“From the Archives” – Pastoral Sports Fan
Father Dennis Kleinmann, administrator and pastor of Saint Mary from 2001-2015, was well known to be a great fan of the Green Bay Packers football team, from his home state of Wisconsin. His weekly pastor’s column in the church bulletin was entitled “From Green to Gold,” liturgical colors but also the Packers’ team colors!
But in his October 5, 2014, bulletin column, Father Kleinmann paid tribute to an exciting local baseball game and Washington Nationals pitcher Jordan Zimmerman. The previous week, on the last day of the season at Nationals Park, Zimmerman had pitched a no-hitter. Father wrote: “Although not a Nationals fan myself, I realize many of you are….and I realize those fans are excited,” noting the Nationals had just secured the best record in the National League. Of course, in saluting those accomplishments, Father Kleinmann just happened to mention that Zimmerman was from Wisconsin!
— Kitty Guy, Parish Historian
In 2020, to commemorate the 225th anniversary of our parish, we started “From the Archives” as a weekly feature online and in our bulletin to spotlight the history of Saint Mary’s. Due to its popularity, we are continuing the series in 2022. An archive of the features is located here.