1871 and discussions concerning the construction of a school began in the 1920s. The family of Henry and Julia Boyle offered $50,000 to build a school in 1930 but required matching funds from the parish. The Great Depression hindered any fundraising efforts for several years but the parish rededicated itself to the building fund in 1934. Construction finally began on the school and a convent for the Sisters of St. Agnes who would teach at the school, and the buildings were dedicated on August 28, 1938. The congregation had managed to raise enough money to complete the project without going into debt, no small feat during the Great Depression. Another six classrooms were added in 1960.  In 1970, the school merged with St. Louis and in 1992 became part of FACES (Fond du Lac Area Catholic Education System). In 1995, FACES stopped using St. Patrick’s as an elementary school but continued using it for Christian formation classes. Then in 2008, all Fond du Lac Catholic schools consolidated into FACES-Springs Catholic Educational System. In 1990, the church was designated a local landmark and in 2000, Fond du Lac area parishes merged into one Catholic community — Holy Family. St. Patrick’s Church operated until 2007 when the new Holy Family Church was constructed. Recently the building has been used as a dance studio and concert space.

St. Patrick's Parish was established in 1855, but a church wasn't completed until 1867.  The Congregation of Sisters of St. Agnes taught classes in the church in 1871, but it wasn't until 1938 when a proper school was built with a large matching donation from Henry and Julia Boyle.  In 1970, the school merged with St. Louis and classes were held at St. Patrick's until 1995.  The church was designated as a local landmark in 1990 and Masses were held there until 2007.

St. Patrick's Catholic Parish

St. Louis Parish was organized out of an existing parish, also called St. Louis, in 1862. The original St. Louis, established in 1847, was the first parish in Fond du Lac. It served a large multi-cultural community largely made up of Germans, Irish, and French. Beginning in 1855, each ethnic group eventually would break away from the mother parish to form their own congregation and the original St. Louis Parish would be renamed St. Joseph Parish.  The French congregants, under the leadership of Father John Perrodin, began planning for the new St. Louis Church in 1868. Plans for the church, located at Follett and Bannister (now Macy) Streets called for a 120 foot by 50 foot stone structure with two 140 foot towers, although some accounts list the footprint of the building to be 150 by 65 feet. The cornerstone was laid in 1869 and Masses were held in the basement of the church until the structure was finished in 1871, although the towers would not be completed for another twenty years. Besides the name, St. Louis Church also claimed the bell and a large white cross from the original St. Louis Chapel. The first St. Louis School, operated by the Sisters of St. Agnes, was started in 1879 but only lasted a year due to financial difficulties in the parish. In 1880, Father Charles Boucher became pastor, installed a pipe organ and helped the congregation grow to over 105 families. After a brief stay in Rome in 1887, he returned to St. Louis and his enthusiasm and fundraising acumen spurred the parish to remodel the church in 1888 and finish the twin steeples in 1891. He started a school in 1895, run by French nuns who only stayed a year. Then he asked the Sisters of St. Agnes to take over the school, which they did until 1904, when the school closed. In 1917, the Archdiocese announced that the priests of the Oblates of Mary Immaculate would now be assigned to St. Louis Parish. The first of these priests, Father Joseph H. Racette, made the decision to give all sermons in English beginning in the early 1920s.  The church rectory and some parish records were destroyed by fire on December 28, 1938, but a new rectory was completed in 1939. As the congregation grew, Father Joseph T. Morissette, spearheaded the effort to build an elementary school that would serve 365 students in the parish. St. Louis School was completed for the cost of $250,000 and dedicated by Archbishop Albert Meyer on October 30, 1958. The Sisters of St. Agnes again served as teachers and administrators in the school. In 1968, land bordered by Johnson, Macy, and Follett Streets was purchased for use as a playground and parking lot. In 1970, St. Louis School merged with St. Patrick’s and in 1992, became part of the Fond du Lac Area Catholic Education System (FACES). In 2008, FACES merged with St. Mary’s Springs Academy and all parochial students began attending SMSA. In 1986, the Oblates considered their mission at St. Louis fulfilled and withdrew from the parish. Archdiocesan priests then took over its administration. In 2000, Holy Family parish was established to encompass all the Fond du Lac area parishes. The school building was converted into office space for the new parish and the final Mass was celebrated on August 25, 2005.  Church property was sold in 2005 and 2006. The church’s altar, baptismal font, lectern, and chancel chairs were purchased by Fond du Lac Lutheran Home and the crucifix, placed in the church around 1950, was purchased by a St. Louis alumnus, Scott Chapin, and given to his new parish, St. John Vianney in Rio Rancho, New Mexico. The church itself was purchased by the owner of Attitude Sports in 2006, but a fire destroyed the building on March 19, 2007, leaving only one of the iconic twin spires standing. Shortly after, the remains of the church were razed and retail space built in its place.

St. Louis Parish was established in 1868, although the church was not completed until 1871.  The Sisters of St. Agnes taught at several iterations of St. Louis School beginning in 1879.  The school merged with St. Patrick's School in 1970.  In 2006, the church was sold and in March 2007, a fire destroyed the building.

St. Louis Catholic Parish

With the post-War War II baby boom, Catholic parishes around the country scrambled to build new parishes and schools to accommodate the growing Catholic population. Fond du Lac was no different. Sacred Heart Parish was established during this building boom in 1957, with Father Raymond Fox leading the effort. Monsignors Henry Maurer of St. Mary’s Parish and Henry Riordan of St. Joseph’s had earlier purchased ten acres of land west of the city that would be used for the new parish buildings.  Parish members would not be drawn from a particular ethnic group like others in town but rather based on geographic divisions. In the beginning, Sacred Heart would be comprised of 400 households bordered by Forest Avenue, Highway 41, one mile south of County Trunk T, and the Chicago and Northwestern Railroad. Evans School initially was used for Sunday Mass while enthusiastic parishioners held a variety of fundraisers that first year. In March 1958, the Memorial Baptist Church building at Western and Peters Avenues was purchased to be used as a temporary chapel, while Evans School was still used on Sundays. Groundbreaking for the church-school was held on June 8, 1958, and Archbishop William Cousins dedicated the space a few weeks later on June 28. The six-grade school opened in September 1959, with the 7th and 8th grades to be added over the next two years. Sister Mary Robert (Rita) Little guided the school as principal through its first six years. With a bequest from Anna Nugent, the parish was able to acquire land and build a rectory in 1961. A convent for the Sisters of St. Agnes, who were teaching at the school and residing in the old Baptist church, was added to parish grounds in 1966.  Focus now turned to raising funds for the construction of the church. Groundbreaking was held in October 1977 and Father Fox celebrated the first Mass at Sacred Heart Church on July 22, 1978. Archbishop Rembert Weakland dedicated the structure on August 27. The nave was designed to seat 650. A side chapel housed the tabernacle, stations of the cross, and two reconciliation rooms. The chapel in the school was converted to a learning center and classroom space while the library became a conference room and the nurse’s room was converted into a faculty lounge. Father Fox, who had built Sacred Heart from the ground up retired in 1982 and died in 1984. Decreasing school enrollments and an inability to pay competitive salaries led to the closing of Sacred Heart School in 1987. The parish rented the classroom space to Fond du Lac Christian School until that school moved into its own building. In 2000, Sacred Heart became part of Holy Family parish during a city-wide merger of Catholic parishes. Masses are still held at the church on Thursdays and weekends and school facilities continue to be used for parish events.

Sacred Heart Parish was established on the west side of Fond du Lac in 1957 to accommodate the growing Catholic population after World War II. The Sisters of St. Agnes staffed the school, which opened in 1959.  The church shared space with the school until 1979, when a church building was completed.  Sacred Heart became part of the Holy Family Catholic Community in 2000.

Sacred Heart Catholic Parish

In 1902, the same year the village of North Fond du Lac was established, about 70 Catholic residents petitioned Archbishop Frederic Katzer to establish a parish in the community. Katzer sent Father John Collins in July of that year to organize and serve as the first resident pastor of Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary parish. In November 1903, a small frame church was dedicated at the corner of Garfield and Minnesota Streets. The church consisted of an altar, 20 pews, and a wood burning stove that ushers had to keep going during services. Unlike in the city of Fond du Lac, where ethnic divisions largely determined one’s parish membership, Presentation welcomed a mix of all ethnicities. Under Pastor Joseph Heller, the parish began work on a new brick church in 1915, with plans for a school as well. The Gothic-style church, built at a cost of $16,500, was dedicated on November 25, 1915, and included stained glass windows, a bell tower, and Stations of the Cross. Catechism classes were held in the church basement by Father Heller. Fundraising efforts for a school began in 1928. A four-room brick building was completed at the corner of Garfield and Minnesota where the original wood frame church had once stood — for a cost of $44,000. The Sisters of St. Agnes took charge of the school in 1929 and served there until 1990. An addition to the school was made in 1956 as enrollments grew, and a new convent for the sisters was completed in 1962 after the parish received a bequest from Mame Donovan. In 1991, the convent was converted into a senior living facility called Touchstone. The parish council voted to have Presentation School merge into the Fond du Lac Area Catholic Education System (FACES) and elementary students transferred to St. Patrick’s School while middle school students went to St. Mary’s. The empty school was leased by FACES to be used as their administrative headquarters. The church and parish hall underwent renovation projects in 1989, and again in the late 1990s including creating easier access to the church to parishioners with disabilities.

Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary Parish was established in North Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, in 1902.  A year later a small frame church was built.  A bigger brick church was constructed in 1915, and a school added in 1928.  The Congregation of Sisters of St. Agnes taught at Presentation from 1929 to 1990.  The parish became part of the Holy Family Catholic Community in 2000.

Congregation of Sisters of St. Agnes 150 Years in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin

St. Cecilia's Academy of Music

Introduction

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Backstory and Context

Sources

Additional Information