St. Lawrence, St. Lawrence

Our Parish Roots

It was the year 1846 when fourteen families, all recent immigrants from Germany, erected the first Catholic Church in St. Lawrence. The church was blessed by Bishop Henni in October of 1846. In 1849, Johann and Margaretha Schuetz donated 8.1 acres of land and in 1852 a large frame church was built east of the rectory. In 1861, an addition was built, and an organ and two bells were purchased. On Christmas Eve 1861, the lonely settlers heard the chords of an organ and the sound of bells for the first time since leaving their homeland. The present Gothic style brick church was completed in 1881 and consecrated by Archbishop M. Heiss on October 4, 1882. The main altar, still a beautiful part of the sanctuary, was purchased from Goyers Brothers in Louvain, Belgium in 1891. The present church organ was purchased from Bernhard Schaefer in 1901. St. Lawrence Congregation is one of the oldest parishes in Washington County. In 2021, St. Lawrence celebrated its 175th anniversary. Today the parish consists of approximately 600 families.

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Our Share

THROUGH MUCH PRAYER, PLANNING, AND CONVERSATION, WE HAVE IDENTIFIED OUR GREATEST NEEDS AND INITIATIVES TO STRENGTHEN OUR MISSION AND VISION FOR YEARS TO COME. OUR SHARE OF THE FUNDS RAISED WILL BE USED TO MEET SOME OF THE KEY NEEDS OF OUR CAMPUS, INCLUDING STEEPLE REPAIRS, FIXING THE WINDOWS, AND ADDING ACCESIBLE PARKING.

Parish Goal

$239,360

Parish Share

$143,616

Pledged as of 4/27/2023

$194,200

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Capital Improvements - $143,616

St. Lawrence is blessed and fortunate to have such a strong and thriving community of faith. We have a long and proud history with a bright future ahead of us. However, in order to honor that which was given to us by previous generations, we must take steps to steward our history, campus, and community. This requires regular efforts to maintain and invest in our parish. In order to preserve the beauty of our church, we plan to undertake key repairs and maintenance through this campaign. Some projects that we hope to undertake include:

• Repairing the church steeple

• Fixing and repairing the windows

• Creating more accessible parking

We are excited by these prospective projects and hope that with your help, we can establish a strong foundation for our church, the greater St. Lawrence community, and the Catholic Faith here in Wisconsin for years to come.