Rt. Rev. Monsignor Anthony G. Weiler

The assignment was only supposed to last one month. Fresh from St. Francis Seminary and his

ordination to the priesthood in late June 1907, 21-year-old Anthony G. Weiler took a temporary post at St. John Nepomuk Catholic Church in Racine.

As it turned out, Weiler never left. Weiler said his first Mass at St. John in August 1907. Forty-three years later, only the call of Heaven would take Weiler away from his beloved parishioners and his devoted service to the Knights of Columbus.

The son of German immigrants, Weiler didn't speak the Bohemian language when he celebrated his first Mass at St. John on Racine's near North Side. But if parishioners ever had any doubts about the young priest from Burlington, they evaporated quickly. After his initial month tour was up, Weiler was told he could stay – if he learned

Bohemian. Under the tutelage of parishioners, he did just that – and in the process forged a bond with the Bohemian population that could never be broken.

“Although not a Bohemian, Rev. A.G. Weiler has labored successfully in that congregation and has studied the Bohemian language,” a local newspaper wrote in 1917.

Church Expansion

Father Weiler guided his growing flock during the early years of St. John. When the 140-family parish outgrew its building at 601 High St., Weiler planned for a new church. On Oct. 20, 1912, more than 10,000 people gathered to watch the cornerstone of the new church being laid and the site blessed by Auxiliary Bishop Joseph Koudelka of Milwaukee. “It was the largest gathering for a celebration of similar character ever seen on the north side of the river,” the Racine Journal wrote. By 1921, the parish would grow to 238 families.

While he was busy with his duties at St. John, Weiler became deeply involved with the new Council 697 of the Knights of Columbus. Virtually from his first days in Racine, Weiler participated as a Brother Knight and served as a spiritual adviser to the rapidly growing fraternal group.

Fourth Degree Sir Knight

In 1908, Weiler and a large group of Knights took a special electric rail car to Kenosha for an event with the local Kenosha council. As he did at many K of C events over the years, Weiler ably served as toastmaster.

In 1911 Weiler

became possibly the first Racine Knight to join the Fourth Degree of the Order. On May 30, 1911, he and seven Knights from Council 697 attended exemplification ceremonies the Auditorium in Milwaukee. They were among 200 Sir Knights welcomed into Milwaukee's Fourth Degree assembly that day. In January 1914, Weiler spoke before a “brilliant banquet” of Fourth Degree members at the Hotel Racine. By 1914 there were 40 Sir Knights from Racine participating in the Milwaukee Fourth Degree assembly.

From a Large Catholic Family

Anthony Gerhard Weiler was born in Burlington, Wis., on Feb. 5, 1882. He was one of 10 children born to Nicholas and Eva Weiler. Nicholas Weiler came to America in 1850 and farmed in Brighton in Kenosha County and Union Grove before settling in Burlington. The elder Weiler was listed as a saloon keeper in the 1880 United States Census, and later as a farmer. When baby Anthony was welcomed in the winter of 1882, the 80-year-old family patriarch, Jacob Weiler, also lived in the family home in Burlington.

Like many large families in the 19th and early 20th centuries, the Weilers knew their share of hardship. Three of Nic and Eva Weiler’s children died before reaching age 3. William Joseph “Willie” Weiler, seven years

younger than his brother Anthony, was killed in a freak hunting accident in November 1904 when his hunting dog stepped on his gun and discharged it. He was 14. Eva Weiler died in January 1904, more than three years before her son would be ordained a priest.

As Anthony grew up, he was no doubt influenced by the priests at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Burlington. Weiler entered St. Francis Seminary in 1899 and began preparation for the priesthood. He was ordained a priest by Milwaukee Archbishop Sebastian G. Messmer on Sunday, June 23, 1907. Two days later, Weiler celebrated his first Mass, at St. Mary’s Church in Burlington. Had had to abandon his plans to study further in Austria, due to poor health. Shortly after ordination he was assigned to St. John Nepomuk.

Worked with Many Catholic Groups

Weiler was an active priest and became well known throughout the area for his work with the Knights and other Catholic groups such as the County Federation of Catholic Societies, the St. Aloysius Society, the Knights of St. Wenceslaus and St. Mary's Court 211 of the Catholic Order of Foresters.

His talks were described as thoughtful and insightful. He once told the Wisconsin Council of Catholic Women's Organizations that the Catholic Church is proud of them. “Catholic womanhood has always stood for purity, integrity of the home, righteousness and charity,” he told the group, gathered in Racine for its convention.

In May 1912, Weiler’s address to the new Catholic bowling league in Racine made headlines

for its wit. “Sixty-five 10-pin artists were handed the surprise of their life when Father Weiler opened his humorous battery and touched off a continuous fire of alley jibes,” the Racine Journal-News reported in its sports section. “Apparently Father Weiler has been reading the newspaper accounts of the league’s work for 1912 or he has been hiding in the pit with the pin boys.”

On his 10th anniversary at St. John Nepomuk, parishioners organized a surprise celebration that started with solemn vespers and ended with a banquet attended by 200 people. “Father Weiler was made the recipient of many beautiful gifts, including a purse of 140 dollars in gold from the congregation,” the Journal-News reported on Dec. 17, 1917.

When St. John celebrated its 75th anniversary in November 1946, Weiler’s assistant priests wrote this in tribute to their pastor: “He has been a kind father and a wise counselor, a shepherd after the Heart of the Good Shepherd Himself. His administration of the parish has been characterized by his piety, his self-sacrifice, and his devotion to duty. He has been a true priest.”

Weiler was the natural choice for Faithful Friar when Knights of Columbus Council 697 in Racine formed its own Fourth Degree assembly in the fall of 1947. He had served as council chaplain and was a 36-year Sir Knight. He was the assembly’s Faithful Friar until his death.

Named Right Reverend Monsignor

On April 30, 1949, Pope Pius XII named Weiler a domestic prelate, an honor that carries the title Right Reverend Monsignor.

On Sunday, Sept. 10, 1950, parishioners at the 6:30 a.m. Mass at St. John Nepomuk noticed that Msgr. Weiler did not seem himself. He did not look well, and he skipped his typical practice of preaching the homily in Bohemian. He returned to the rectory after Mass and collapsed and died from a heart attack. He was 68. Milwaukee Archbishop Moses E. Kiley gave the final absolution at Weiler’s funeral Mass on Sept. 14, 1950

In October 1952, Racine’s Fourth Degree assembly was named the Monsignor Anthony G. Weiler General Assembly in his honor. In August 2008, the Knights of Columbus held a special ceremony at the grave of Msgr. Weiler, and installed a bronze medallion on his headstone that memorializes his long service to Council 697 and Assembly 1207.