St. Patrick Church marked the 160th anniversary of the death of Venerable Fr. Samuel Mazzuchelli, OP, with a memorial Mass on February 25.
The missionary priest, who built the church and established dozens of other parishes in the region, died of pneumonia on February 23, 1864. He is buried in St. Patrick Cemetery.
Fr. Greg Ihm, parochial administrator of Pastorate 2 (which includes St. Patrick), celebrated the Mass. In attendance were faithful from the surrounding area, Knights of Columbus, and several Sisters of the congregation that Father Mazzuchelli founded, the Sinsinawa Dominicans, who also provided music for the Mass.
‘A mission worth giving your life for’
Father Ihm opened his homily with remarks on Father Mazzuchelli’s early life and calling in light of the day’s Gospel account of the Transfiguration.
“I can’t help but think that Father Samuel must have had at least one if not many experiences of encountering the glory of the Lord,” said Father Ihm. “For anybody to really set off on some type of mission, there has to be some sense that it is a worthy mission, one worth giving your life for.”
Father Ihm recalled how Father Mazzuchelli set out for America at “a very young, eager age,” before he was a priest, at a time when much of the country was still undeveloped. “You can imagine that there was a fire burning in Father Samuel’s heart as he went forth to preach the Gospel into a vast territory,” said Father Ihm.
Ministry of healing
Father Ihm continued his homily with an exploration of woundedness and healing, the theme he had chosen for his Lenten preaching. He pointed out that, as a priest, Father Mazzuchelli had the unique privilege of bringing healing to the people he served.
“I have to think that Father Samuel brought forth a great deal of healing from the many graces of which he had received,” said Father Ihm. “By the way in which he preached, by the fact that he died from going to anoint someone, the many ways in which he worked with the poor, the downcast…so many groups of people that he served and ministered to, bringing the healing and the love of Jesus Christ.”
During the Prayers of the Faithful, Father Ihm prayed for the beatification of Father Mazzuchelli, “that the Lord will continue to pour out graces and blessings through his intercession.”
At the end of the Mass, Father Ihm thanked those gathered for coming and expressed his hope to see a full church at the next memorial Mass on Sunday, Aug. 25. “Invite everybody to come; it would be great to pack this place!” he said.
About Father Mazzuchelli
Fr. Samuel Mazzuchelli, OP, was born in Milan, Italy, in 1806 and entered the Dominican Order at age 17.
He came to America in 1828 to serve in the remote stretches of the Midwest. He was ordained in Cincinnati in 1830, and his first assignment was in Mackinac Island, Mich.
After five years there, he moved westward to the Mississippi River Valley of Wisconsin, Illinois, and Iowa. There he established dozens of parish communities, built several churches, and founded the Sinsinawa Dominican Sisters. He was beloved by Catholics and non-Catholics alike for his kind and generous spirit, clear and zealous preaching, and advocacy on behalf of the poor and oppressed.
He died in 1864 and was declared a Venerable of the Church in 1993.
Parishes in the Diocese of Madison that Father Mazzuchelli founded include those in Potosi, Hazel Green, Shullsburg, Cuba City, and Benton. St. Patrick in Benton is the only parish in the diocese that still retains the priest’s original building. His rectory in Benton, his home for the last 15 years of his life, is open for tours in the summer months, and his grave can be visited year-round.