MADISON — An outpouring of support from the local community, parishes, and the diocese has given the Catholic Multicultural Center (CMC) new life and a chance to serve the poor and those in need in the Madison area after only a two-month closure.
“Jubilation” was M. Goddard-Pezêt’s response to the news. She and 12 to 14 others had been regulars at the daily Mass at the center, but with its closing many had gone to their own parishes, breaking up the closeness of their group. The center’s proximity to her house and the difficulty of walking from the bus to her parish church, especially during winter, had made the CMC an ideal location for her. Its re-opening has given a ray of hope that Mass may begin again there.
“I’m very happy, as there are a lot of people who need this,” Goddard-Pezêt said. “And some personally depend on this for their livelihoods.”
Goddard-Pezêt was one of the more than 200 people who came to the CMC’s open house July 12 to learn more about its work, reconnect with other center volunteers and regulars, and to meet people who are influenced by its services. Both Bishop George O. Wirz, retired auxiliary bishop, and Bishop William H. Bullock, bishop emeritus, who had the center built at its current location in 2002, were able to attend the open house.
