All Saints priest accepts calling in Winona
HE’LL BE MISSED — All Saints Church’s Mike Cronin has accepted a calling in Winona. (Star Eagle photo by Jim Lutgens)
By JIM LUTGENS
Publisher
For the second time in less than a month, it appears New Richland is losing one of its finest.
Father Mike Cronin of All Saints Church is leaving the parish, along with St. Ann’s in Janesville and St. Joseph’s in Waldorf, to accept a calling in Winona, closer to his roots. It follows the announcement that Pastor Brian Gegel is moving to Illinois, leaving LeSueur River and Vista Lutheran of rural New Richland.
All Saints parishoners are glad they have a new priest coming in, but they know they’ll miss Cronin.
“We’ll miss him a lot,” said church trustee Gretchen Supalla. “He’s very enthusiastic and has a really positive attitude. He really got our parish going. He wanted to get things done.”
“I think he has done so much good for our church,” said Kris Pfeffer. “He’s been a real asset to our church and our communities. He’s so sincere. We’re sorry to see him go.”
The feeling appears mutual.
“I love it here,” said Cronin. “I love New Richland, I love Waldorf, I love Janesville. I just really love smaller towns. Each really has a beautiful church, and people are so involved. There are so many people who really take pride in their church.”
A month ago, moving to another church was not on the radar for Cronin, 53. He expected to serve his current congregations for years, but then someone called from the Bishop’s office informing him of the opening in Winona and asking him to consider it.
“So I’m kind of bittersweet about it,” said Cronin.
But the move will put him about 20 minutes closer to his home town, Rochester, where his mother is in hospice care in a nursing home. His final mass in New Richland is June 29. The next day he’ll deliver his final sermon in Waldorf and Janesville. Then it’s on to St. Mary’s in Winona.
It’s not Cronin’s first stint in Winona. He spent a year in the seminary there and served for two years at The Cathedral when he was first ordained.
Cronin can tell you the date he was ordained — June 13, 1995 — and it seems he was a natural fit for the priesthood, though he wasn’t completely sure at first. He worked for Congressman Tim Penny for a year before expressing interest. Penny urged him to try it, offering to give him a one-year leave of absence if the seminary wasn’t to his liking. It was.
Cronin went on to serve in Rochester, Winona, Rollingstone, Minnieska, Mankato, Janesville, Waldorf and New Richland.
In Winona, Cronin won’t have to worry nearly as much about driving and getting stranded in a snowstorm. The house he’s moving into is connected directly to the church.
To the outside observer, Cronin strikes you as the guy next door, somebody you’d like to take to a ballgame and maybe get to know better.
While Cronin is thankful for the relationships he’s built in New Richland, Waldorf and Janesville, he remains a bit disappointed that no arrests have been made in the vandalism case at the New Richland church several weeks ago.
“I got the police report yesterday, and it’s still an open investigation,” said Cronin. “I just wish whoever did it would call me, and meet with me here. I don’t know sometimes about the whole crime and punishment thing. Sometimes I think you can accomplish more just by talking to people. Who knows? The person may be mad, afraid, ticked off. It could be a real learning experience for a person to show some mercy.”
Cronin said he’s greatly enjoyed New Richland, holding services every Friday at the care center and going to the Red Leaf Café.
“I also like the new Casey’s,” he said.
Cronin is thankful for the response he’s gotten to new ideas for All Saints, including raising $100,000 to restore stained glass windows.
About the only thing he’d change is trying to bring more people into the church or back to the church.
“If I had stayed here, I’d work harder at bringing in people who have been away from the church, just try to work more with the younger generation,” he said.
During the rare times he’s not working, Cronin enjoys being outside tinkering with the lawn. He’s also one of the primary caregivers to his 95-year-old mother.
Cronin is very close with his mother because his father died of a heart attack when Cronin was 6. Cronin himself has survived two heart attacks. He still has fond memories of his father, and that’s where his interest in the priesthood was kindled.
“My dad was a funeral director in Rochester and was friends with a lot of priests,” he said. “It was just part of our culture. I always enjoyed being in a church, watching the priest, wondering if I could do that.”
That question, it seems, has been answered.