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Gesu Church
Gesu Church
43°2′18″N 87°55′38″W / 43.03833°N 87.92722°W / 43.03833; -87.92722
Location	1145 W. Wisconsin Ave. Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Country	United States
Denomination	Roman Catholic
History
Status	Parish church
Founded	1887 (Gesu Parish)
Founder(s)	Society of Jesus
Architecture
Functional status	Active
Heritage designation	NRHP
Designated	1986
Architect(s)	Koch, Henry C.; Et al.
Style	French Gothic, Gothic Revival
Completed	1894
Administration
Province	Jesuits Midwest Province
Archdiocese	Milwaukee
Parish	Gesu
Clergy
Assistant	Fr. Thomas Anderson, S.J.
Pastor(s)	Fr. Michael R. Simone, S.J.
Laity
Organist(s)	Dean Rosko
Gesu Church
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Area	less than one acre
MPS	West Side Area MRA
NRHP reference No.	86000108
Added to NRHP	January 16, 1986

Gesu Church is a Jesuit parish of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Milwaukee located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and was designated a Milwaukee Landmark in 1975.

Although the church is not affiliated with Marquette University, through a 1991 partnership, it ministers to the downtown campus of Marquette and surrounding neighborhood.

Description

Gesu, founded 176 years ago in 1849 as St. Gall's Parish, initially served English-speaking Irish Catholics from the near south and west sides of Milwaukee in what was the neighborhood of Tory Hill. As the parish grew, it built Holy Name Church in 1875, and by 1887 Jesuit officials combined the two parishes into one church. The Gesu name was chosen in 1893 to honor the Church of the Gesu in Rome, where St. Ignatius of Loyola, founder of the Society of Jesus, is buried.

The cornerstone was laid on May 23, 1893, with over 20,000 in attendance. A dedication ceremony followed on December 17, 1894, to mark the formal completion of the church.

Actor Pat O'Brien (1899–1983) served as an altar boy at Gesu while growing up near 13th and Clybourn streets. He attended Marquette Academy (a preparatory department that later became Marquette University High School) with Spencer Tracy (1900–1967), and later attended Marquette University.

Gesu Church holds daily Masses and attracts over 2,500 worshipers on weekends.

In late 1954, the church held the funeral for Miller Brewing Company president Fred Miller and his son, Fred, Jr., attended by thousands.

Architecture and fittings

Architect Henry C. Koch designed the French Gothic building, drawing inspiration from the Cathedral of Chartres in France. It features landmark spires of unequal height, a centered rose window, and stained glass windows. Harriet L. Cramer donated of the granite columns in the church's interior, said to be the only columns of this kind in the U.S.; they were placed there at a cost of US$20,000.

Gallery

• Gesu Church in autumn
• Gesu Church
• West tower
• 

See also

• List of Jesuit sites

References

1. "The Rev. Jim Flaherty appointed new Gesu pastor". Marquette Wire. Marquette University. October 12, 2015.
2. "National Register Information System – (#86000108)". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
3. Archived March 12, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
4. ^ "Gesu Church (Roman Catholic)". Wisconsin Historical Society. January 2012. Archived from the original on 2024-07-21. Retrieved 2019-10-03.
5. Robin D. Wenger; Carlen Hatala (1983). Intensive Survey Form: Gesu Church. State Historical Society of Wisconsin. Archived from the original on 2024-07-21. Retrieved 2019-10-03. With one photo.
6. "Crowd of 3,000 overflows church for Millers' funeral". Milwaukee Journal. December 20, 1954. p. 1. Archived from the original on January 15, 2016. Retrieved September 3, 2015.
7. Riordon, Robert J. (December 21, 1954). "Miller, son, buried in spirit of triumph". Milwaukee Sentinel. p. 1. Archived from the original on January 15, 2016. Retrieved September 3, 2015.
8. Logan, Mrs John A. (1912). The Part Taken by Women in American History. Perry-Nalle publishing Company. pp. 533–34. Archived from the original on 21 July 2024. Retrieved 13 June 2022 – via Wikisource. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.

External links

• Gesu Parish
• Historic Preservation Commission Study (PDF)
• Marquette University

v t e Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Milwaukee
Archbishops	John Henni Michael Heiss Frederick Katzer Sebastian Gebhard Messmer Samuel Stritch Moses E. Kiley Albert Gregory Meyer William Edward Cousins Rembert Weakland Timothy M. Dolan Jerome Edward Listecki Jeffrey S. Grob
Auxiliary bishops	Joseph Maria Koudelka Edward Kozłowski Roman Richard Atkielski Leo Joseph Brust Richard J. Sklba William P. Callahan Donald J. Hying Jeffrey Robert Haines James Thomas Schuerman
Churches	List List of churches in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Milwaukee Cathedral Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist Basilicas Basilica of St. Josaphat, Milwaukee Holy Hill National Shrine of Mary, Help of Christians, Hubertus Parishes St. John Vianney Church, Brookfield St. John the Baptist Church, Johnsburg Gesu Church, Milwaukee Holy Trinity Church, Milwaukee Old St. Mary's Church, Milwaukee St. Adalbert's Church, Milwaukee St. Hedwig's Church, Milwaukee St. Stanislaus Church, Milwaukee St. Patrick's Church, Milwaukee Saints Peter and Paul Church, Milwaukee St. Vincent de Paul Church, Milwaukee St. Mary's Church, Port Washington St. Patrick's Church, Racine St. Joseph's Church, Waukesha Former St. John of God Church, Kewaskum St. Patrick's Church, Adell St. Augustine Church, Trenton Chapel St. Joan of Arc Chapel, Milwaukee Shrine Archdiocesan Marian Shrine
Education	Higher education Alverno College Marian University Marquette University Mount Mary University Seminaries Saint Francis de Sales Seminary Sacred Heart School of Theology High schools Burlington Catholic Central High School, Burlington Catholic Memorial High School, Waukesha Cristo Rey Jesuit High School, Milwaukee Divine Savior Holy Angels High School, Milwaukee Dominican High School, Whitefish Bay Marquette University High School, Milwaukee Messmer High School, Milwaukee Pius XI High School, Milwaukee St. Anthony High School, Milwaukee St. Catherine's High School, Racine St. Joan Antida High School, Milwaukee St. Joseph Catholic Academy, Kenosha (previously as St. Joseph High School) St. Lawrence Seminary High School, Mt. Calvary St. Mary's Springs Academy, Fond du Lac St. Thomas More High School, Milwaukee Former Cardinal Stritch University St. John's School for the Deaf
Priests	Peter Abbelen Dismas Becker Fabian Bruskewitz Jan Romuald Byzewski Kilian Caspar Flasch Raphael Michael Fliss Augustus F. Gearhard Boleslaus Goral James Groppi Hyacinth (Jacek) Gulski Francis J. Haas Jerome J. Hastrich James Michael Harvey Wacław Kruszka David John Malloy Aloisius Joseph Muench William Patrick O'Connor Joseph Perry Augustine Francis Schinner Charles Asa Schleck Paul Francis Tanner
Cemeteries	Calvary Cemetery, Milwaukee Mount Olivet Cemetery, Milwaukee
Miscellany	Saint Dismas Prison Ministry
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