La Crosse Tribune Article

La Crosse Tribune
Two Articles

Published - Thursday, July 28, 2005

Onalaska priest linked to Internet world

By GAYDA HOLLNAGEL | La Crosse Tribune

ONALASKA, Wis. — Father Pat's Place has moved to St. Patrick's Catholic Church in Onalaska.

The Web site, operated by the Rev. Patrick Umberger, was developed in 1995 while Umberger was pastor of St. Bronislava's Catholic Church in Plover, Wis.

Since then, Umberger has plied his Internet ministry out of St. John the Apostle parish in Whitehall, Wis., and St. Ansgar parish in Blair, Wis., and brought it with him last month when he was appointed pastor of St. Patrick's.

Umberger, a Stoddard, Wis., native who was ordained in 1980 and celebrated his 25th anniversary as a priest this year, said he's pleased to be closer to his roots and is hoping to stay at St. Pat's for many years.

"Once you've lived near the Mississippi River, you never want to be too far away from it," he said.

Umberger said his Web site, www.frpat.com, is updated daily to keep it fresh and interesting for Internet visitors.

The site has more than 200 pages, he said, and includes numerous links to other sites.

"My site contains information about everything Catholic," Umberger says on his home page, ticking off such topics as marriage annulments, grief and crisis support, and saints.

He also has a spot where people can sign up for an

e-mail of his daily morning prayer and another spot where they can sign up to receive "This Weekend," a feature that includes questions and reflections for every Sunday.

There's also information about Bishop Jerome Listecki, appointed this year to the Diocese of La Crosse, news about the Knights of Columbus and a page devoted to Umberger's extensive fountain pen collection.

And for people who just want to chat or offer their own views, Father Pat's Place now offers a blog and a discussion board.

Since coming to St. Patrick's in July, Umberger has been working on updating the parish Web page, www.stpatz.com, and the school Web page, stpatzschool.com.

He's also got a site where he's advertising for participants to travel with him in October to Poland and Prague. He's got eight slots left, he said.

Umberger said he sends out about 100,000 e-mails a week to people who have signed up for some of his materials.

His Web site, which was among the earliest and most extensive of Catholic religious sites, has been written up in articles for USA Today and the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. USA Today at one time in the 1990s listed his site as one of their "hot sites" to visit.

Father Pat's Place has had about a half-million hits since its founding, Umberger said.

Gayda Hollnagel can be reached at (608) 791-8224 or at ghollnagel@lacrossetribune.com

Published - Monday, May 31, 2004

Priest reaching out online to Catholics

By ED HOSKIN / La Crosse Tribune

WHITEHALL, Wis. — You don't need to live in Trempealeau County to be a part of the Rev. Pat Umberger's ever-expanding congregation.

With just a few clicks of a mouse, ministering is available from the priest's three Web pages. An e-mailed daily prayer is received by thousands of people all over the world.

"I think the Internet is a great way to spread the gospel message because it's where people are," Umberger said. "The church needs to be where people are.

"I like to think of it as having a hook in the water 24 hours a day," he said. "You never know who is going to come by."

Umberger said he uses technology to spread Christ's word in the same way St. Paul used the methods available to him.

"He traveled by boat. He wrote letters," Umberger said. "Whatever technology he had, he used."

Umberger, who grew up in Stoddard, Wis., is the parochial administrator of St. John Apostle Parish in Whitehall and St. Ansgar Parish in Blair, Wis.

A Web site for the parishes (www.johnsgar.com) was set up by Umberger, and he also has a personal Web site and another for people who have been away from the church and are interested in coming back (www.cmonback.com).

Umberger's personal Web site, Father Pat's Place (www.frpat.com), offers more than 100 pages on issues ranging from grief support, reconciliation, marriage problems, Lenten regulations and Catholic teaching on war.

One section is about dealing with cancer, an issue close to Umberger's heart after he recovered from eye cancer.

The site e-mails morning prayer to about 8,500 people worldwide, as well as a weekly spiritual reflection which is received by about 3,000 people.

Father Pat's Place has had about 336,000 visitors since 1998.

The Web site for the parishes is similar to a church bulletin, except it is available at a moment's notice and updated as events occur.

Umberger created his first Web site for the St. Bronislava Parish in Plover, Wis., where he became pastor in 1993. He has helped other parishes set up their own Web sites.

"Many churches have a Web site with a picture of the church, a Mass schedule, but not many are as comprehensive as ours," Umberger said. "We have e-mail lists as well, so if something happens in the parish, they can be the first to know when there's a funeral, when there's a good show on television, when a variety of things are happening in the parish."

Not all people who visit the Web sites are Catholics, and not everyone is looking to Umberger for direct ministering.

Some visitors are inactive Catholics, and the anonymity of the Internet makes some of them more comfortable when trying to get back into the church than approaching a priest in person, he said.

"My goal is not to be anyone's full-time pastor but to link them up with a church that's near them," Umberger said. "I began because there are so many people who have a curiosity about the church, don't know what the church teaches in certain areas and would like to know.

"It's hard to find a place where they can learn information in terms they can understand, presented simply enough and yet accurately enough and friendly enough that it makes them want to read and learn more," he said.

Umberger said electronics and technology have always interested him, and after buying a computer in 1985, he was able to learn how to run programs himself.

The cyber-ministry has been featured in several newspapers, including the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and USA Today.

"I don't seek attention, but I do think publicity like that is valuable because it helps more people know the site is there," Umberger said. "The more people who come, the more good we can do."

Umberger typically spends a couple of hours a day at his church office computer, updating the Web sites or replying to many e-mails.

"This is a way to touch many lives, and do God's work," Umberger said. "It feels great."

Ed Hoskin can be reached at ehoskin@lacrossetribune.com.

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