Sunday Church Feature
St. John's the Evangelist Catholic Church
Green Bay, Wisconsin

"In the Fall of 1831, a young Dominican missionary, Reverend Samuel Mazzuchelli, was sent to La Baye to establish a Catholic parish for the Indians and French-Canadian fur traders living here. The first church was built at Shantytown, the site of the present Allouez Catholic Cemetery, on land donated by Joseph Ducharme.



"The Redemptorist Fathers and other pioneer missionaries continued the work of Father Mazzuchelli. A fire in 1847 and the change in the center of population brought the congregation to the site in the borough of Green Bay. This church was purchased from a Methodist congregation. This church was also destroyed by fire in March of 1872. A new, twin-spired brick building was built to replace the former Methodist church structure and was completed in 1873. Faulty wiring led to a fire which destroyed this church on March 13, 1911. On May 11th of that same year, Bishop Fox and the St. John's Parish trustees approved the building of the new church on the corner of Milwaukee and Madison Streets. Joseph Foeller was contracted to be the General Contractor for the new church at a cost of $54,099.00. The present day church was completed in 1915." (See Link 1.)

"The roof line on all sides includes miniature arches below the eaves. The semi-circular arches are repeated in the windows, with most enhanced by white stonework that's reminiscent of an eyebrow. Walls are massive. Decorative elements are abundant. High up in the two towers are Roman columns.  The church is considered architecturally significant as a textbook example of the Romanesque Revival style.



"Many people wonder why the towers are of different heights. That's a sign of the Romanesque Revival style that was popular starting in the late 19th century, the 1988 survey notes. The taller of the towers holds two bells. The larger bell is named St. John, and and the smaller bell is named St. Mary." (See Reference.)


"Structure (in the photo above) as seen in 2006 (at 413 St. John's Street). Note the absence of stained glass in round windows as all windows are being restored in celebration of 100th anniversary.

"St. John the Evangelist is the oldest continuous parish in the State of Wisconsin."(See Link.)

Photo: Taken in Green Bay, Wisconsin in 2006 by SW.
Link: http://www.stjohnevangb.org/briefhist.html
Reference: wgerds@greenbaypressgazette.com • April 28, 2010