Friday, April 19, 2013

REVEREND JOHN SZUKALSKI


       In my last post, I talked about my 2nd great grandparents' parish of St. Casimir's in Newton,
Wisconsin.  Today I will talk about their eldest son, John Szukalski.  John was born to Paul Szukalski and Constance Budzbanowski Szukalski on 8 Mar 1863 in Swiekatowo, West Prussia (which would later become Poland).  When John was only a few years old, he immigrated to the US with his parents and brother Theophilus.  They settled on a farm in Newton, Wisconsin.

       As I mentioned in my last post, St. Casimir's had a parochial school and so it is very likely that John attended  that parish school for at least a part of his education.  According to his obituary (in the Milwaukee Journal on Wednesday, April 7, 1915, page 2), he attended St. Francis seminary and was ordained as a priest by Archbishop Katzer on 24 Jun 1888.  It was very fitting that Fr. John should say his first Mass at his hometown parish of St. Casimir's.  Fr. Szukalski was then assigned to St. Michael's Church in Beaver Dam, Wisconsin as his first parish assignment.  He stayed there for 5 years.



       Reverend John Szukalski's next assignment was to oversee the building of the new parish of Saints Cyril and Methodius Church in Milwaukee.  He was pastor there for over twenty years until his death at the age of 53 on 7 April 1915.  Reverend Szukalski was buried at Saint Adalbert's Cemetery in Milwaukee on 13 Apr 1915.

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