187.19 Roman Catholic church.

(1) Bishop may incorporate. The provisions of this chapter, except this section and subch. II, shall not apply to or in any manner affect the Roman Catholic church or denomination, or any society or religious corporation now existing or which may be organized in connection therewith. The bishop of each diocese, being the only trustee of each Roman Catholic church in his diocese, may cause any or all congregations therein to be incorporated by adding four more members as trustees as hereinafter provided. The bishop and vicar-general of each diocese, the pastor of the congregation to be incorporated, together with two laypersons, practical communicants of such congregation (the latter to be chosen from and by the congregation), shall be such trustees.

(2) Powers. Such corporation shall assume an appropriate name in its articles of incorporation and may purchase, accept, own and hold property, real and personal, and sell, convey and otherwise dispose of the same and contract debts, all of which shall be done subject to the bylaws and the restrictions hereinafter provided. Such corporation may sue and be sued, have a common seal, which may be changed at pleasure, and do all things necessary for the proper transaction of its business and duties and all things needful in the management of the temporal affairs of the Roman Catholic church of such congregation, and for the benefit thereof and of such members as may become attached and belong to said church in conformity with such rules and regulations as may be established by its bylaws; and also to purchase, own, hold, regulate, control, manage or dispose of any eleemosynary, educational, cemetery, religious or other property which it may acquire in connection with said church and the congregation thereof or be assigned to it by the bishop or other person or persons.

(3) Bishop, vicar-general, pastor. The bishop and vicar-general shall be and remain members of the corporation as long as they shall be and remain respectively bishop and vicar-general of the diocese; and the pastor shall be and remain a member of the corporation so long as the pastor shall be pastor of the congregation; and whenever either or all of them shall cease to be bishop, vicar-general or pastor as aforesaid their respective successors as bishop, vicar-general or pastor shall become their respective successors as members of the corporation, and in like manner they shall have perpetual succession. The bishop and vicar-general or either of them may be represented at any meeting of the congregation or at any meeting of the directors by proxy with like effect as if personally present. The 2 laypersons shall be and remain members of the corporation for the term of 2 years and until their successors, who in all cases shall be laypersons, are chosen or selected as provided by the bylaws. In case of a vacancy in the office of bishop of the diocese the administrator thereof, or such other person as may be appointed according to the rules of the Roman Catholic church to preside over and administer the spiritual and temporal affairs of the diocese, shall be, while he is such administrator or appointee, a member of the corporation in the place and stead of the bishop of the diocese and have the same power and authority in the corporation as the bishop would have.

(4) Officers; bonds. The officers of the corporation shall be a president, vice president, treasurer and secretary. The bishop, a successor or administrator or other person appointed according to the rules of the Roman Catholic church, or administrator for the time being, shall be president; the pastor shall be vice president, and the treasurer and secretary shall be selected or chosen from among the laypersons as provided by the bylaws. In all cases the treasurer shall be required to give bond to the corporation in the sum and with the sureties the directors require, conditioned that the treasurer will faithfully account for and pay over all moneys received as treasurer and otherwise faithfully discharge the duties of the office, which bond shall, before the treasurer enters upon such duties, be approved by the president, vice president and secretary by endorsement made thereon. Whenever the secretary or treasurer, after due notice, neglects or fails to attend the meetings of the directors or attend to the business of the corporation the office shall be declared vacant by the remaining directors and the vacancy be filled by them.

(5) Debts; sale of realty. The bishop or administrator, the vicar-general, pastor, treasurer and secretary shall be directors of the corporation. They may, by a majority vote, contract debts not exceeding in amount the sum of $300. Debts in excess of that sum may be contracted by the consent and vote of all the directors. Such debt may be evidenced by a note or other evidence of debt and may be secured by a mortgage on the property of the corporation, but the note, other evidence of debt or mortgage shall not be construed as implying any covenant for the payment of the sum thereby intended to be secured on the part of any of the directors, but the remedies of the payee or mortgagee named therein shall be confined to the lands and property of the corporation. The real estate of the corporation shall not be sold, mortgaged, encumbered or disposed of in any manner without the vote and consent of all the directors.

(6) Bylaws. The directors, by unanimous vote, may adopt such bylaws, not contrary to the constitution and laws of this state, the statutes of the diocese and the discipline of the Roman Catholic church, as may be deemed necessary for the proper government of such corporation and the management and business thereof or the temporal affairs of such congregation which may become connected therewith or attached thereto. Said bylaws may be altered or amended in the same manner as bylaws are herein required to be adopted and not otherwise; and whenever so adopted or amended shall, before taking effect, be recorded by the secretary in a book to be kept for that purpose and be subscribed to by each of said directors.

(7) Articles to be recorded in office of register of deeds. Whenever any of said congregations have complied with the foregoing provisions, the articles of incorporation thereof shall be made out accordingly, be signed by the president and secretary in the presence of two witnesses, who shall sign their names thereto, and acknowledged before some notary public or other person authorized by law thereto and filed with the department of financial institutions, and recorded in the office of the register of deeds in the county or counties where such corporation may own real estate.

(8) Failure to file or record articles in office of register of deeds not to affect validity. Whenever in the organization of corporations under this section there may have been a failure to record the articles of association or to file a copy thereof in the office of the register of deeds of the proper county, such failure shall not affect the validity of the corporation but the corporation shall be a body corporate from and after the date of the signing of the articles provided that the corporation records the articles or files a copy thereof in the office of the register of deeds of the proper county within 3 months after April 10, 1901.

(9) Amendment of articles. The articles of incorporation of any such congregations may be altered or amended by the unanimous vote of the directors of such corporation. When adopted, duplicate copies of such amendment, each with a certificate thereto affixed, signed by the president and secretary and the other directors, and sealed with the corporate seal, if there be any, stating the fact and date of the adoption of such amendment and that the same was adopted by unanimous vote of the directors of the corporation and that such copy is a true copy of the original, shall be made, and one of such duplicate copies shall be filed with the department of financial institutions and the other shall be recorded in the office of the register of deeds of the county where such corporation is located and in the office of the register of deeds of any other county or counties where the corporation may own real estate.

(10) Dissolution of corporation. Any corporation organized under this section may dissolve by adopting a resolution to that effect by unanimous vote of the directors of such corporation. When adopted, duplicate copies of such resolution of dissolution, each with a certificate thereto affixed, signed by the president and secretary and the other directors, and sealed with the corporate seal, if there be any, stating the fact and date of adoption of such resolution and that the same was adopted by unanimous vote of the directors of the corporation and that such copy is a true copy of the original, shall be made, and one of such duplicate copies shall be filed with the department of financial institutions and the other shall be recorded in the office of the register of deeds of the county where such corporation is located and in the office of the register of deeds of any other county or counties where the corporation may own real estate.

(11) Title to property on dissolution. Whenever any such corporation shall become defunct or be dissolved the property thereof shall vest in the bishop of the diocese in which such corporation is located, and if within three years from the date of such dissolution said congregation be reincorporated in the manner prescribed by this section the said property so belonging to such defunct or dissolved corporation at the time of its dissolution shall vest in such new corporation.

History: 1979 c. 110; 1985 a. 332; 1989 a. 306; Stats. 1989 s. 187.19; 1993 a. 184, 301; 1995 a. 27, 260.