Samuel Mazzuchelli

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Samuel Charles Mazzuchelli, OP (November 4, 1806 – February 23, 1864) was a pioneer Italian Dominican friar and Catholic missionary priest who helped bring the Church to the Iowa-Illinois-Wisconsin tri-state area. He founded several parishes in the area and was the architect for several parish buildings. Additionally, Mazzuchelli established several schools throughout the region, some of which have developed into local Catholic colleges. As part of this effort, he founded the Sinsinawa Dominican Sisters.

Life

Early life

He was born Carlo Gaetano Samuele Mazzuchelli on November 4, 1806, in Milan—then under French control, the 16th of 17 children of a prominent family. At the age of 17, he entered the Dominican Order, which was still recovering from the devastation wrought on the Catholic Church institutions in Italy under the French Revolutionary Army.<ref>"Father Samuel Mazzuchelli, OP", Dominican Sisters of Sinsinawa</ref> After his period of novitiate, when he changed his name to Friar Samuel, he went to Rome to prepare for ordination. He was ordained a subdeacon in 1827 in the Lateran Basilica, around which time he was recruited to serve in new Diocese of Cincinnati, still missionary territory for the Church.

After spending some time in France to perfect his French, in 1828, Mazzuchelli set out for the United States, where he arrived in Cincinnati and was welcomed by the bishop, fellow Dominican friar, Edward Fenwick.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

Missionary priest

After obtaining a dispensation from the Holy See due to his being underage, Mazzuchelli was ordained a priest by Fenwick on September 5, 1830.<ref name="CathHerald">Template:Cite news</ref> Shortly after that, he was sent to serve at Sainte Anne Church on Mackinac Island and later in northern Wisconsin, After about five years there, Mazzuchelli arrived in the Dubuque area. During his time, he faced a number of challenges, such as hostility from other Christian denominations.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

While in what would later become Dubuque, Iowa, he reorganized the parish and named it Saint Raphael, which later became the Cathedral parish when the Dubuque Diocese was formed in 1837. He assisted Bishop Mathias Loras during the first few years after the founding of the diocese. He worked extensively in what would eventually become the Diocese of Madison, Wisconsin. There he founded over 30 parishes and designed and built over 20 church buildings and several civic buildings.<ref name="CathHerald"/> Three of those parishes were named after the three Archangels: Saint Raphael's in Dubuque, St. Michael's in Galena, Illinois, and Saint Gabriel's in Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin. In 1846, he founded Sinsinawa Mound College.

In May 1843 Mazzuchelli accompanied Bishop Loras to the Provincial Council of Bishops in Baltimore. After the sessions ended, he was advised to return to Italy to restore his weakened health. He sailed to Europe, going home to Milan and his welcoming family after an absence of 22 years.<ref>McGreal, Mary Nona. "Samuel Mazzuchelli", The Biographical Dictionary of Iowa</ref> While there he recruited missionaries, raised funds, and wrote a memoir full of details of frontier life.

Upon his return, he founded the Sinsinawa Dominican Sisters in 1847. In 1848, he founded St. Clara Female Academy (now Dominican University), a frontier school for young women, which he entrusted to the Dominican Sisters.<ref>"Early Education in Wisconsin", Report and Collections of the State Historical Society of Wisconsin..., Volume 5, p. 349</ref>

Many remembered Mazzuchelli as a kind and gentlemanly priest. He was able to break down the cultural barriers that existed and appeal to many different ethnic groups. The Irish he ministered to called him "Father Matthew Kelly."<ref>"Term: Father Samuel Mazzuchelli" Dictionary of Wisconsin History</ref> He died of a severe case of pneumonia, on February 23, 1864, after attending a sick call.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Mazzuchelli was buried at St. Patrick's Cemetery in Benton.<ref name=Lafayette/>

Veneration

Fr. Mazzuchelli's grave in Benton, Wisconsin

The cause for elevating him to Sainthood started in 1964 when William Patrick O'Connor, the first Bishop of Madison, established a Diocesan Historical Commission to determine if documents available were sufficient for the Church to proceed with initial steps required in the process of beatification. The process progressed and was accepted by the Holy See for further investigation.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In 1993, Pope John Paul II declared Mazzuchelli Venerable.<ref name=Lafayette/>

In August 2008, an official inquiry into a presumed miracle performed through the intercession of Mazzuchelli was completed in the Diocese of Madison. Robert Uselmann, a resident of Monona, Wisconsin, had gone to Sinsinawa Mound with his family in 2001 to pray for Mazzuchelli's intercession in curing him of cancer. While there, he prayed with the Sisters, using Mazzuchelli's penance chain. Uselmann later discovered that a cancerous tumor had disappeared from his lung.<ref name="CathHerald"/>

Robert C. Morlino, Bishop of the Diocese of Madison, opened a diocesan tribunal at the Sinsinawa Dominican Sisters' request, which concluded its investigation and sent the results to Rome.

Legacy

In 2006 a new middle school built by the Holy Family Catholic School System in Dubuque was named after Mazzuchelli. The school opened for the 2006–2007 academic year.<ref>Middle School Named in Honor of Fr. Mazzuchelli Template:Webarchive Sinsinawa Dominican Sisters website</ref>

Parishes founded by Fr. Mazzuchelli

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This list is incomplete. You can help by adding to it.

Parish	Location	Year	Ecclesiastical territory	Photo
St. John the Evangelist Church	Green Bay, Wisconsin	1831<ref>"Who was the Venerable Samuel Mazzuchelli?", Roman Catholic Diocese of Madison</ref>	Diocese of Green Bay
St. Michael's Church	Galena, Illinois	1832	Diocese of Rockford	{{safesubst:#invoke:Check for unknown parameters\|check\|unknown=\|preview=Page using Template:Center with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"\|ignoreblank=y\| 1 \| style }}
St. Raphael's Cathedral	Dubuque, Iowa	1833, 1835<ref name=Gallagher>Template:Cite book</ref>	Archdiocese of Dubuque	{{safesubst:#invoke:Check for unknown parameters\|check\|unknown=\|preview=Page using Template:Center with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"\|ignoreblank=y\| 1 \| style }}
St. Matthews Church	Shullsburg, Wisconsin	1835	Diocese of Madison	{{safesubst:#invoke:Check for unknown parameters\|check\|unknown=\|preview=Page using Template:Center with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"\|ignoreblank=y\| 1 \| style }}
St. Anthony's Church	Davenport, Iowa	1837<ref name=Schmidt>Template:Cite book</ref>	Diocese of Davenport	{{safesubst:#invoke:Check for unknown parameters\|check\|unknown=\|preview=Page using Template:Center with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"\|ignoreblank=y\| 1 \| style }}
St. Paul's Church	Burlington, Iowa	1839Template:Sfn	Diocese of Davenport	{{safesubst:#invoke:Check for unknown parameters\|check\|unknown=\|preview=Page using Template:Center with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"\|ignoreblank=y\| 1 \| style }}
St. Patrick's Church	Garryowen, Iowa	1840<ref name=studies>Template:Cite journal</ref>	Archdiocese of Dubuque	{{safesubst:#invoke:Check for unknown parameters\|check\|unknown=\|preview=Page using Template:Center with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"\|ignoreblank=y\| 1 \| style }}
St. Mary's Church	Iowa City, Iowa	1840Template:Sfn	Diocese of Davenport	{{safesubst:#invoke:Check for unknown parameters\|check\|unknown=\|preview=Page using Template:Center with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"\|ignoreblank=y\| 1 \| style }}
St. Mathias Church	Muscatine, Iowa	1842Template:Sfn	Diocese of Davenport	Church built in Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin, floated down the Mississippi River to Muscatine.
St. Augustine Church	New Diggings, Wisconsin	1844	Diocese of Madison	{{safesubst:#invoke:Check for unknown parameters\|check\|unknown=\|preview=Page using Template:Center with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"\|ignoreblank=y\| 1 \| style }}
St. Patrick's Church	Benton, Wisconsin	1852<ref name=Lafayette>"St. Patrick's Rectory and Father Mazzuchelli's Gravesite & Museum", Lafayette County</ref>	Diocese of Madison	{{safesubst:#invoke:Check for unknown parameters\|check\|unknown=\|preview=Page using Template:Center with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"\|ignoreblank=y\| 1 \| style }}