Bio: Hackel, Father Daniel (2009)

Contact: Robert Lipprandt

Email: bob@wiclarkcountyhistory.org 
 

Surnames: Blume, Feiten, Hackel, Herbert, Listecki, Malik, O’Brien, Rajendran 
 

----Source: The Tribune - Phonograph (Abbotsford, Clark County, WI), Wednesday, 25 November 25, 2009, page 7 
 

Fr. Daniel Hackel settles into new parish at St. Mary’s. By: Kevin O’Brien. 
 

Fr. Daniel Hackel’s earliest memories of Colby are as a child visiting his grandparents, William and Helen, at their home on Spence Street.  
 

Now, several years later, Hackel has returned to the small community to lead the flock at St. Mary’s Catholic Church, just a few blocks away from his grandparents’ old house. He started in July after being assigned to the church by the departing Bishop Jerome Listecki. 
 

"It was a very nice thing to hear that I was going to be coming back to Colby, in a sense," he said. "As young as I can remember, I made frequent visits to Colby, never thinking I’d come here as my first pastorate."  
 

Before Hackel arrived, St. Mary’s was served by Fr. Anandan Rajendran of India, who came to the church after Fr. John Malik retired.  
 

Hackel’s life story is not unusual for a Catholic in central Wisconsin. He was the 10th of 12 children — seven boys and five girls — raised on a farm in Edgar.  
 

He started seminary school in 1994 at St. John Vianney College on the campus of the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minn. He then did his graduate studies there at St. Paul Seminary. 
 

His first parish assignment after his ordination in 2002 was at St. John the Baptist in Marshfield, where he served as assistant pastor for four years, which also included work at Christ the King Church in Spencer. He then moved to the Church of the Resurrection in Wausau for three years as an associate pastor.  
 

Hackel studied for the La Crosse Diocese, one of five in Wisconsin. 
 

"I could be anywhere in the diocese, but it just so happens, that I’ve been actually very close to home," he said.  
 

He was received "very well"  by St. Mary’s parish community, which includes 450 families in the Colby area.  
 

As priest, Hackel is also the administrator of St. Mary’s Catholic School, which serves 84 students in grades first through eighth. Parochial education is nothing new for him; he taught at Columbus Catholic High School for three years while in Marshfield.  
 

"The younger grades are a joy to be around," he said. "Wausau was the same thing — the same connection with the young people, both the high school and elementary level. It’s a nice thing to have in a parish. It really brings a lot of life, as you can hear the voices out in the playground and everything else."   
 

Listecki, the bishop who sponsored Hackel and assigned him to Colby, was recently called to lead the archdiocese in Milwaukee. A committee of bishops will convene in Rome to review recommendations from the La Crosse diocese before Pope Benedict XVI names a replacement.  
 

"It’s a unique process,"  Hackel said. "I’m not even certain myself...I’m not really sure if too many people know how that works. It’s one of the quieter elections that take place in the church."  
 

Hackel himself visited Rome and the Vatican in 1999 as part of an overseas trip that also included three months of studying in Jerusalem.  
 

While there, Hackel said he was very impressed by the diverse group of people visiting the Vatican — a testament to the "universality" of the church, he said. 
 

He described his time in the Holy Land as "life-changing."  
 

"I would say the most impressive part about it was being able to study the scriptures in the place where they were actually written, and have the scripture passages come to life," he said.  
 

Re-reading the Bible in the context of that environment gave him new insights and perspectives he hopes to share with his parishioners.  
 

Hackel said his top goals are to retain the church’s existing members while also reaching out to bring some former parishioners back into the fold.  
 

"St. Mary’s has been through a little bit of a transition, and we still are, but the number one priority of any pastor is to bring Christ to the people," he said.  
 

Hackel has also inherited the on-going restoration of the church itself, which was built in 1877 and recently had its roof, steeple and windows refurbished. The next step, when the money is available, is to set up scaffolding inside and completely restore the interior.  
 

"We’re very anxious, yet very patient, and are very hopeful that we’ll have our church restored soon," he said.  
 

The project is close to 10 years in the making, and the church is currently in the third year of a five year fundraising campaign, he said.   
 

"That has its challenges in any economy, especially in our economic situation. It makes it all the more challenging for us, but yet, faith wins out. The people — their faith, their trust — are just amazing. That makes it a really great joy being a part of this parish." 

Hackel’s staff includes the church secretary, Ruth Blume, finance director Doree Herbert and Diane Feiten, director of religious education.  
 

Hackel looks forward to continuing his calling at St. Mary’s. 
 

"The people are very wonderful," he said. "I’m very much blessed to be here and serve Colby, Unity and the surrounding area. And being a farm boy, it’s kind of a nice fit."