MINERAL POINT — A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at SS. Mary and Paul Catholic Church, 224 Davis St., Mineral Point, on Monday, Jan. 4, 2016, at 11 a.m. for Msgr. Monte Eugene Robinson, 66, who died on Monday, Dec. 28, 2015.
Bishop Robert C. Morlino will be the celebrant of the Mass with Fr. Bart Timmerman as homilist. A visitation at SS. Mary and Paul Catholic Church will be held on Sunday, Jan. 3, from 2 to 5 p.m. with a Scripture Service to follow at 5 p.m. with Fr. James Leeser, parochial administrator of SS. Mary and Paul Parish, Mineral Point, and St. Philomena Parish, Belmont, presiding.
A visitation will also be held at the church on Monday morning, Jan. 4, from 9 a.m. until the start of the Mass. The Rite of Committal will take place at St. Philomena Parish Cemetery, Belmont, with Msgr. James Gunn presiding, immediately following the Mass of Christian Burial, at approximately 1 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 4. A funeral luncheon will take place at Belmont Convention Center, 102 W. Mound View Ave., Belmont, at approximately 1:30 p.m.
Monsignor Robinson died at his church rectory at St. Philomena Parish in Belmont. He was born on May 3, 1949, in Hillsboro, Wis., and is predeceased by his parents, George and Hazel (Wood) Robinson, and his brother, David Robinson. He is survived by his brother, Danny Robinson, of Beloit, and his sister, Sharon (Greg) Cardone, of Hobart, Wis.
After attending Hillsboro Public Elementary School, Monsignor Robinson graduated from Beloit Catholic High School. He then attended Holy Name Seminary, Madison, and subsequently received a Bachelor of Philosophy degree and a Master’s of Divinity (theology) degree from St. Francis de Sales Seminary in St. Francis, Wis.
He was ordained a priest by Bishop Cletus F. O’Donnell on May 23, 1975, at St. Raphael Cathedral, Madison. He subsequently attended a sabbatical program at the Pontifical North American College in Rome in 2002.
Monsignor Robinson served the Diocese of Madison as associate pastor at St. William Parish, Janesville; St. Rose of Lima Parish, Cuba City; and St. John the Baptist Parish, Waunakee. He served as pastor at St. Mary Parish, Bloomington, with the Mission of St. John Parish, Patch Grove; St. Philomena Parish, Belmont, with the Missions of St. Michael Parish, Calamine, and Immaculate Conception Parish, Truman; and most recently at SS. Mary and Paul Parish, Mineral Point, and St. Philomena Parish, Belmont.
He also served as chaplain to the Knights of Columbus Council 11884 from October 2000 to June 2001 and served as the Faithful Friar of Knights of Columbus Fourth Degree, Monsignor Francis X. Gray Assembly 2424, from May 2002 to June 30 2003. He was the founding member of the Tri-County Fourth Degree Knights of Columbus Assembly, and he started the Knights of Columbus in Belmont (Third Degree).
He was also a member of the Secular Order of Franciscans (former Third Order of St. Francis) and a member of the Junior Classical League for the study and preservation of the Latin language.
Monsignor Robinson received papal honors through Investiture as a Chaplain of His Holiness (Monsignor) on June 8, 2015.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to SS. Mary and Paul and St. Philomena Catholic Parishes.