Bishop Reverman | Table of Contents | Top of Page |
Bishop Reverman | Table of Contents | Top of Page |
Born on August 9, 1877, to Thomas and Louise Reverman, Bishop Reverman studied at Canisius College in Buffalo, NY, before entering the University of Innsbruck, Austria. He was ordained to the priesthood by Bishop Simon Aichner of Bressanone-Brixen, Italy, on July 26, 1901.
Bishop Reverman spent two years in Rome, studying at the Gregorian University and earning a doctorate degree in canon law in 1903. His first appointment was to the faculty at Preston Park Seminary in Louisville which closed a year later.
When the seminary closed in 1904, he became the first resident pastor of St. Edward Church in Jeffersontown, KY, where he served for 18 years. In April of 1921, Bishop Reverman was transferred to St. Francis of Assisi Parish, overseeing the building of a new church, which was dedicated by Bishop John A. Floersch on July 4, 1926, one day after Bishop Reverman's appointment to Superior.
Bishop Reverman | Table of Contents | Top of Page |
Bishop Reverman's ordination took place November 30 at the Cathedral of the Assumption in Louisville. With two archbishops and 10 bishops in attendance, the ordination ceremony was called "the most distinguished ecclesiastical gathering in (Louisville's) history." The new bishop of Superior spent two more months in Louisville before arriving in his new diocese.
With a new cathedral still being built, Bishop Reverman's installation ceremony took place at Sacred Heart pro-cathedral on February 9, 1927. The Catholic Citizen, on February 12, reported that the ceremony was "the greatest gathering of prelates in the history of Superior... Two archbishops, five bishops and scores of priests and laymen were present for the installation ceremonies."
Bishop Reverman | Table of Contents | Top of Page |
With an eye on the cathedral's construction progress, Bishop Reverman went about his duties as shepherd. On May 3, 1927, he ordained three new priests for the diocese: Fr. Bernard Fries of Glidden, Fr. Joseph Annabring of Turtle Lake, and Fr. Leon Gutowski of Elkhart Lake, IN.
One of the greatest moments in Bishop Reverman's episcopacy was the Christmas Day dedication of the new cathedral. Twenty-seven years after the diocese's establishment and 18 months after breaking ground, Bishop Reverman celebrated the first Mass at the cathedral on December 25, 1927. "The bishop blessed the cathedral privately at a simple ceremony preceding the pontifical high Mass," noted a Catholic Herald story December 29, 1927. The cathedral was named in honor of Christ the King, a new feast that was proclaimed by Pope Pius XI in December 1925.
One noteworthy event took place on August 17, 1928, when Bishop Reverman, accompanied by Msgr. Charles J. Weber, Msgr. John M. Owens and Fr. William J. Kubelbeck, visited President Calvin Coolidge at Superior Central High School. Coolidge had established a Summer White House in Superior, a practice he followed in a different location every summer during his presidency. Located across the street from the Cathedral of Christ the King, the school building was razed in 2004.
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Bishop Reverman served as spiritual leader during one of the most difficult times in U.S. history. His 15-year tenure nearly paralleled the period known as the Great Depression (1929-1939). Despite economic uncertainties, the Superior Diocese experienced moderate growth during Bishop Reverman's episcopacy.
In 1926, Catholic population in the diocese was 58,559. In 1942, it grew to 64,332. During that same period the number of parish schools increased from 24 to 31.
However, the number of priests serving the diocese (diocesan and religious order) in that same period fell from 102 to 100. "(Bishop Reverman's) scrupulosity on sacramental matters caused him to refuse to ordain men to the priesthood — men who were desperately needed to fill in at mission stations and parishes throughout the widespread diocese," wrote Marquette's Fr. Avella in his 2002 history book.
Several major construction projects led by religious communities in the diocese also took place during Bishop Reverman's episcopacy.
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Bishop Reverman worked hard to promote religious instruction of the laity. In 1939 he established the Confraternity of Christian Doctrine and appointed Msgr. Peter F. Meyer as diocesan director. Msgr. Meyer, who had been pastor of St. Mary of the Seven Dolors Parish in Hurley, met with nearly every pastor in the diocese in 1940 to prepare them for implementation of this program in their parishes.
"(Bishop Reverman) placed the program under the special protection of the Blessed Mother and selected the Feast of the Assumption, 1940, as the day for the official decree of Canonical Erection of the Confraternity in the diocese," wrote Msgr. Meyer in the Catholic Herald, Aug. 13, 1955.
The successful implementation of the Confraternity of Christian Doctrine continued and expanded after Bishop Reverman's death. The Confraternity serves as the foundation for the Superior Diocese's present-day Christian Formation Program.
Bishop Reverman | Table of Contents | Top of Page |
On Friday, July 18, 1941, Bishop Reverman, 63, died at his home. He had been ill for a few weeks and his ill health prevented him from attending the dedication of the new home for the Sisters of St. Joseph in Superior earlier that week.
In his will the bishop requested a simple funeral. Archbishop Moses E. Kiley of Milwaukee celebrated a funeral Mass on July 22. Joining Archbishop Kiley for the funeral Mass were Archbishop John A. Floersch of Louisville, Bishop Joseph G. Pinten of Grand Rapids, Mich., and seven other bishops.
Bishop Reverman, the fourth bishop of Superior and the first without ties to Wisconsin, was buried at Calvary Cemetery, the first bishop laid to rest at the diocesan cemetery.
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Source: Our Journey through Faith: A History of the Diocese of Superior, by Sam Lucero, 2005.