MADISON — On August 10, Bishop Donald J. Hying of Madison installed Fr. Brian Wilk as pastor of Our Lady Queen of Peace Parish on Madison’s west side.

Father Wilk had been assigned to the parish since 2023.

He had also been assigned as the parochial administrator of St. Thomas Aquinas Parish in Madison within the same pastorate as Our Lady Queen of Peace Parish. Those two parishes were recently unlinked as part of the Into the Deep initiative due to the size of the parish communities.

The Mass

Mass goers were greeted by a deluge of rain on their way to Mass on the morning of August 10, but that did not stop them from coming to share their joy as a community of faith.

Cheryl Horne, pastoral associate, opened the celebration of the Eucharist by welcoming those who had gathered, “This is a day of celebration!,” Horne said.

“We gather this morning to celebrate the installation of Fr. Brian [Wilk] as the fifth pastor of Our Lady Queen of Peace. We take time to remember those pastors who have shepherded our community and now look forward to the days and years ahead.”

The liturgy continued with Bishop Hying installing Father Wilk after the homily, where he renewed his priestly vows and made promises to the parish community, the pastoral staff, and members of the pastoral council and finance council.

As Bishop Hying said in his homily, “I’m grateful to you, Father Brian, for your leadership, service, and example.

“This was a big responsibility: A huge parish with a large school, and it has significant pastoral action. As I look at you this morning, I offer a prayer of thanksgiving to God. Our Lady Queen of Peace is the largest parish in our diocese, and many people from this parish are not only leaders in this community, but leaders in the diocese, benefactors, volunteers, and serve on advisory bodies.”

The bishop continued, “This parish has a significant impact on the wider Church and the wider community. I look at your embrace of the Catholic Multicultural Center and so many other actions of justice and charity. I offer praise and thanks to God for all of you, this community, Father Brian, Father Jay [Poster, parochial vicar], Deacon Mark [Zwolski], the pastoral staff, and this whole community.

“Today is not all about Father Brian, it is about all of you who make up the Mystical Body of Christ, and what a gift it is.”

Father Wilk concluded the celebration by thanking everyone for embracing him as pastor.

Following his ordination in 2003, his first assignment was at Our Lady Queen of Peace Parish, so this assignment is like a homecoming.

He ended by paraphrasing Pope Leo XIV, saying, “Let us [continue to] build bridges!”

About Our Lady Queen of Peace Parish

Our Lady Queen of Peace was founded in 1945 in the Westmorland neighborhood of Madison’s west side.

Fr. Bernard Doyle, Fr. Francis McDonnell, Msgr. Edward Erbe, and Msgr. Ken Fiedler have been the pastors of the parish.

Msgr. Larry Bakke, priest-son of the parish, was the parochial administrator of the parish after the death of Monsignor Fiedler in 2021.

Since its founding days, the parish has been focused on charity and justice, embodying the presence of Our Lady, the Queen of Peace.

Today, the parish has more than 3,100 registered families and a school with 490 students.