Upcoming Event!: Doors Open Milwaukee Shares 10+ Catholic Sites to the Public, September 17 & 18

Photos by Colter J. Sikora, except 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8, shared by Historic Milwaukee, Inc..

It's that time of the year again...time for Doors Open Milwaukee! I'm cramming on other projects right now, along with making my plans to attend both days of Doors Open. To be brief, below is a list of the eleven Catholic sites that I am aware will be open beyond regular Mass times this weekend. The links will take you to an information page on each site, including the hours that each of them will be open this weekend.

1.  Basilica of St. Josaphat

2.  Calvary Cemetery Chapel

3.  Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist

4.  Catholic Financial Life (where they have a chapel AND a rooftop pool!)

5.  Christ King Catholic Parish

6.  St. Benedict the Moor Church

7.  St. Francis of Assisi Church

8.  St. George Melkite Church

9.  St. Joan of Arc Chapel (Marquette University)

10. St. Joseph Chapel

11. St. Stanislaus Roman Catholic Church

Upcoming Event!: Doors Open to 13 Catholic Milwaukee Sites on September 19 and 20

For the fifth year running, Doors Open Milwaukee will be opening doors all over the great City (and County) of Milwaukee this weekend, September 19th and 20th. By my count, 13 Catholic sites will be open for special guided or self-guided tours this weekend along with 164 other awesome sites. While you can get a short preview here on the blog, I highly suggest checking out Doors Open Milwaukee for more details.

Doors Open Milwaukee 2015 - Catholic Sites

1. Basilica of St. Josaphat, open Saturday for limited hours and Sunday 1 - 5 pm.

2. Calvary Cemetery Chapel, open Saturday and Sunday 10 am - 5 pm.

3. Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist, open Sunday 12 noon - 5 pm.

4. Christ King Catholic Parish, open Sunday 12 noon - 5 pm.

5. Marian Center for Nonprofits (formerly St. Mary’s Academy), open Saturday 10 am - 4 pm and Sunday 12 noon - 5 pm.

6. Marquette University / St. Joan of Arc Chapel, open Saturday and Sunday 10 am - 5 pm.

7. Marquette University Law School / Ray and Kay Eckstein Hall, open Saturday 11 am - 4 pm and Sunday 11 am - 3 pm.

8. Sisters of St. Francis of Assisi, open Saturday 10 am - 4 pm and Sunday 12 noon - 3 pm.

9. St. Benedict the Moor Church, open Saturday 10 am - 4 pm.

10. St. Casimir Church / Our Lady of Divine Providence Parish, open Sunday 11:30 am - 4 pm (concert at 4 pm).

11. St. Joseph Academy, open Saturday and Sunday 10 am - 5 pm.

12. St. Joseph Chapel, open Saturday 10 am - 4 pm.

13. St. Stanislaus Roman Catholic Church, open Sunday 1 pm - 5 pm.

Now go visit Milwaukee this weekend!

Roamin' Catholic Churches Talks That Milwaukee Talk

A quick post while I get ready to release another multi-part series of church photos: Last month I was asked to write about Doors Open Milwaukee (which I discuss on this blog here and here) for OnMilwaukee.com, an online newspaper that is all about those happening things in the Cream City. The article came out on April 30th.

Over roughly 1,800 words, I explain the importance of residential neighborhoods and the special places inside of them, including churches. Specifically I referenced St. Stanislaus Catholic Church on Milwaukee's south side and St. Casimir Catholic Church (pictured above) in the north side's Riverwest neighborhood. St. Casimir's along with being a wonderful Gothic Revival church building was also likely the parish of choice for my Polish great-grandparents who spent at least a little time living in the second house from the left in the photo above.

Many thanks to my dear friend and Doors Open Milwaukee Program Manager Amy Grau for giving me the opportunity to chime in with my thoughts of Doors Open and Bobby Tanzilo, editor at OnMilwaukee.com for his help in getting the article online!

Oh my goodness! Oh my goodness! While looking Bobby's bio at OnMilwaukee.com for this blog post, I came across an article that he released on April 28th on "Mad Man" Michaels, a Milwaukee disc jockey best known for his handful of Polish Christmas story records. I've known of these records since my mother introduced the stories to me in the late 90s. Bobby's article includes all of the recordings of the "Bard of Mitchell Street," who I think I have heard was actually Irish. Give them a listen (I have nothing to say about the copyright rules involved here)!

St. Casimir Catholic Church - Our Lady of Divine Providence Parish

2600 N. Bremen St., Milwaukee, WI 53212

http://ourladyofdivineprovidence.weconnect.com/