St. Andrew Catholic Church - Leroy

Wisconsin, USA

St. Andrew Church is an amazingly beautiful worship space located in the rolling terrain of Central Wisconsin near the Horicon Marsh. The congregation had been worshipping with a vintage Hammond organ for decades and were anxious for their Parish to hear the “sound” of real pipes in this building.

David Hagen (their musician) is a fine Church Musician/Organist who has lived and ministered in this area for a long time. David explained in his first phone call to Triune Music that he had at one time been an employee of the Galanti dealership, but that he was interested in being even-handed in choosing the “right” organ for St. Andrew Church. He also explained that he would be looking at Allen, Galanti, Phoenix and Rodgers organs to see which firm would have the best solution for this beautiful and reverberant building.

Since the Parish was located quite a distance from any organ dealership, the committee insisted on a side-by-side comparison so that they could make an informed decision without having to travel great distances. They made up rules that would be fair to each company being considered. However, only the Rodgers & Phoenix dealers agreed to participate. The actual side-by-side (between the Rodgers & Phoenix organs) took place during December 2004. The Rodgers 927 was unanimously selected by the organ committee for St. Andrew Church.

David Hagen later wrote, “The way in which this whole thing was handled shows me that we chose the perfect organ and dealer for St. Andrew’s. I was most impressed with the Rodgers Company.”

On October 23, 2009 St. Andrew the Apostle Catholic church, was listed on the Wisconsin State Register of Historic Places during a meeting of the Wisconsin Historic Preservation Board held at Eau Claire.

The large Victorian Gothic Catholic Church located on County Trunk Y in LeRoy has received this recognition from the State of Wisconsin because it is architecturally significant for its Gothic Revival style, and its elements of high artistic value.

St. Andrew's church was built by Master Architect, Anton Dohmen, an immigrant from Germany, during the pastorate of Father John Blum in 1900. On September 25, 1901 the church was consecrated by Archbishop Frederick X. Katzer.

Photo courtesy of the Mayville News.