History of St. Benedict the Moor Chapel

The founder of our St. Benedict the Moor Church/Chapel was Captain Lincoln Charles
Valle, a black Catholic layman, newspaper editor, who, on August 22, 1908,
moved to Milwaukee with his wife, Julia Yoular, with the expressed purpose of
developing a Catholic mission church for the “colored people.” He met with
Archbishop Messmer, who gave his blessing and approval to this enterprise.
Archbishop Messmer assigned Father N.D. Becker SJ, the pastor of St. Mary’s,
to work with Captain Valle. The church’s first location was at 274 Fourth Street.
It was later moved to 530 West State Street, and the chapel was formally named
“St. Benedict the Moor Catholic Colored Mission, in June 1909. The School Sisters
of Notre Dame accepted responsibility for maintaining the altar and teaching Sunday
school classes. In 1911, the Capuchins took control of the Mission, and Father
Reichertz O.M. Cap was the first pastor. Another move was made in Dec. 1911 to a house
on the present site. Other adjoining properties were purchased. During a Capuchin
provincial meeting in Detroit on July 8, 1912, Father Cyril Kufner, O.M. CAP, was
appointed pastor of the Mission.

The free school of Saint Benedict the Moor Catholic Colored Mission, staffed by the
School Sisters of Notre Dame, opened on September 4, 1912, in the inner half of the
9th and Prairie building. The school enrollment grew, and it soon also began a
boarding school. In 1919, the total enrollment was 78 boarders and 44-day pupils. On
June 15, 1913, Father Stephan Eckert was appointed the pastor of St. Benedict the
Moor. Father Eckert was an excellent fundraiser for the mission church and was widely
regarded for his role in facilitating missions and retreats. He also made an
extensive outreach to people in the “colored district.”

In 1920, Father Eckert moved the school to Corliss, Wisconsin, a rural site owned by
the Dominicans, so the children “would be removed from the influences of the city”. The Dominican Sisters took charge of the living accommodations and the school. The Corliss location had major problems, and at a Capuchin Provincial meeting in 1921, a decision was made to vacate the Corliss property and return the school to Milwaukee. Father Eckert was assigned to “active mission work, raising funds, and making propaganda for the ‘Colored Mission.” In 1922, Father Philip Steffes O.F.M., Cap was assigned to the Mission. During his 28-year tenure, the Mission’s facilities and programs were expanded and improved to meet the needs of a growing number of parishioners, boarding and day students.

After canonical and legal issues were resolved, construction of the chapel began. Mr. Earnest G. Miller, president of the Miller Brewing Company, donated $63,750 toward the cost of the ‘chapel’, the present church, and Archbishop Messmer dedicated it on March 2, 1924. The church was designed by the prominent Midwest architecture firm Erhard Brielmaier and Sons. Mr. Miller and the Miller family made many other donations to St. Benedict’s Mission, and upon his death in 1925, he bequeathed $200,000 to the Mission.

St. Benedict the Moor High School began in 1934. The high school was organized as a branch of Messmer High School. It followed the Messmer course of study and was accredited from the start. The athletic program was a premier offering of St. Benedict the Moor School. The program included football, basketball, wrestling, track, and boxing. Even though there were no Catholic Conference girls’ sports tournaments, St. Benedict developed a girls’ sports program.

Both the grade school and high school achieved high standards of educational excellence. However, due to an increase in enrollees and the recognition that expanding the building was not feasible, the high school was closed in 1948, and the grade school in 1967. In the same year, the Racine Dominicans opened an alternative school, Urban Day, to continue providing quality education for African Americans. The parish/chapel has, from the beginning, been a major supporter of education, particularly for African Americans. For example, since 1992, St. Benedict the Moor parish/chapel has given the Gordon Zahn Award for Peace and Justice to a student of Riverside High School who has worked for peace and justice.

 Father Philip was granted permission from his superiors to erect a hospital on Mission grounds.  The cornerstone of St. Anthony’s Hospital was laid on Dec. 11. 1930 with Cardinal Strich, the new archbishop presiding over the dedication on May 10, 1931. The Little Falls Franciscan served the hospital.  The original intent was for it to serve “Negros”.  However, being the only Catholic hospital near Milwaukee’s business district, it evolved into an integrated facility that attracted doctors and employees servicing the downtown area.  After five decades as a hospital, it was briefly converted into a family medical center in the late 1980s, then closed outright.

In 1967, Michael and Annette Cullen began opening their Catholic Worker House of Hospitality to anyone seeking a meal. The meal grew and spread to the Methodist Church across the street, then to St. Michael’s parish. When Michael was facing prison for his participation in the Milwaukee 14 destruction of! A draft file in 1968, the Cullens approached Father Alex, pastor of St. Benedict the Moor parish, about locating the meal program there. Fr Alex accepted the invitation to host the Community Meal, called Operation Loaves and Fishes. The meal program, now under the control of the Capuchin Ministry, has expanded from 40 guests to, at times, over 400 per night.

St Benedict the Moor Chapel is known for its Gospel-based social action. Two notable activities of the church/chapel are the St. Vincent de Paul Society, founded in 1941. The purpose of the society formed in Paris by a group of young university students was to travel to the homes of the poor and provide them with the aid they needed. The other notable one was the jail ministry, which focused on the nearby county jail.
In July 2025, the Capuchin religious order decided to make St. Benedict the Moor parish a chapel of St. Francis Assisi parish.

Saint Benedict the Moor: A Legacy Revisited: St. Benedict the Moor Parish by Dolores A. Foster Williams M.Ed.