Finding aid for the Father Jerome Mersberger collection

Biography of Father Jerome Mersberger

Jerome Mersberger was born in Sheboygan, Wisconsin on October 8, 1917 to parents Mr. and Mrs. Lawrence Mersberger. He completed his elementary education at St. Peter Claver and Holy Name Schools. Mersberger graduated from St. Lawrence High School and Preparatory Seminary in Mt. Calvary, Wisconsin. He studied theology at Catholic University in Washington, D.C. and received a Bachelor of Arts from the Seminary of St. Francis de Sales in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in 1940. After being ordained in 1942, eh served as associate pastor of St. Edward parish in Racine, and St. Bernard in Madison, Wisconsin. in 1950, he was appointed as the first pastor of the newly established Immaculate Heart of Mary (IHM) parish in Monona, Wisconsin. Father Mersberger served at IHM for 18 years, resigning in 1968. upon his resignation, he was reassigned to St. Mary's Church in Palmyra, Wisconsin. He served as pastor at St. Mary's until 1976, when he began to devote all his efforts to directing the Green Scapular Crusade, which encompassed a shrine-museum and the Green Scapular Travel Club. He directed the shrine and travel club until 1996, leading many pilgrimages and travel expeditions around the world. He passed away in Stoughton, Wisconsin, on December 2, 1998.

Scope and Content

This collection consists of Father Jerome Mersberger's personal papers that were not related to the Shrine of Our Lady of the Green Scapular and the Green Scapular Travel Club. The first series consists of some personal papers. The first folder contains correspondence, and the second folder contains sermons and notes for sermons. Some of these sermons have dates and locations recorded on them, presumably of where the sermon was delivered. The third folder in this series contains materials relating to his time spent as the pastor at St. Mary's Church in Palmyra, Wisconsin; in particular, they are related to the parish's St. Anne's Society and Holy Name Society. The remainder of the collection is Father Mersberger's personal clipping collection. This collection came to the library in a metal file drawer.

Statement of Arrangement

Copyright Notice

Copyright is retained by the authors of items in these papers, or their descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright law.

Restrictions on Access

This collection is open and available to the public for research in the U.S. Catholic Special Collections reading room. The materials are non-circulating.

Materials related to the Shrine of Our Lady of the Green Scapular and the Green Scapular Travel Club are in a separate collection in the Marian Library, University of Dayton. Father Mersberger's collection of issues of Sorrowful Mother Novena Notes, dating from 1946 to 1952, which were located in the file drawer with the clippings collection, will be added to the U.S. Catholic Special Collections periodicals collection at the Roesch Library.

Indexing Terms

The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.

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Preferred Citation

[Identification of item], in the Father Jerome Mersberger collection CSC21, U.S. Catholic Special Collections, the Roesch Library, University of Dayton.

Acquisition Information

Donated to the Marian Library by the Shrine of Our Lady of the Green Scapular in Palmyra, Wisconsin; relocated to the U.S. Catholic Special Collections in September 2011.

Detailed Description of The Collection