 Portrait of Reverend Samuel Mazzuchelli, founder of St. John the Evangelist Parish in 1831. |
A brief history of St. John the Evangelist Parish 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.  Redemptorist Fathers outlining the site of the original 1831 church structure in present day Allouez Catholic Cemetery. (Circa 1980) |
 Church completed in 1873 after fire destroyed the original Methodist building. Note the twin spires were of equal height at this time. |
 Lithograph showing downtown Green Bay in 1867 by A. Ruger, Chicago Lithograph Co. The original Methodist church building is located just above Crooks St. near the middle top of the image. 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. |
 Structure
as seen in 2006. Construction completed in 1915.
Note the absence of
stained glass in round windows as all windows are being
restored in
celebration of 175th anniversary.
|
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. St. John the Evangelist is the oldest continuous parish in the State of Wisconsin. |