St. Bernard, Wauwatosa

Our Parish Roots

For 110 years, Saint Bernard Parish has been the spiritual home for many blessed moments, those that many people will never forget and cherish for a lifetime. Saint Bernard’s mission is one of the most important missions in the world: to form holy, healthy, and happy disciples of Jesus Christ who love God and go outside to make the world a better place. Through the sacramental life of the Church, our parishioners are fed by Jesus in the Eucharist, go into the world to evangelize and serve those who do not know God, the poor and oppressed, and return to the Eucharist to offer thanks to God.

Initially, the “mother church” of Wauwatosa, Saint Bernard was formed in 1911 with Monsignor Bernard Traudt as our founding pastor. Eight years later, Saint Bernard opened its school and, in 1924, graduated its inaugural class. Throughout its rich history, the parish has updated its church and school spaces, participated in a dynamic regional youth ministry and child formation program, and served those in need through our human concerns work.

In recent years, our efforts have significantly accelerated. Working with Christ King Parish and sharing a pastor and staff, our outreach has expanded and improved significantly. We offer many adult formation activities (Between the Masses, Know Your Faith, book studies), small discipleship groups, and Alpha, an introduction to the reality of God in one’s life, which has invited many people into a life of faith for the first time. We share Wauwatosa Catholic School with Saint Pius X Parish and are responsible for the building needs and operating costs. And we, along with Christ King, support those in need in the City of Milwaukee through our operation of a twice-weekly dinner at All Saints Parish while growing friendships with parishioners and those served in this area of Milwaukee.

Most importantly, our parish church is in one of the most vibrant areas in the Milwaukee area. In proximity to the Milwaukee Regional Medical Complex and central to the recently upgraded Village of Wauwatosa area, the possibilities of evangelization cannot be expressed in words. The possibilities we have are virtually endless.

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Our Share

Through much prayer, planning and conversation, we have identified our greatest needs and initiatives to strengthen our mission and vision for years to come. Our share of the funds raised will be used for debt retirement and capital improvements to our parish building.