Bishop O’Connor chooses leaders to help run new Diocese of Madison

Fourth in a series on the 75th anniversary of the Diocese of Madison

The Diocese of Madison grew rapidly after its founding in 1946.

To help Bishop William P. O’Connor run the new diocese, Msgr. Jerome J. Hastrich was named vicar general, chancellor, and director of the Confraternity of Christian Doctrine. Bishop Hastrich became auxiliary bishop of the diocese in 1963.

In 1969, he was named the bishop of Gallup, N.M.

Fr. George O. Wirz served as secretary to the bishop. He later became a monsignor and then was named auxiliary bishop of the Diocese of Madison in 1978.

Fr. Joseph P. Higgins (later Msgr.), succeeded Bishop Hastrich as chancellor. Father Wirz continued as the bishop’s secretary, and Don Klink was named office manager and later comptroller of the diocese.

Diocesan-based fundraising

One of the first efforts in the new diocese was to undertake diocesan-based fundraising.

In a series of radio talks, Bishop O’Connor made appeals for the Diocesan Foundation Fund and Catholic Charities, which included the Catholic Welfare Bureau.

The services of the bureau were extended with offices in Beloit, Madison, and Platteville, with the goal of providing foster homes for children.

Matrimonial Tribunal

The diocesan Matrimonial Tribunal was also established in 1946.

The officials of the tribunal (chief judge) were Msgr. Theodore F. Thome. The vice officials were Frs. Ferdinand A. Mack (later Msgr.) and Austin J. Henry. The secretary was Fr. Raymond E. Klaas (later Msgr.).

In the first 10 years of the diocese, the tribunal heard 1,058 marriage cases. “The immense amount of work involved in even a single case demands the assistance and talents of a large staff,” it was said in a report on the Tribunal in the Catholic Herald Citizen.

St. Raphael’s Society

In 1947, the St. Raphael’s Society was organized by the diocesan priests to care for sick and aged priests. It was set up along the lines of a mutual fraternal insurance society, with each priest member paying annual dues.

Don Klink recalls working for diocese in early years

Don Klink was hired as office manager in the chancery of the Diocese of Madison in 1961 under Bishop William P. O’Connor.

Klink eventually became the comptroller of the diocese and retired in 1999 after over 38 years serving in the diocesan office.

A native of Watertown, Klink was a former seminarian of the diocese.

His two brothers, Fr. Del Klink and Fr. Ken Klink, were ordained as priests. Don was already acquainted with two priests working in the chancery: Fr. (later Msgr.) Joseph P. Higgins, who was his classmate in the seminary, and Fr. George O. Wirz (later Bishop), who was ahead of them in the seminary.

As a former professor at the seminary in Milwaukee, Bishop O’Connor was known to the Klink brothers. In an interview, Don Klink said that he believes Bishop O’Connor was appointed to head the new Diocese of Madison as a “unifier” to unite the clergy of the former dioceses of Milwaukee and La Crosse. “He had taught most of the priests at St. Francis Seminary,” Klink noted.

Klink was the only layperson working in the chancery in the early days. He said Bishop O’Connor was “very personable.” He added, “He would frequently come and stand by my desk to talk with me.”

He said Bishop O’Connor invited Don’s wife, Lynn, and their two children to the bishop’s home regularly. “He was very friendly. He wanted to see people, including kids.”

After Bishop O’Connor’s retirement in 1967, Klink worked with Bishop Cletus F. O’Donnell and with his successor, Bishop William H. Bullock. Although each bishop had different styles of leadership, Klink enjoyed working with all of them, he said.

Klink and his wife Lynn have been married for 57 years and are members of St. Maria Goretti Parish in Madison. They have two grandchildren.

Sources: Building Our Future in Faith: Commemorative History of the Catholic Diocese of Madison (1996); archives of the Catholic Herald newspaper.

Mary C. Uhler served on the staff of the Catholic Herald-Diocese of Madison for almost 47 years, the last 34 years as editor. She retired in July of 2020.