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Our Lady of Messmer Society
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Messmer's mission statement provides that “Messmer Catholic Schools are dedicated to serving a diverse, urban population and providing its students with an education that represents its Catholic heritage.” Catholic faith has been a centerpiece at Messmer since its creation in 1926. As Messmer grew to hold more than 1000 students in the 1950s and 1960s, and even when Messmer was nearly closed in 1984, religion and faith were always Messmer’s backbone. Now, as Messmer continues its journey into this new millennium with over 600 students at its high school and nearly 500 more at the preparatory school, one thing remains constant at Messmer: Messmer remains a Catholic, religious, and faith-based institution.
Throughout Messmer’s entire history, its students, faculty and staff have constantly gathered together in prayer to praise God for the many gifts that they have been given. Similarly, for much of its history, Messmer’s chapel, which was dedicated as the St. Thomas More Chapel in 1946, was a central location for gathering in prayer. The chapel which, thanks to donations from many of Messmer’s benefactors, has undergone several upgrades over the years, was a place where students and teachers could go and thank God and the Virgin Mary for watching over them in their studies and their daily lives. In fact the students at Messmer had so much faith and were so grateful to God and the Virgin Mary that they felt that the chapel would not be complete until the chapel had something that honored Our Lady.
To this end a wood carved relief was commissioned. In 1948, Messmer was able to commission and pay for the relief of Our Lady of Messmer thanks to the kind donations of Mrs. Mary Vermeulen of De Pere, Wisconsin, and the Messmer High School Alumni Association. The relief was entitled Our Lady of Messmer. The relief which showed Messmer High School in the background has angels in the sky watching over the students of Messmer. Two actual students were chosen and posed to represent the family of Messmer. Virtus et scientia (virtue and knowledge) -the motto of Messmer- was evident in the rosary in the boy’s hand and the book at the girl’s feet. The picture of Our Lady, who also stands watching over Messmer and its students was based on a drawing by a Messmerite during the war years for the honor roll which listed those who were serving in the Armed Forces. Our Lady of Messmer was purchased through a local statuary company and it is believed that the piece of art was actually carved by craftsmen in Italy.
Our Lady of Messmer took her rightful place in the St. Thomas More Chapel in 1948 and remained there, as a reminder to the students, for nearly forty years. It was said that the reason the shrine was so precious to the students, faculty and staff of Messmer was because there was not another one like it in the entire world. Unfortunately, after the school was nearly closed in 1984, Our Lady of Messmer was moved and the whereabouts of the beautiful artifact are currently unknown.
The Our Lady of Messmer Society has been established to commemorate Our Lady of Messmer and to honor all those who, like Mrs. Vermeulen and the Alumni Association, made Messmer a part of their legacy through a planned gift. Over the years, Messmer has been blessed with many benefactors who have provided an estate gift for the purpose of advancing Messmer to new and higher levels of achievement.
Membership in the Our Lady of Messmer Society is offered to all those who share this commitment, who endorse Messmer's mission, and who affirm that commitment by means of a planned gift.
To become eligible for membership in the Our Lady of Messmer Society, an individual simply informs Messmer that he or she has made a planned gift to Messmer or completes the enclosed application. Messmer does not require, but would appreciate documentation of the planned gift, for example, a copy of the pertinent provisions of the individual's will or trust, a copy of the life insurance policy which names Messmer as a beneficiary or owner of the policy, or a letter from the individual's attorney stating that he or she has, indeed, included Messmer in his or her estate plans. Upon receipt of such notification from the potential donor or receipt of documentation, participants are enrolled in the Our Lady of Messmer Society.
Benefits of membership in the Our Lady of Messmer Society include an Our Lady of Messmer Society Pin symbolizing your support of Messmer through your estate gift, the satisfaction in knowing that your planned gift will benefit many generations of Messmer students, a special invitation to the Our Lady of Messmer Society Mass and Dinner, a subscription to the Our Lady of Messmer Society newsletter, with information about investments, tax and estate planning and Messmer highlights, special recognition in the Messmer Today and in Messmer’s Annual Report, and special invitations to Messmer High School and Preparatory School functions.
For more information or to join the Our Lady of Messmer Society, please contact the Director of Advancement at (414) 264-5440 or development@messmerschools.org.
Click here to view prayers and poetry about Our Lady of Messmer written by former students.
Download Our Lady of Messmer Society enrollment form, click here for pdf version, click here for Word document version.
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