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OUR LADY OF MEMORIAL CHAPEL UPDATE

The Our Lady of Memorial Chapel is on schedule to open
(1)
January 2018. Please continue to pray for the safety of the
designers, contractors and construction workers who are
making this dream a reality.
(1) Internal shot of the front of the Chapel. The Altars have
been moved from the existing Chapel; (2) & (3) The Our Lady
of Memorial and Moses statues were generously donated by
The Gruenke Foundation for the Arts with assistance from
Conrad Schmitt Studios and alumni Heidi Gruenke Emery ‘83
and B. Gunar Gruenke ‘86; (4) External view of Chapel with
the roof, windows, statue, dedication wall installed.
(2) (3)
(4)

BRIDGING A SPIRITUAL GAP

Fr. John Gibson, Chaplain

For the past decade, Fr. Paul Hartmann ’84 filled Appointed by Archbishop Jerome Listecki, Fr.
the role of Catholic Memorial’s chaplain. When he John also teaches two theology classes and
began a new dual-pastoral assignment last maintains office hours. He plays a vital role in the
summer at St. Monica Parish in Whitefish Bay and retreat opportunities as well.
St. Eugene Congregation in Fox Point, he left a
spiritual gap that needed to be bridged. “At Catholic Memorial, I hope to be a relatable
presence to our students so they can feel
Fr. John Gibson is no stranger to CMH. As a comfortable talking about God and the things that
seminarian, his first involvement with CMH came are going on in their lives,” he says.
as chaplain for the boys soccer team, beginning
several years ago. Fr. John, who also serves as the Fr. John, 31, attended Holy Family Middle School
associate pastor of St. Dominic Parish in Brookfield, in Whitefish Bay and spent his freshman year at
is CMH’s new part-time chaplain. In a new model Marquette University High School before
for the school, Fr. John splits his time between the graduating from a public high school. He studied
high school and the Parish, and his primary mechanical engineering at UW-Milwaukee before
responsibility at CMH is administering sacraments significantly shifting gears and joining the seminary
to students on a regular basis. at Loyola University in Chicago. He was ordained
to the priesthood in 2014 after completing
Fr. Paul placed renewed emphasis on CMH’s graduate studies at the Pontifical Gregorian
Catholic identity by offering students consistent University in Rome.
opportunities to attend Mass and receive
reconciliation. “Those are certainly things that As critical as his role is to CMH, Fr. John admits he
need to be offered, and the students regularly can’t do it alone. “Whatever we do at Catholic
make use of those opportunities,” Fr. John says. Memorial needs to be reinforced by what’s going
“If we don’t offer them, students aren’t going to on at home,” he says. “As much as we are
recognize their importance. The deeper students responsible for our students’ minds and souls, if it
go, the deeper they appreciate what’s going on conflicts with something going on at home, our
with the sacraments.” hands are tied. It needs to be a team effort.”

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