Thirteenth in a series on the 75th anniversary of the Diocese of Madison
As a priest and bishop, Bishop Jerome J. Hastrich will be remembered especially for his service to the poor and minorities.
He was asked in an interview for the Catholic Herald Citizen when he first became interested in helping the poor and minority groups. The native of Milwaukee answered, “About 1929 when I was in high school.” He added that it was during the Depression and his own family was poor.
Before he entered the seminary, he taught religion to the poor at Holy Cross summer school in Milwaukee and taught Sunday school at St. Benedict the Moor and St. Gabriel Parishes.