Draft:Brother William J Woeger

Brother William John Woeger FSC (April 22, 1945 - December 17, 2024) was a member of the De La Salle Brothers of the Christian Schools and director of the Office of Divine Worship and provost of the Saint Cecilia Institute for Sacred Liturgy, Music and the Arts in the Archdiocese of Omaha for 42 years until his retirement in 2020.

Biography

A native of St. Louis and nephew of Leonor Kretzer Sullivan, the first female Congresswoman from Missouri, Brother William entered the Christian Brothers order in 1963 and professed perpetual vows in 1970. Starting in 1967 he taught English, religion and art at then-Rummel (now Roncalli) Catholic High School.

With degrees in philosophy and theology and minors in English and art from Christian Brothers College in Memphis, Tennessee, and a master’s degree in spirituality from St. Louis University, Brother William developed his interest in the relationship between various art forms with liturgy and spirituality. In 1978, Brother William joined the Omaha archdiocese in the Worship Office, focusing on how ritual, art, music, architecture and other aspects of the church environment affect worship and heighten one’s experience of the divine.

Cathedral Culture

In 1985 he formed Cathedral Arts Project, to promote what he described as “cathedral culture”: exploring the role of cathedrals beyond simply that of a diocese’s mother church. “So, over the years, I developed a term called cathedral culture, which is a whole combination of spirituality, theology, literature, philosophy, the visual arts, and performance."

Cathedral Arts Project hosts art exhibits, instrumental and choral concerts, organ recitals, lectures, tours of the cathedral, and the Cathedral Flower Festival, which draws an estimated 10,000 people each year. It also promotes the legacy of St. Cecilia Cathedral architect Thomas Rogers Kimball through the preservation of photos, documents and records in its permanent archive.

An artist in his own right, Brother William was commissioned over the years to create religious icons for 23 churches, chapels, religious communities and other institutions across the country. He was a three-time recipient of the "Excellence in Art" award from the American Institute of Architects.

Design Work

Over his career, Brother William served as principal liturgical consultant and designer for 30 new churches and renovations of 33 others across North America, including a complete renovation of the Crystal Cathedral in Orange County, California. The church of former televangelist Dr. Robert H. Schuller and wife Arvella De Haan Schuller was transformed into Christ Cathedral for the Catholic Diocese of Orange. On October 14, 2024 Bishop Kevin Vann celebrated a dedication Mass and blessing for the Romano-Byzantine undercroft St. Callistus Chapel and Crypts, marking the completion of a years-long effort to transform the Protestant megachurch into a center of Catholic worship, while also paying an ecumenical tribute to both the Crystal Cathedral founders as well as former parishioners of St. Callistus parish.

Commissions

A partial list of new construction and renovation projects include:

St. Leo’s Catholic Church, Omaha, Nebraska (1981), St. Anthony’s Parish, Lloydminster, Alberta (1985), St. Stephen’s Catholic Community, Nashville, Tennessee (1985), Sacred Heart Church, Glyndon, Maryland (1993), St. Cecilia Cathedral, Omaha, Nebraska (1999), St. Clare Church, Roseville, California (2002), Christian Brothers Chapel, St. Louis, Missouri (2003), Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament, Sacramento, California (2004), Visitation Church, Kansas City, Missouri (2005), Cathedral of Christ the Light, Oakland, California (2005), Christ Cathedral, Garden Grove, California (2019), Cathedral Basilica of Our Lady of Peace, Honolulu, Hawaii (2023), St Patrick’s Church, Omaha, Nebraska (2024)

Death

Brother William died on December 17, 2024 and is interred at Holy Sepulcher Cemetery in Omaha.