April 5, 2007

Contact Monsignor Bernard McGarty at 608-796-3788 or bomcgarty@viterbo.edu

TRIO TO PRESENT “150 YEARS OF RELIGION IN LA CROSSE” AT VITERBO UNIVERSITY APRIL 22

LA CROSSE, Wis. – Where did the early pioneers worship when they first arrived in La Crosse? How has this religious influence evolved through the years?

These questions will be explored as Monsignor Bernard McGarty, Susan Hessel, and Gayda Hollnagel present “150 Years of Religion in La Crosse” at 2 p.m. Sunday, April 22 in the Viterbo University Fine Arts Center Main Theatre.

The City of La Crosse celebrated its sesquicentennial last year, which commemorated its founding in 1856. The presentation will chronicle the development of religion in La Crosse throughout the city’s history. Audience members will receive a look into the affect of religion on La Crosse culture, architecture, and history.

Msgr. McGarty is a retired diocesan priest who serves as the Visiting Scholar of Ecumenical Studies at Viterbo University. Hessel is a freelance writer, personal historian, and co-author of A History of La Crosse, Wisconsin in the Twentieth Century: Reinventing Itself Again and Again, a book that will soon be published by the La Crosse County Historical Society. Hollnagel is a retired religion writer and reporter for theLa Crosse Tribune who is also co-author of A History of La Crosse, Wisconsin in the Twentieth Century: Reinventing Itself Again and Again.