St. Mary's Visitation, Elm Grove

Our Parish Roots:

St. Mary’s Visitation was originally established in 1848 under the patronage of St. Ambrose. A log church building was dedicated to St. Ambrose in 1851. As the parish grew, the Poor School Sisters of Notre Dame chapel in the convent was used as a makeshift worship space. It was blessed as the parish church and named Church of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary on August 15, 1859. A church was built on the convent property and dedicated by Bishop John Henni in 1868.

Since then, St. Mary’s Visitation continued to expand with a new church dedicated on November 22, 1922 by Archbishop Messmer. The present St. Mary’s Visitation church was built in 1963 with seating for over 1,200. In 1967, the rectory and administration building were added to the northeast of the church.

St. Mary’s Visitation remains a vibrant and diverse gathering space for a growing Catholic community of more than 1,600 families, welcoming all Catholics in Elm Grove and surrounding regions to join in celebrating Mass.

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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 build a new Perpetual Adoration Chapel and to upgrade our school building.

Initial Parish Goal

$2,021,530

Parish Challenge Goal

$3,500,000

Wave 2

July 2022 - December 2022

Final Total Pledged

$4,336,034

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PERPETUAL ADORATION CHAPEL

Our parish places Jesus Christ at the center of our sacramental, liturgical, and architectural focus. Throughout our 150+ year history, we have expanded, renovated, and updated our campus to accommodate the needs of our growing community. As good stewards of our historic home, we need to invest in our Perpetual Adoration Chapel that has been a beacon of faith and Catholicism in our community.

Our planned project is to replace the existing Perpetual Adoration Chapel with an expanded Adoration Chapel that inspires, invites, and gives Glory to God. An expanded Perpetual Adoration Chapel will provide our parishioners, school children, and visitors a more comfortable and spiritual environment to focus their hearts and minds in prayer in the Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist for years to come.

SCHOOL BUILDING UPGRADES

We will enhance St. Mary’s financial health by establishing a fund to continue our school building upgrades. Planned upgrades include but are not limited to school campus security enhancements, bathroom upgrades, and mechanical and structural upgrades. Establishing this reserve will ensure that our school has sufficient funds to continue to bring our facility needs up to date in the event of unexpected emergencies.