St. Mary, Kenosha

Our Parish Roots:

In 1929, Archbishop Sebastian Messmer appointed Father Raymond Bell to organize a new congregation in Kenosha. On September 8, 1929, Father Bell offered the first Masses in the temporary church site, which consisted of twenty-six lots and a cottage purchased for $32,000. The cornerstone ceremony was held on August 10, 1930. Archbishop Samuel Stritch offered a Solemn High Mass in the completed worship space in January 1931.

As the St. Mary community continued to grow over the next twenty years, there was a need for a new worship space and parish facilities. On May 11, 1951, church officers participated in laying the cornerstone for the new worship space. The first Mass in the new worship space was offered on December 24, 1953.

St. Mary has maintained a long tradition of proclaiming Christ through the sacramental life of the Catholic Church, education, liturgy, and a strong music ministry. St. Mary Parish has flourished for more than 90 years and has become a gathering space for more than 1,700 families, welcoming a rich and diverse parish life for all Catholics in Kenosha and surrounding regions.

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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 add parking space, add a new parish center, and establish a fund for our parish center expenses.

Initial Parish Goal

$1,560,677

Parish Challenge Goal

$4,000,000

Wave 2

July 2022 - December 2022

Final Total Pledged

$5,712,292

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PARISH CENTER

We are proud of our historic St. Mary campus and we want to continue to invest in our physical infrastructure to bolster our parish for future generations. Upcoming capital projects we plan to complete with the help of campaign donations are a new parish center and a new parking lot.

Our new center will include updated office facilities for our parish staff and multipurpose rooms for parish activities. With an increasing number of faith formation and adult programming sessions, we are running low on space. A new parish center will allow our parish to position itself towards growth, foster learning, and create a comfortable environment for parish families to flourish in faith and ministry for decades to come.

A new parking lot is necessary for St. Mary to accommodate the growth in our parish members. Our current parking lot receives extensive foot and automobile traffic. A new parking lot will ensure a more welcoming entryway to our parish campus, eliminate hazardous conditions for our parishioners, and maintain a safe environment for outdoor events.

FINANCIAL SECURITY

We will enhance St. Mary’s financial health by establishing a reserve for our new parish center. This will ensure we have sufficient funds and resources available for ongoing facility repairs and improvements as they arise in the coming years. This will allow our mission and ministry to continue to grow in line with our priorities and assets.