St. Peter Claver, Sheboygan

Our Parish Roots

On January 30, 1888, Father Jacob Peter Van Treeck, Associate Pastor at Holy Name was asked by Milwaukee Archbishop Michael Heiss to take on the responsibility of organizing a second parish in Sheboygan and serving as its first Pastor. It was agreed that a second Catholic Church was urgently needed to serve the spiritual needs of Catholics living south of the Sheboygan River. At this time, over 100 years later, it is still the only parish in the state of Wisconsin to bear his name. On Sunday, September 30, 1888, Father Van Treeck offered the first Mass in St. Peter Claver Parish on a temporary altar set up in a school room of the combination building. St. Peter Claver celebrated our 100th Centennial Anniversary, with a schedule of events from August of 1987 to September 1988. The celebration concluded with a Mass officiated by Archbishop Rembert Weakland officiating on September 25, 1988. Fr. Paul Fliss was assigned as Pastor of the tri-parish faith communities on the south side of Sheboygan in June of 2013. We continue to build on the courageous faith of those that went before us as we experience a growth and excitement that, with the help of God, will carry us into the future generations to come.

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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 for capital improvements to renovate, repair, and beautify our church.

Parish Goal

$745,235

Parish Share

$447,141

Pledged as of 6/16/23

$642,315

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ROOF REPLACEMENT

In the past few months with an inspection of the Church roof we discovered parts of the roof were beginning to fail. We have been patching the roof for the last 30 years. In consultation with roofing contractors the recommendation now is to replace the entire roof. The Building and Grounds committee is recommending we look at installing a metal roof that should last 100 years. Since maintenance and repair are more necessary for the structure and functioning of parish buildings, this project will need to be completed before we begin the second project of the Capital Campaign.

PAINT AND RESTORATION

We have a most beautiful Church. Distinctive features include our German crafted stained-glass windows and our tiled center aisle, our terrazzo floors, and marbled walls. It has been 30 years since the Church interior has been painted, and there are areas of discoloring and peeling paint.
The vision for the renovation includes restoring the colors to the original interior of the Church and enhance the painted details throughout the structure. The back altar will be renovated to better fit into the sanctuary space and the overall look of the Church, returning some of the original devotional beauty of the structure. The carpeting in the sanctuary will be removed and tile restored. Finally, we plan to commission two mosaic artworks of the life of St Peter Claver to be placed in the areas that currently hold the baptism tree and the Stewardship sign. The top picture on this page is of the current interior of Church.