In 1995, many of us in the Diocese of Madison were very sad when Holy Name Seminary closed its doors.
The seminary had been a focal point for the diocese, with the building housing seminarians and many diocesan events. It was even the site of a pre-season training camp for the University of Wisconsin Badger football team for many years.
The seminary’s spire towered over the west side of Madison, a sign of the Church for all to see and hear as the seminary’s bells pealed every 15 minutes.
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| Marc Ott, lead architect for Gorman & Company, displays some of the items that will be part of the History Lounge in Holy Name Heights, the former Holy Name Seminary in Madison (Catholic Herald photo/Kevin Wondrash). |
MADISON — “We really want to tell the entire story of what it was like to leave home and come to a seminary school and live every day with hundreds of other young men.”
In addition to being the lead architect on the project to repurpose the Bishop O’Connor Center (BOC) in Madison — the former Holy Name Seminary — Marc Ott from Gorman & Company has taken on a sentimental role.
Ott, member of St. Maria Goretti Parish in Madison, along with his wife and children who attend school there, is heading up the efforts to make part of the Holy Name Heights building a museum.
The so-called “History Lounge,” along with other parts of the building, will tell the stories of more than three decades of students who learned and lived within its walls.
The project has sentimental meaning for Ott who is a 1992 graduate of New Glarus High School and used to compete at Holy Name in football and wrestling.
Ott said it’s a “very special connection” and a “lot of fun” to work on the project there.
Holy Name opened in 1963 and closed in 1995. The building was then renovated and re-opened in 1998 as the Bishop O’Connor Catholic Pastoral Center.
Since then, it has been serving as the home of diocesan offices and other organizations such as Catholic Charities, the Catholic Herald, Relevant Radio, and Catholic Mutual Group.
Within the last few years, studies were done to determine how to make better use of the building.
MADISON — Imagine living in a unique apartment home in a beautiful historic building located on Madison’s west side, close to stores, restaurants, and golf courses.
As an added benefit for Catholics, this building offers weekday daily Masses and Eucharistic Adoration in a chapel featuring a large mosaic of Christ and stained glass windows, including one of Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta.
It’s time to celebrate both continuity and new beginnings, said Bishop Robert C. Morlino as he presided at a Mass and groundbreaking ceremonies for the redevelopment of the Bishop O’Connor Catholic Pastoral Center (BOC) on May 1.
MADISON — All interested persons are invited to a Groundbreaking Ceremony to be held at the Bishop O’Connor Catholic Pastoral Center to celebrate the commencement of construction for the redevelopment project at the center.
Gorman & Company and the Diocese of Madison closed the financing for this project at the end of March and construction has begun.
The groundbreaking ceremony will be held on Friday, May 1. The program will start with Bishop Robert C. Morlino celebrating the daily 12 noon Mass in the O’Connor Center chapel.
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| The Bishop O’Connor Catholic Pastoral Center, Madison, formerly Holy Name Seminary, will include a housing community while the diocesan offices will remain in the building. (Catholic Herald file photo) |
MADISON — Bishop Robert C. Morlino announced “news of great joy” at a diocesan staff meeting on June 6: the Diocese of Madison would have its diocesan offices stay at the Bishop O’Connor Catholic Pastoral Center (BOC) along with a housing community being developed there.
Bishop Morlino expressed his gratitude to Gorman & Company for their “very, very hard work” in putting together a plan for the BOC. “I cannot begin to tell you how happy I am,” said Bishop Morlino.
Msgr. Mike Burke, pastor of St. Maria Goretti Parish in Madison and a member of the Diocesan Finance Council, said about the decision, “Wow! This is wonderful news. I think the reaction to this plan will be overwhelmingly positive.”
Monsignor Burke lived at Holy Name Seminary, the former BOC, for 19 years. He served as the seminary rector for 13 years. He considers the building “sacred space,” pointing out that the chapel is the central point of the building. “People were hoping and praying that the chapel could be saved,” he said.
“I couldn’t be more happy for the seminary alumni, parents, faculty, benefactors, and many priests who served here that we are able to keep the building, chapel, and grounds intact. There are so many people who identify with this building, Catholics and non-Catholics,” he said.
The spire of the center dominates the west side of Madison, and the regular ringing of the bells can be heard from miles away.
Monsignor Burke said he “can’t thank Gary Gorman enough” for everything he did to save the building. “It’s a great day for our diocese” as we approach the feast of Pentecost on June 8, he said.
