Milwaukee Puerto Ricans Attended Spanish Mass at St. Francis of Assisi

St. Francis of Assisi Catholic church in Milwaukee welcomed the LGTBQ community, started ministries for Puerto Ricans and Spanish speakers during the 1950s, as well as ministries for Black people, and helped German immigrants during the early 20^th century.

At North Vel R. Philips Ave and West Brown Street, St. Francis of Assisi church was built more than 150 years ago, and always aided the growing immigrant communities, the minority communities and the poor in Milwaukee. Father Michael Bertram said that he is fulfilled every day, and that helping people kept him motivated to serve.

“I think that’s because of absolute respect and dignity for every human being,” Bertram said. “I just don’t see that widely practiced or widely seen.”

LGBTQ communities were welcomed to St. Francis of Assisi, and that was unusual because LGBTQ people were often cast away from the Catholic church and they are refused marital services under the guise of Catholicism.

“There is a great acceptance and love for the members of the LGTBQ community,” Bertram said. “Sadly, the church can say we welcome and accept people from the LGTBQ community, but then the treatment, restrictions and guidelines say something else.”

During the 1950s and 1960s, Puerto Rico citizens left the Caribbean in mass, and many of them settled in Wisconsin while seeking prosperity and independence. Milwaukee Puerto Ricans were accommodated by St. Francis of Assisi because of its proximity close to Holton Street where many of them lived.

Churches in Milwaukee were either segregated or disallowed people of color from worship in the 1950s. This made St. Francis of Assisi a destination of worship for Puerto Rico diaspora communities in Milwaukee’s Riverwest neighborhood. Tomas Nieves from Milwaukee said that when he moved to Milwaukee, his friends from Holton Street told him about St Francis of Assisi.

“I have been coming here for 20 years,” Nieves said. “I have great experiences here, and wonderful, wonderful memories.”

Nieves is 80-years-old and moved to the United States 53 years ago when he left Puerto Rico to look for work and provide for people he cared for. He first moved to New Jersey, then to Chicago, but ended up in Milwaukee where he knew a few people, could live in a familiar Spanish speaking community and find work in the factories.

Milwaukee’s Riverwest neighborhood often became home to Puerto Ricans who made their way to Wisconsin. Ruben Hernandez, who is 84-years-old, said he found people he could relate to near the church and near Holton street.

“When I got out of Puerto Rico, I don’t know anyone, only my family,” Hernandez said. “When I came to the United States, I recognized people right here, especially when they came to the church.”

Hernandez attended Spanish Mass at St. Francis of Assisi for 45 years. He found work within three days of moving too Milwaukee, and for 29 years he worked at Advanced Diecast on Holton Street.

The Holton Street Puerto Rican community was thriving in the 1950s and 1960s, but the people of Puerto Rico were not always treated well by people in the city. Adela Gonzalez moved to Milwaukee in 1969, she said the city was very segregated and people were divided culturally, just as much as they were physically divided by race.

“White people used to only help themselves, and Black people would stick together,” Gonzalez said. “They used to be for them, not for Puerto Ricans, for Spanish, not for Mexicans, the Italian people used to have to be in their own place, and the Germans were in another place.”

Near Holton Street, 80-year-old Miguel Ortiz, who left Puerto Rico in the 1960s, lived in Chicago, Miami and eventually settled in Milwaukee. He worked in many factories, often leaving one factory for another that would pay more. His friends lived in Milwaukee, and they told Ortiz about St. Francis of Assisi.

“A friend of mine, he lived over on Holton Street, and he told me that this is the church,” Ortiz said. “He told me to come over here (to St. Francis of Assisi), and I stayed over here.”

St. Francis of Assisi parish was the first organization to bring the St. Vincent de Paul mission to the City of Milwaukee. St. Vincent de Paul served and aided St. Francis church in 1908, a time when the church saw hundreds of needy people daily.

The church was even a hub for St. Francis Capuchins to hold first Mass, which is a Mass of thanksgiving held by newly ordained Capuchin priests. The church witnessed 48 of these in the first 25 years.

Father Solanus Casey, a Wisconsin man, St. Francis priest and devoted member of the Capuchin Franciscans was recognized for his service, and his time in the Milwaukee church. Ministers, theologians, cardinals, bishops and even Pope John Paul II recognized Casey’s devotion, commitment and fortitude when they initiated their declaration of the canonization (ordainment into sainthood) of Casey.

St. Francis of Assisi in Milwaukee was a special place for Casey, and Wisconsin would be the potential origin of a holy saint when a true miracle of Casey is documented.

Bertram said that St. Francis of Assisi’s history is a part of Milwaukee’s history, and the people who came together in the church really made this a special place.

“In a city that is still so segregated, look at you, you know, you’re white, you’re Black, you’re Brown and we pray together, we laugh together, we work together and we live together,” Bertram said. “Do you realize what a sign of hope you are?”