Parish’s longtime shepherd to retire

Father Patrick Wendt, who has celebrated countless Masses and conducted hundreds of baptisms, funerals and first communions as pastor of St. Peter of Alcantara Church and St. John XXIII Catholic Parish, is retiring.

Wendt announced his retirement, which is effective June 30, in an email to parishioners Monday — a letter he said was written “with a bit of sadness, a bit of hope.”

“My sadness comes from more than 26 years of ministering in Port Washington and Saukville and the many good people who have helped and supported me — especially staff.”

In an interview, the 72-year-old priest who is best known as Father Pat, said he decided to join the ranks of senior priests in the archdiocese due to his health.

“I’ve been having some health challenges since May,” he said. “I just haven’t had the energy I had before.”

Although he was eligible to retire when he turned 68, Wendt said he wasn’t ready.

“I felt good and things were going well,” he said.

Wendt came to Port Washington in 2005 as pastor of St. Peter of Alcantara Catholic Church. When the parish merged with St. Mary’s in Port and Immaculate Conception in Saukville, creating St. John XXIII Parish, he was named the pastor.

Shepherding the parish through the merger was one of the highlights of his time in the area, Wendt said.

“It was a tough transition for a lot of people,” he said, noting people had deep roots and identified with their churches. “I’ve enjoyed my time here, bringing the parish together. It can be tough on a priest, but I haven’t found that to be the case here.

“The three parishes had been working together for a long time,” he said, noting they had a shared school and religious education program. “I think it showed we can work together and there are more efficient ways of being a parish. I think that’s what made it work.”

That, along with the fact the parish has been able to keep all three churches open, are among the high points of his time here, he said.

The parish school has also been experiencing a resurgence, Wendt said, noting that during the pandemic the number of students fell to about 170. This year, it’s around 195 students.

Wendt said he has enjoyed working with the parish staff, noting a number of the staff members have been at the parish as long as he has.

For Wendt, being a priest is a calling he felt when he was a child growing up in South Milwaukee.

He said he started thinking about it when he was in elementary school.

“I used to play Mass with my brothers and sisters,” he said, adding his favorite part of being a priest is conducting the sacraments, such as marriages and baptisms.

“There’s a lot of good that comes from those prayerful experiences,” he said. After high school, he pursued college and graduate programs at St. Francis Seminary in Milwaukee.

He was ordained in June 1979 at St. John’s Cathedral in Milwaukee.

His first assignment was as an associate pastor at St. Peter’s Church in Beaver Dam, where he served for six years, followed by six years as an associate pastor at St. Dominic’s in Sheboygan.

He then became pastor of Immaculate Conception Catholic Church in West Bend, where he served for 12 years before becoming pastor of three small, rural parishes in Dodge County.

After about 18 months, he was named pastor at St. Peter’s in Port.

“I was looking for something more going on in a parish,” Wendt said.

Port, he said, fit the bill with its school, a good staff and good planning.

Through the years, Port Washington has become home, he said. Now, he has to consider where he goes from here.

“I’ve got to figure that out in the next eight months,” he said. “That’s part of what’s ahead for me. I don’t know the answer yet.”

Just as Wendt doesn’t know what’s next for him, he doesn’t know what’s next for the parish he calls his home either.

The Archdiocesan Clergy Personnel Board will list St. John XXIII Parish as a church seeking a pastor and priests can apply for the post.

Wendt said he believes that St. John XXIII is an attractive posting and that priests will apply for the job.

“But there’s no guarantee,” he said. “There’s still a shortage of priests.”

But the size of the parish and the fact that the three parishes have merged and things are going well are a good sign, he said.

“The hard work has already been done,” he said. “It’s been a very good, very positive experience.”