September 9, 2025 // Diocese

Leadership at Diocesan Museum Changes Hands

Kevin Kilbane

The recent leadership transition at the Diocesan Museum was like changing the places of two items in one of the museum’s exhibit cases.

Effective September 1, museum director Kathy Imler retired from that role and moved into serving as a museum docent. Docent Becky Morton assumed responsibilities as museum director.

The change allows both women to focus on their strengths and interests: Imler, a former English teacher at Bishop Luers High School in Fort Wayne, enjoys speaking with visitors and leading school and group tours. Morton, who prefers administrative work, will focus much of her time on those areas.

“It’s been great,” Imler said of her time as director, during which she led efforts to increase public awareness about the museum and to catalog the items in its collection. “I’ve loved the challenges. I’ve loved spending the kind of time and energy that I have.”

At the same time, Imler, a published author, would like to travel more and do more writing. She felt comfortable passing museum leadership to Morton because the two have worked together closely the past few years.

A Unique Mission

Founded in 1980, the museum preserves and shares the history of the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend and the Catholic faith. The building stands at Jefferson Boulevard and Calhoun Street, adjacent to the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception.

Items in its exhibits and collection range from a relic from Jesus Christ’s cross and a clay pottery jar from the time of Abraham (on loan from Bishop Rhoades) to a handwritten Bible from the 1200s, chalices and vestments used by late diocesan priests and bishops, and artifacts and memorabilia from now-closed parishes and schools. The museum also presents items related to current events, such as last year’s National Eucharistic Congress in Indianapolis and the recent election of Pope Leo XIV.

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The Diocesan Museum

Open 10 a.m.-2 p.m.

Tuesday-Saturday

Where: 1103 S. Calhoun St., Fort Wayne

Cost: Free

Contact: 260-424-1485, ext. 401 or 402; or

diocesefwsb.org/museum

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The museum’s work carries out a request made by the late Pope St. John Paul II for dioceses to preserve items related to the cultural heritage of the Catholic Church.

“Not just statues and documents, but dance, music, videos, sermons of great import as well as monstrances and chalices and physical things,” Imler explained.

Both Imler and Morton became involved at the museum in 2019, the year it moved into its current location.

Imler, a Fort Wayne native who grew up at St. Peter Parish in Fort Wayne, was a friend of the late Father Phillip Widmann, the museum’s founder and longtime director. They worked together while he was pastor of St. Peter and St. Mary parishes in Fort Wayne. She began helping him with the museum while he dealt with health issues late in life. Imler, who now serves as a cantor at St. Louis Besancon Parish in New Haven, stepped into the museum director role to carry on Widmann’s work following his death in March of 2021.

Morton, who attends Sacred Heart Parish in Fort Wayne and does bookkeeping there, said she was working as a substitute operator at the diocesan office switchboard. A diocesan official then recommended her to Father Widmann as a possible docent. She initially served as a substitute docent but became a regular when a position became vacant.

A Valued Experience

Both women have enjoyed their work at the museum.

“The combination of art and history are interests for me and are areas where I feel I have some skills,” Imler said. “It’s nice to have an outlet for that, whether painting statues or putting together a display and/or doing the research for those displays. As a former schoolteacher, I enjoy giving the tours as well.”

She added: “I like the idea of it also appealing to people who are uninitiated in the Catholic Church. We often have people who say they want to bring in a family member or grandkids who may not be familiar with the rituals or practices they see their grandparents doing. … Whether the kids are Catholic or not, it’s an opportunity for a grandparent or relative to have a conversation about their own experience of their Catholic faith.”

For Morton, the artistry of many items in the museum speaks to the relationship between God and His people.

“God gives the graces to His creatures, and then the creatures are thanking the Creator by tangible displays of love,” she explained. “Some very human things – the wood, the metal, the marble – that they can use to create such a beautiful piece of art to say to God, ‘I love you, too.’”

She also appreciates the museum being a safe place for people to ask questions about the Catholic faith.

Reaching Out

One of the biggest challenges the museum faced, Imler said, is letting people know it exists.

Through efforts to promote awareness, visitor attendance has grown to 3,000 to 4,000 people annually, she said. The museum also has doubled the number of tours it provides each year for school groups.

Creating a series of temporary exhibits encourages people to make repeat visits and also gives the museum a chance to exhibit items that normally may not be on display, Imler and Morton said. During Imler’s tenure as director, the museum also has added a room displaying a donated, high-quality replica of the Shroud of Turin. Another new room and stairwell showcase the history and memorabilia from long-closed Central Catholic High School, the first Catholic high school in Fort Wayne.

The exhibit displaying the replica of the shroud brings in a lot of people, Imler said. Many people believe the real shroud is the burial cloth of Jesus Christ.

“They get very quiet and spend time there,” Imler said of the room displaying the replica shroud. “You can just feel a kind of meditative awe.”

She also has enjoyed turning a donation of 150 Nativity sets from cultures around the world into a special holiday season exhibit. In addition, the museum has continued a relationship Father Widmann began with Divine Mercy Funeral Home and Catholic Cemetery in Fort Wayne. Divine Mercy exhibits some museum items in display cases at its two funeral homes.

The Future

Challenges still lie ahead.

“The building is 75 years old. It needs attention,” Morton said.

Priorities include updating wiring, Morton said, and repairing crumbling masonry around windows that currently allows water to leak into the building. Sections of the building’s second floor and basement also are not in good physical shape, Imler noted.

“These things probably will come one piece at a time, God willing,” Morton said.

Beyond the structural needs, reworking display lighting and adding exhibit cabinetry would enhance visitors’ experience, Imler said.

As they strive toward those goals, the museum will carry on its mission to collect, preserve, and share the history of the Catholic faith in the diocese.