Venerable Samuel Mazzuchelli, O.P.

Venerable Samuel Charles Mazzuchelli, O.P. (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 a number of parishes in the area, and was the architect for a number of parish buildings. Additionally, Mazzuchelli founded a number of schools throughout the region, some of which have developed into local Catholic colleges. As part of this effort, he founded the Sinsinawa Dominican Sisters.

References:

• Wikipedia: En, It, Es
• References, wikipedia
• The Apostle of the Upper Midwest: Samuel Mazzuchelli, article from a Crisis Magazine, The Standard Bearers, July 1, 2013, By author: Mr. Christopher Check, https://www.crisismagazine.com
• Samuel Charles Mazzuchelli, O.P. (November 4, 1806 – February 23, 1864), at https://www.revolvy.com, pioneer Italian Dominican friar and Catholic missionary priest who helped bring the church to the Iowa-Illinois-Wisconsin tri-state area.
• http://www.domenicani.it/padre-samuele-mazzuchelli/
• Life and Works: Father Samuel Mazzuchelli, By Sister Mary Nona McGreal, OP, https://www.sinsinawa.org
• The Memoirs of Father Samuel Mazzuchelli
• https://www.wisconsinhistory.org/Records/Article/CS1632
• https://www.wisconsinhistory.org/Records/Image/IM79023
• https://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/story/life/faith/2014/10/09/st...
• https://www.sinsinawa.org/st-dominic-bell-moved-to-st-joseph/
• https://madisoncatholicherald.org/2008-08-28/local-state.html
• https://www.encyclopediadubuque.org/index.php/ST._RAPHAEL%27S_CATHE...
• https://www.sinsinawa.org/about-us/father-mazzuchelli/
• https://domlife.org/2013Stories/sinsinawa_leaders_trip.html
• https://www.flickr.com/photos/jgardner/3812413187

Further reading:

• Mazzuchelli, Samuel. The Memoirs of Father Samuel Mazzuchelli, O.P. Chicago: Priory Press, 1967.
• McGreal, Mary Nona. Samuel Mazzuchelli: American Dominican, Journeyman, Preacher, Pastor, Teacher. Notre Dame, IN: Ave Maria Press, 2005.

Books:

• Da Milano al Mississipi: Samuele Mazzucchelli (1806-1864) tra missione e riforma dell'Ordine domenicano, Massimo Mancini,O. P, Edizioni Studio Domenicano, 2005
• Blurred Nationalities across the North Atlantic: Traders, Priests, and Their Kin Travelling between North America and the Italian Peninsula, 1763 1846, Luca Codignola, University of Toronto Press, 2019
• L'Amico cattolico, Milano, 1845
• Storia Nordamericana, Svesci 3-4, Comitato italiano per la storia nordamericana, 1986
• Bulletin of the International Committee of Historical Sciences, Izd. 11-13, Presses universitaires de France., 1931
• Memorie Domenicane, Opseg 46, 1929
• Pubblicazioni. Serie Letteraria: Saggi e Monografie, Izd. 14, Istituto universitario di magistero, Catania, 1963
• Archivum Fratrum Praedicatorum, Opseg 59, Istituto Storico Domenicano., 1989
• Memorie domenicane, 1921-1969: indice generale, Francesco M. Cubelli, Provincia Romana dei Frati Predicatori (Domenicani), 1994
• Memorie domenicane rivista di religione, storia, arte, Opseg 46, Convento di S Maria Novella, 1929
• Atti del ... Congresso geografico italiano, Congresso geografico italiano, tip. del Regio istituto Sordo-Muti, 1927
• Arte cristiana, Opseg 82,Izd. 764-765, Amici dell'arte cristiana, 1994
• Gazzetta di Milano, Dalla C.R., Stamperia di governo, 1832
• L'America degli italiani, Alberto Giovannetti, Edizioni Paoline, 1975
• Memorie di religione, di morale e di letteratura, 1854

External links:

• Samuel Mazzuchelli at Encyclopedia Dubuque - ??? seems a link not working ???
• Samuel Mazzuchelli at The Biographical Dictionary of Iowa
• The Apostle of the Upper Midwest: Samuel Mazzuchelli
• Fr. Samuel Mazzuchelli: an inspiration in the Year of Faith
• Samuel Mazzuchelli at Find a Grave
• The Sinsinawa Dominican Sisters
• Opere di Samuele Mazzuchelli, su Open Library, Internet Archive
• St. Raphael's Cathedral, Dubuque, Iowa., su straphaelcathedral.org. URL consultato il 4 maggio 2019 (archiviato dall'url originale il 15 febbraio 2009).

Mentioned in the Records, (source: FamilySearch.org):

• https://www.familysearch.org/search/record/results?givenname=Samuel...
• https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MW99-T3Y
• https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QKP4-XMW3
• https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XLN7-CJL
• https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QVGT-1ST9
• https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QVVH-BN6P
• https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QKWD-919L
• https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QK7M-KKVD
• https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QKPY-5TSX
• https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QK7M-RS9W
• https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VJGR-ZM7
• https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QVVH-BN6P
• Year: 1828; Arrival: New York, New York; Microfilm Serial: M237, 1820-1897; Microfilm Roll: Roll 012; Line: 21; List Number: 662 AncestryImage
• Samuel Mazzuchelli in the Wisconsin, Homestead and Cash Entry Patents, Pre-1908 Name: Samuel Mazzuchelli Land Office: Ashland Sequence #: 1 Document Number: 1 Total Acres: 162.31 Signature: Yes Canceled Document: No Issue Date: 20 Apr 1846 Mineral Rights Reserved: No Metes and Bounds: No Statutory Reference: 3 Stat. 566 Multiple Warantee Names: No Act or Treaty: April 24, 1820 Multiple Patentee Names: No Entry Classification: Sale-Cash Entries Remarks: Assignee of George W Jones Land Description: 1 SW 4TH PM - 1831 MINNESOTA/WISCONSIN No 1 N 1 W 3 AncestryImage
• Year: 1850; Census Place: Benton, Lafayette, Wisconsin; Roll: M432_1001; Page: 409B; Image: 160 AncestryImage
• Wisconsin Historical Society; Madison, Wisconsin; Census Year: 1855; Roll: 1 AncestryImage
• Year: 1860; Census Place: Benton, Lafayette, Wisconsin; Roll: M653_1416; Page: 619; Family History Library Film: 805416 AncestryImage
• Samuel C Mazzuchelli Rv in the Wisconsin, Death Index, 1820-1907 Name: Samuel C Mazzuchelli Rv Death Date: 23 Feb 1864 Death Place: Lafayette, Wisconsin, USA Volume: 02 Page Number: 0617 Sequence Number: 247229 Source Information Ancestry.com. Wisconsin, Death Index, 1820-1907 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2000. AncestryImage

Grave:

Fr Samuel Charles Mazzuchelli, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/7024996/samuel-charles-mazzuchelli

Religious Leader. he helped in the establishment of the Catholic Church in Wisconsin, Illinois, and Iowa, and was responsible for founding a number of parishes in the tri-state area, including St. Raphael's at Dubuque. He started the Dominican Order of Sisters at Sinsinawa in 1847. He is a possible candidate for Sainthood, and was declared venerable on July 6, 1993.

Bio by: Jesse

Find A Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com : accessed 08 October 2019), memorial page for Fr Samuel Charles Mazzuchelli (4 Nov 1806–23 Feb 1864), Find A Grave Memorial no. 7024996, citing Saint Patricks Cemetery, Benton, Lafayette County, Wisconsin, USA ; Maintained by Find A Grave.

Maintained by: Find A Grave, Originally Created by: Jesse, Added: 20 Dec 2002, Find A Grave Memorial 7024996

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English

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 institutions of the Catholic Church in Italy under the French Revolutionary Army. 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, his fellow Dominican friar, Edward Fenwick.

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.[2] 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.[3]

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 and 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, along with a number of civic buildings.[2] 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 1847, he founded the Sinsinawa Dominican Sisters. In 1848, he founded St. Clara Female Academy (now Dominican University), a frontier school for young women, which he entrusted to the Dominican Sisters.

Many remembered Mazzuchelli as a kind and gentlemanly priest. He was able to break down the cultural barriers that existed at the time and appeal to many different ethnic groups. The Irish he ministered to called him "Father Matthew Kelly".[4] He died on February 23, 1864 after contracting an illness from a sick parishioner.[5] Mazzuchelli was buried at St. Patrick's Cemetery in Benton.

• Benton, Wisconsin: Benton is a village in Lafayette County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 973 at the 2010 census. The village is located within the Town of Benton. History: Benton was named for Thomas Hart Benton, a U.S. senator from Missouri. Up until that point, the community was known as Swindler’s Ridge. The pioneer priest Father Samuel Mazzuchelli founded the village's Catholic parish, Saint Patrick's Church. Father Mazzuchelli is buried in Saint Patrick's cemetery. He was declared Venerable by Pope John Paul II in 1993, and the case for his Sainthood is still pending.

Veneration

Fr. Mazzuchelli's grave in Benton, WisconsinStained glass window of Fr. Mazzuchelli at St. Raphael's Cathedral

Over the years a case for elevating him to Sainthood has been pending with the church. It 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.[6] In 1993, Pope John Paul II declared Mazzuchelli Venerable.

In preparation for the 200th anniversary of Mazzuchelli's birth in November 2006, those campaigning for Mazzuchelli to be elevated to sainthood began a number of activities to draw attention to that particular cause. The Sinsinawa Dominican sisters have been particularly active in this campaign.

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 to Mazzuchelli for his 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.[2]

Robert C. Morlino, Bishop of the Diocese of Madison, opened a diocesan tribunal at the request of the Sinsinawa Dominican Sisters, which concluded its non-judgmental investigation and sent the results to Rome. If the Congregation for the Causes of Saints rules that Uselmann's healing is judged miraculous, Mazzuchelli would be eligible for beatification, the next step in the process of naming a saint within the Church.

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.

Parishes founded by Fr. Mazzuchelli

• St. Raphael's Cathedral, Dubuque, Iowa
• St. Paul's Church, Burlington, Iowa
• St. Anthony's Church, Davenport, Iowa
• St. Patrick's Church, Garryowen, Iowa
• St. Mary's Church, Iowa City, Iowa
• St. Mathias Church, Muscatine, Iowa
• St. Michael's Church, Galena, Illinois
• Saint Patrick's Church, Benton, Wisconsin
• Saint Augustine Church, New Diggings, Wisconsin
• St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church, Green Bay, Wisconsin
• St. Matthews Church/Parish, Shullsburg, Wisconsin

Italian

Padre Samuele Mazzuchelli (Milano, 4 novembre 1806 – Benton, 23 febbraio 1864) è stato un missionario italiano naturalizzato statunitense dell'Ordine dei Frati Predicatori, attivo nel portare la Chiesa cattolica negli Stati Uniti, in special modo nella zona di Iowa-Illinois-Wisconsin. Fa parte della generazione di missionari italiani precedente all'immigrazione di massa dall'Italia, la cui missione era rivolta in primo luogo ai nativi americani e ai primi immigrati cattolici di origine tedesca, francese o irlandese.

Biografia

Samuele Mazzucchelli nacque nel 1806 da un'agiata famiglia milanese. Dopo aver studiato ad una scuola retta dai padri Comaschi a Lugano in Svizzera, nel 1823 all'età di 17 anni decise di unirsi all'ordine domenicano. Trascorso un breve periodo a Faenza fu mandato nel 1825 a studiare a Roma. Nel 1828 partì missionario per i territori degli Stati Uniti, raccogliendo l'appello dell'allora vescovo dell'Ohio e del Michigan, Edward Fenwick, a svolgere la propria azione pastorale tra i nativi americani e i coloni cattolici residenti in quell'area.[1]

Mazzucchelli si stabilì dapprima a Cincinnati per imparare la lingua e acclimatarsi al nuovo ambiente. Ordinato sacerdote nel 1830, cominciò a viaggiare nell'area vastissima della diocesi, vivendo per 5 anni tra le tribù indiane del Wisconsin e del Michigan settentrionale, promuovendo la loro cultura, difendo i loro diritti di fronte ai soprusi del governo federale e pubblicando per loro libri di preghiera nelle loro lingue.

Mazzucchelli si spostò quindi nella regione dell'odierno Iowa, costruendo chiese e fondando parrocchie e scuole nella zona specie tra i coloni irlandese che anglicizzavano il suo cognome per assonanza in "Matthew Kelly".

Nonostante la sua missione non lo mettesse in contatto con i propri compatrioti, Mazzucchelli mantenne un rapporto molto stretto con l'Italia. Fu lettore e ammiratore di Alessandro Manzoni e aderì ai principi del cattolicesimo liberale che vedevano con favore il processo risorgimentale e la separazione tra Stato e Chiesa, i cui effetti egli vedeva realizzati negli Stati Uniti. In occasione di un suo breve ritorno in patria nel 1844, pubblicò un resoconto biografico delle proprie attività (Memorie di un missionario apostolico) nel quale espresse la sua ammirazione per il modello americano dei rapporti tra Stato e Chiesa.[1]

Tornato in America, Mazzucchelli proseguì la sua opera missionaria, fondando nel 1847 a Sinsinawa la congregazione domenicana delle suore del Santo Rosario. Nel 1848 stabilì la St. Clara Academy (ora Dominican University).

Mazzucchelli morì nel 1864, per una breve e improvvisa malattia respiratoria dovuta all'esposizione al freddo clima durante una visita agli ammalati.

Fonti:

• Mary Nona McGreal. "Samuel Mazzucchelli". In The Italian American Experience: An Encyclopedia, ed. Salvatore J. LaGumina (New York: Garland, 2000) 363-65
• Furste, Madelin. "1 Step Closer to Being A Saint," Telegraph Herald, Dubuque, Iowa.

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Special thanks to:

The Congregation of the Most Holy Rosary of the Order of Preachers, better known as the Sinsinawa Dominican Sisters is an American religious institute of the Regular, or religious branch of the Third Order of St. Dominic. It was founded in 1847. The General Motherhouse is located in Sinsinawa, Wisconsin.

" Father Samuel, his courage, selfless generosity and his pastoral presence among so many people. Without him and his example, nothing could be written and shared. His fine example is a beacon for all of us. We have carefully kept this information and searched for additional materials since the 1800s.".....Lois Hoh, O.P., Archivist

Archives, Mazzuchelli Collection, Sinsinawa Dominican Archives, Sinsinawa, Wisconsin

Notes on documents sent by Sinsinawa Dominicans Archives on November 6, 2019:

Luigi remarried and had three more children.

Researched by Barbara Hubeny, O.P.

• https://www.wisconsinhistory.org/Records/Newspaper/BA8164
• https://www.wisconsinhistory.org/Records/Newspaper/BA7612
• https://www.wisconsinhistory.org/Records/Article/CS277
• https://www.wisconsinhistory.org/Records/Newspaper/BA2376