St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church

Corner of St. John Street and Madison Streets

St. John 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 dedicated in 1912." (See Link 1.)

Sanctuary

(Link 3.)

"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. 

Stained Glass Eyebrow Window

"Death"

(Link 3.)

Stained Glass Eyebrow Window

"St. John at Potmos"

(Link 3.)

"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.)


In "December 20, 1911, when Father Ricklin ordered our two cast bronze bells from the Mcshane Bell Foundry in Baltimore, Maryland, which is still in existence today and one of the only two church bell making companies left in the United States. The bells cost $1,095.00. Father Ricklin made the second and final payment on the bells in February, 1912. Combined, the bells weigh nearly 3500 pounds. They were installed in time to ring out for the Dedication Mass of the new church on September 9, 1912." (Link 2.)

"The stained glass windows in St. John's Church were commissioned by Father Ricklin and created in Chartres, France, by the artist Charles Lorin.... The Lorin Studio ...created may stained glass windows around the world including windows in St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York, the Cathedral Notre Dame de Chartres in France, the Miracle of St. Nicolas in the Monaco Cathedral,...(Link 3.)

St. Cicile

(Link 3.)

 "On April 27, 1912, St. John's contracted with the Gavin Mirror Art Glass Company of Milwaukee to pay them $695.95 for the windows." (Link 2.)

"St. John the Evangelist is the oldest continuous parish in the State of Wisconsin." (See Link 1.)

Congratulations to St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church on its 

100th Anniversary Celebration.

Reference: wgerds@greenbaypressgazette.com • April 28, 2010
Photo: Top exterior photo taken in 2006 by SW.
Link 1: http://www.stjohnevangb.org/briefhist.html
Link 2: http://www.facebook.com/StJohnTheEvangelistGreenBay
Link 3: http://sjearchives.org/history-of-the-stained-glass-windows.php

Prayer

God, be with the persecuted Christians through out the world. Amen