La Crosse Diocese wraps up 150th birthday Sunday

La Crosse area Catholics have been celebrating a big anniversary all year, marking 150 years since the local diocese was founded.

Catholic churches throughout western Wisconsin have been organized in a diocese since shortly after the Civil War.

That anniversary comes to a close Sunday with a special mass at St. Joseph the Workman Cathedral, followed by a reception at the La Crosse Center.

Brian Logue is the chief of staff for Bishop William Callahan, who has gone throughout the large diocese all year to help local churches celebrate.

“So we’ve had an opportunity to go all over the diocese celebrating and now we’re wrapping up here at La Crosse, the cathedral, which is, of course, the mother church of the diocese,” Logue said.

Logue said the church looks for ways to serve its members for the next 150 years.

“Constantly adapting to the reality of our culture and the society that we live in,” he said. “So, the idea is how do we embrace where we’ve been and look forward to carrying that gospel forward?”

A live stream of the 10:30 a.m. mass Sunday will be available from the diocese website here.

The diocese also had an anniversary mass earlier this year at St. Gabriel’s Church in Prairie du Chien.