Father Joseph

WalijewskiFather, Priest, Servant of

God

Born

Mar

ch 1

5,

1924

He was born in Grand Rapids,

Michigan. His family was poor and

he began working at the age of 5.

Boys Town Father Edward

Flanagan . As a boy, he saw

the movie Boys

Town, based on

an orphanage

founded by

Father Flanagan.

Since then, he

had the dream

of founding an

orphanage as

well.

Fran

cisca

n Se

min

ary

Father Joe entered into the

Franciscan Seminary but

was not accepted to be

ordained due to academic

difficulties.

In S

earc

h of

a

Hom

e

Joseph Walijewski started

to write letters to bishops from various diocese

asking to be accepted as a seminarian. He made a

promise:“God, if you help me to become a priest, I will

dedicate five years serving

the needing in Latin America.”

Diocese of

La Crosse

The bishop of the Diocese of La

Crosse accepted Father Joe and

he entered as a seminarian in

the Diocese.

April 16, 1950

Ordination

First

Year

s of

Prie

stho

od19

50-1

956

– Uni

ted

Stat

es

Father Joe started his work as

an assistant priest in Thorp. .

His D

ream

to b

e a

Miss

iona

ryFather Joe spoke to the bishop about his desire to be

a missionary. At first, he had

to wait a year. When he came back to the bishop with that same desire, the

bishop gave him permission

to go to Latin America.

1956 – Santa

Cruz, Bolivia

Father Joe went to Bolivia and

started his work in the city of

Santa Cruz of the Sierra.

Sant

a Cr

uzPa

rish

Father Joe built a church and a

school. He served in Santa Cruz

for 8 years, from 1956 to 1964.

1964-1966

EcuadorFather Joe

left Bolivia in

1964 and

went to

Ecuador

where he

worked with

the Saint

James the

Apostle Society.

1966

-197

1 U

nite

d St

ates

Father Joe returned to the Diocese where he was parish priest in Throp, Wisconsin.

1971 – Villa el

Salvador, Peru

Father Joe was invited to Lima, Peru after an

earthquake in Huaraz to establish the first

parish in the city of Villa el Salvador. The

bishop of the Diocese of La Crosse gave him

permission.

Villa

el S

alva

dor

Many, many people arrived to look

for a place to live. Father Joe helped

them in Villa el Salvador where they

started to build a city amidst the hills of sand.

Father Joe helped all of the people in

Villa el Salvador. He was parish priest,

builder, paramedic and teacher to all.

Chris

t the

Sav

ior

Paris

h

Father Joe was the parish priest of Christ the Savior in

Villa el Salvador since its foundation in 1971 until 1985.

Pope John Paul IIFather Joe spoke with Pope John Paul

II during his visit to Peru in 1985 and

the Pope gave him $50,000 to use to

build the orphanage Casa Hogar.

Build

ing

Casa

Ho

gar

The construction of Casa Hogar

started in 1985 in Lurin, Peru.

Casa Hogar

Juan Pablo II

Casa Hogar opened its doors on

March 22, 1986. It started with very

few children but within the first year

it came to be home to 32 children.

Card

inal

Rat

zinge

r –

Pope

Ben

edict

XVI

Cardinal Ratzinger came to

Peru in 1986 and met Father

Joe in Villa el Salvador.

Bishop Burke –

United StatesIn 1997 the

bishop of the

Diocese of La

Crosse, Monsignor

Burke, visited

Casa Hogar and

officially

adopted Casa

Hogar as a

mission of the

Diocese.

Bish

op Je

rom

e Lis

teck

i

In 2005 Bishop Jerome Listecki

of La Crosse came to visit Casa Hogar.

Mutual HelpThrough the years, many groups of young

people have come to Casa to be able to

know the mission and connect with the

children. With that, Father Joe completed

his desire to establish this connection

between youth of Peru and of the U.S.

Casa Hogar –

Oxapampa, Peru

In 1991, Father

founded an

orphanage in

Chontabamba

for the older

young children

of the orphanage in

Lurin.

New Director of

Casa Hogar

In 2000, Father Joe retired from

Casa Hogar and left it in the

hands of Father Sebastian.

Boys

Town

Pr

ogra

m

In 2000, the program based in

Boys Town, Nebraska was

implemented at Casa, making

8 families, each under the care

of a couple.

Chontabamba, Peru

In 2001, Father Joe moved to Oxapampa where he worked with young

people and helped at the chapel in Chontabamba and the surrounding

communities.

Nurs

ing

Hom

e

Closed in 2003, the orphanage in

Chontabamba was converted into a

home for the elderly under the care

of the Sisters of Josephine of Charity.

His Last MassOn Holy Thursday of Holy Week in 2006, Father Joe returned to

Lima to visit. He celebrated Palm Sunday Mass at Casa Hogar.

Faith

in th

e St

orm

s of L

ife

Father Joe got sick that same

Sunday during the night and

was taken to the hospital.

Father Joe’s Last

Words

Father Joe

was always a

man with

great faith.

His last words were

“Don’t worry,

everything is

going to turn

out well”.

The

Deat

h of

Fath

er

Joe

Wal

ijews

ki-

April

11,

200

6

Father Joe passed away

peacefully Monday during the night.

Funeral For

Father Joe

At his funeral, 5 bishops, many

priests and many members of

religious communities attended

along with more than 1,000 people.

Burial of Father Joe

Father Joe was buried in the Grotto at Casa Hogar and remains there, watching over Casa from heaven.

Cause for Beatification

and Canonization

On March 19, 2013, Bishop Callahan of the Diocese of

La Crosse announced the inauguration of the

Beatification Cause of Father Joe.

Serv

ant o

f God

Since the opening of his cause for

beatification, Father Joe holds the name of

Servant of God, which recognizes his life of

service and complete delivery to God.

Servant of God

One becomes Servant of God when

the cause for beatification is opened

Venerable (Five year goal)

Diocesan Tribunal- Interviews

Historical Commission- His life

Theological Commission- His

writings

Approval by the Congress of

Causes of Saints

Blessed Investigation of a miracle

attributed to the Servant of God

Saint Investigation of second miracle

Beatification

Process

Pray

er fo

r the

Be

atifi

catio

n of

Fa

ther

Joe

Holy and Good God, your servant and priest,

Father Joseph Walijewski, through

priestly zeal and heroic holiness, defended

innocence against the sadness of evil,

especially to broken families and helpless children. Imaging the

Compassionate Christ, he led others to the font of sacramental life and

the knowledge of Jesus Christ as their True and

Only Savior…

Pray

er fo

r the

Be

atifi

catio

n of

Fa

ther

Joe

Heavenly Father, we hubly pray You to raise

up Your servant, Father Joseph Walijewski,

whose joyful, priestly heart was resolute in the Heart of Christ

Jesus, to the courts of heaven; and, through Your Holy Spirit, give

him to us as a saint and hero of this generation…

Pray

er fo

r the

Be

atifi

catio

n of

Fa

ther

Joe

Through his example, may there be a new urgency of souls for Christ. Through his

intercession, I humbly ask (make your

intention here) through Christ our Lord. Amen.