National Shrine of St. Joseph

History of the Shrine

French Canadian Catholics came to the De Pere area in the mid 19th century to work in the lumber mills.  A parish, named in honor of St. Joseph, was established to serve them.  In 1888, Father Joseph Durin, a Missionary of the Sacred Heart, became the second pastor.  He brought with him a strong personal devotion to St. Joseph.

With the approval of Green Bay's diocesan Bishop Katzer, Father Durin formed an Association of St. Joseph in 1888.  He fostered devotion to St. Joseph in his parish and the diocese.  For this purpose he asked Bishop Katzer to conduct a solemn blessing to the statue of St. Joseph.  He then initiated a Perpetual Novena to St. Joseph which would be conducted every Wednesday of the year.

An electric storm caused the old church to burn down in 1889.  With the assistance of Mr. Dan Kidney, owner of a boat factory on the Fox River, next to the parish property, Father Durin designed a new and unique church having the architectural shape of the inverted hull of a ship.  The new church was completed in 1890 and stands there today on the St. Norbert College campus.

Solemn Crowning of the Statue of St. Joseph

Fr. Durin’s deep devotion to St. Joseph also led him to spearhead the campaign for official permission from Rome to crown the statue of St. Joseph and declare it a National Shrine.  Over thirty bishops and thousands of lay people joined Fr. Durin in support of this initiative.  He made a personal visit to the Vatican taking the petitions.  His request was granted and in 1892 the statue was recognized by Pope Leo XIII as the National Shrine of St. Joseph.

Under the direction of Bishop Messmer of Green Bay, the crowns were blessed (a flat or mural crown for Joseph and an imperial crown for Jesus), and the coronation of the statue took place. In fact the Bishop’s first public appearance as Bishop of Green Bay was as officiating prelate at this crowning ceremony.

Father Durin's promotion of devotion to St. Joseph continued to spread throughout the United States.

Father Durin leaves

Father Durin's personal promotion of his work was to last only three more years.  He resigned in December 1895 and died in Chicago a year later.  Monsignor Joseph Fox, later to become a Bishop of Green Bay, was named director of the Shrine. At the same time the diocese began a search for someone to take over the future operation of the Shrine.  The search was to end in 1898 with the coming of the Norbertine Fathers.

Norbertines assume responsibility for the Shrine

The National Shrine of St Joseph has been under the directorship of the Norbertine Order of St. Norbert Abbey since 1898.

This date coincides with the founding of St. Norbert Priory, now St. Norbert Abbey, in De Pere, Wisconsin, September 28, 1898 by Norbertines who had come from Berne Abbey in Holland in 1893 to do missionary work and start an educational institution. 

Abbot Pennings and St. Joseph

The arrival of Father Pennings and his Norbertine companions in De Pere was the beginning of a lasting bond between the Shrine of St. Joseph and the Norbertine Order.  Father Pennings, later to become Abbot Pennings, was the moving force that cemented this kinship.  As founder of the first permanent establishment of the Norbertines in the United States he constantly nourished his devotion to St. Joseph along with and undying zeal for St. Norbert and the purposes of his Order.

Linked with this loyalty to his Order, Abbot Pennings discovered additional spiritual up-building in the assistance he sought through St. Joseph.  The intercessory power of St. Joseph always inspired him.  Close friends and his own associates in the Order remember his frequent expressions:

"Nothing I have received or accomplished in life has come to me without St. Joseph's help."

 "Yes, I pray to God directly, to the Lord and to St. Norbert as my intercessor, but St. Joseph is my choice in times of great need".

Bernard H. Pennings was born in Gemert, Holland, June 9, 1861.  In 1870 St. Joseph was declared "Patron of the Universal Church" by Pope Pius IX.  Perhaps youthful impressions made their inroads on this impressionable boy when devotion to St. Joseph was reaching a high level of acceptance in the Church.  The fact remains that this devout and zealous man acquired and retained his devotion to St. Joseph to his dying day, March 17, 1955.  He was ninety-three years of age, still alert in mind and full of wit on his deathbed as he frequently whispered, "Jesus, Mary, Joseph".

With the completion of the new St. Norbert Abbey in 1959, the Crowned Statue of St. Joseph and the weekly Perpetual Novena were transferred to the lower level of the Abbey Church.  The remains of Abbot Pennings are buried in the crypt of the Abbey Church with some of his memorabilia on display.  The chapel, which adjoins the crypt, contains the National Shrine of St. Joseph.

The Perpetual Novena

The Perpetual Novena in honor of St. Joseph, begun in 1888, continues to be celebrated every Wednesday at 3:15 p.m. together with the Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament and Benediction in the Shrine of St. Joseph.