Rev. Leander F. Nickel
Rev. Leander F. Nickel, age 99, entered into eternal life on Monday, May 11, 2020 at Crossroads in Green Bay, Wisconsin.
Father Nickel was born in Jericho, Wisconsin, to August and Frances (Olbrich) Nickel. He was the third of six children. He attended Chilton High School and junior college at St. Lawrence Seminary, Mount Calvary. He then attended St. Paul Seminary, St. Paul, Minnesota, where he earned a degree in philosophy, and then studied theology at St. Francis Seminary in St Francis. Most Reverend Stanislaus V. Bona ordained him to the priesthood on May 31, 1947, at St. Francis Xavier Cathedral, Green Bay.
Father Leander’s first appointment was as Assistant Pastor of St. Mary Parish, Oshkosh. This was followed by an appointment as Assistant Pastor of St. Mary Parish, Algoma, and then Sacred Heart Parish, Appleton. In 1959, he was appointed Pastor of St. Michael Parish, Suring, where he served for eight years. During this time, he helped to organize the Diocesan Clergy Credit Union for the Green Bay diocesan priests, and served as treasurer and manager until 1986. He was appointed Pastor of Immaculate Conception Parish, Clarks Mills in 1967, and served until 1979, and then served as Pastor of St. Nicholas Parish, Freedom until 1990. His last appointment was Pastor of St. Mary Parish, Stockbridge. He retired in 2002. Father Nickel also served as a regional vicar and as a diocesan consultor.
Reception of the body will take place at 4:00 p.m. on Friday, May 15, 2020, at St. Mary Church, Stockbridge. Visitation will follow and continue until 6:00 p.m. With concerns for the coronavirus, all visitations will be limited to 10 people at a time in the church with others waiting outside while all observe social distancing and proper sanitization. After visitation, a Prayer Service will be held at 6:00 p.m., again limited to 10 people.
Visitation will continue on the morning of Saturday, May 16, from 10:00 to 11:00 a.m., again limited to 10 people at a time with others waiting outside while all observe social distancing and proper sanitization.
The Funeral Liturgy, expressing our faith and our hope in the promised glory of the Lord’s Resurrection, will follow visitation and take place on Saturday, May 16, 2020, at St. Mary Church, 120 Davis Street, Stockbridge at 11:00 a.m., with Most Reverend David L. Ricken as Celebrant. Attendance at the Funeral Mass will be limited to 10 persons but the burial afterwards outside at Holy Trinity Cemetery, Jericho, is open to all who would like to attend while observing social distancing.