About Holy Cross Church (St. Isidore Parish) · Mount Calvary, Wisconsin
Holy Cross Church is one of five worship sites that make up Our Lady of the Holyland Parish, a Roman Catholic community in the village of Mount Calvary, Wisconsin, in the northwest corner of the Archdiocese of Milwaukee. The parish traces its origins to 1849, when Fr. Caspar Rehrl — remembered as the 'Apostle to the Holyland' — built a log chapel under the patronage of St. Nicholas for the German immigrant farmers of Mount Calvary. That chapel was later renamed Holy Cross, and the congregation eventually grew into three parishes (Holy Cross, St. Cloud/St. Claudius, and St. Joseph) before being reunited in 2010 as St. Isidore the Farmer Parish. Today Holy Cross serves alongside St. John, St. Mary, St. Cloud, and St. Joseph under Capuchin Franciscan pastoral leadership.
- Established
- 1849
- Patron
- Holy Cross (originally under the patronage of St. Nicholas; parish patron later became St. Isidore the Farmer)
- Rector
- Fr. Paul Koenig, OFM Capuchin
- Diocese
- Archdiocese of Milwaukee (Metropolitan)
Why belong here
Our Lady of the Holyland is a five-site Catholic community where five historic rural churches — including Holy Cross — share one pastor and one staff, giving parishioners the warmth of a small country parish with the resources of a larger collaborative. Faith is lived out here across the week with daily Mass, Saturday confessions, parish music ministry, religious education under Director Sheila, and pastoral care visits from Sr. Jenada Fanetti, SDS. The Capuchin Franciscan tradition (present since 1857) gives the parish a distinctively devotional character — and in 2025 the Holy Cross site was designated an official Jubilee pilgrimage site for the 800th anniversary of St. Francis of Assisi's death, making it a meaningful destination for visitors from across the Archdiocese of Milwaukee.
Mass times at Holy Cross Church (St. Isidore Parish)
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Saturday 3:45 p.m. — Holy Cross
Parish History
Our Lady of the Holyland traces its story to 1841, when Fr. Caspar Rehrl and German Catholic pioneer families founded St. John the Baptist Parish in Johnsburg. In 1849 Fr. Rehrl — remembered as the 'Apostle to the Holyland' — built a log chapel under the patronage of St. Nicholas in Mount Calvary for the German immigrant farmers of the surrounding countryside. That chapel was renamed Holy Cross and grew into a community large enough to spawn daughter parishes at St. Cloud (originally St. Claudius) and St. Joe (St. Joseph). In 2010 these three parishes were reunited as St. Isidore the Farmer Parish, and the collaborative has since expanded into the five-site Our Lady of the Holyland Parish served from Mount Calvary.
- 1841 — St. John the Baptist Parish founded in Johnsburg by Fr. Caspar Rehrl
- 1849 — Log chapel built in Mount Calvary under the patronage of St. Nicholas (later renamed Holy Cross)
- Daughter parishes established: St. Cloud (originally St. Claudius) and St. Joseph
- 1857 — Capuchin Franciscans of the Province of St. Joseph begin serving the Holyland
- 2010 — Holy Cross, St. Cloud, and St. Joe reunited as St. Isidore the Farmer Parish
- Expanded to today's five-site Our Lady of the Holyland Parish
Parish Staff & Clergy
The parish is shepherded by Capuchin Franciscan friars. Fr. Paul Koenig, OFM Capuchin, serves as pastor and can be reached at the Mt. Calvary office; Fr. Baudry Metangmo, OFM Capuchin, assists as weekend assistant and sacramental minister. Pastoral care is provided by Sr. Jenada Fanetti, SDS. Parish operations are supported by Director of Religious Education Sheila, three ministers of sacred music, and parish secretaries in both the Mt. Calvary and Johnsburg offices.
- Fr. Paul Koenig, OFM Capuchin — Pastor (920-753-7572, [email protected])
- Fr. Baudry Metangmo, OFM Capuchin — Weekend Assistant / Sacramental Minister
- Sr. Jenada Fanetti, SDS — Pastoral Care Minister
- Sheila — Director of Religious Education
- Brady Freund, Marilyn Lisowe, Lynn Schmitz — Ministers of Sacred Music
- Lori Lemke (Mt. Calvary Office), Tammy Horn (Johnsburg Office) — Parish Secretaries
Five Worship Sites of Our Lady of the Holyland
Our Lady of the Holyland Parish operates five worship sites across northeast Fond du Lac County, allowing parishioners to attend Mass at whichever location is most convenient. Holy Cross in Mount Calvary serves as one of the principal Sunday locations.
- Holy Cross Church — 308 S. County W, Mt. Calvary, WI 53057
- Saint Cloud Church — 924 S. Main Street, St. Cloud, WI 53079
- Saint Joseph Church — W620 County G, St. Cloud, WI 53079
- Saint Mary Church — N10232 Hwy G, New Holstein, WI 53061
- Saint John Church — N9288 Hwy W, Malone, WI 53049
Jubilee of St. Francis of Assisi — Pilgrimage Site
In honor of the 800th anniversary of the death of St. Francis of Assisi, Pope Leo XIV proclaimed an extraordinary Jubilee Year running from January 10, 2026 to January 2027. Our Lady of the Holyland's Holy Cross site has been designated an official Jubilee pilgrimage site by the Archdiocese of Milwaukee, inviting the faithful of the region to make a pilgrimage to this historic Capuchin-served rural church.
- Official Jubilee pilgrimage site (Archdiocese of Milwaukee designation)
- Jubilee Year: January 10, 2026 – January 31, 2027
- Commemorates the 800th anniversary of the death of St. Francis of Assisi
- Reflects the parish's deep Capuchin Franciscan heritage (friars on-site since 1857)
Ministries & Faith Life
Faith formation and pastoral care are central to life at Our Lady of the Holyland. The parish runs a Religious Education program under a dedicated Director, and pastoral care visits to the homebound and hospitalized are coordinated by Sr. Jenada Fanetti, SDS. Sacred music at Mass is supported by a team of three musicians across the parish's worship sites, and a Pastoral Council guides the collaborative's overall direction.
- Religious Education program (Director: Sheila)
- Pastoral Care Ministry — Sr. Jenada Fanetti, SDS
- Sacred Music Ministry — Brady Freund, Marilyn Lisowe, Lynn Schmitz
- Pastoral Council (collaborative governance)
Capuchin Franciscan Heritage
Our Lady of the Holyland has been served by the Capuchin Franciscan friars of the Province of St. Joseph since 1857 — making this one of the older continuous Capuchin presences in Wisconsin. The Order of Friars Minor Capuchin (OFM Capuchin) follows the tradition of St. Francis of Assisi, and the parish's recent designation as a Jubilee pilgrimage site for the 800th anniversary of St. Francis's death connects the local congregation directly to that broader Franciscan story.
- Capuchin Franciscan presence in the Holyland since 1857
- Friars belong to the Province of St. Joseph
- Current pastor and sacramental minister are both Capuchins
- 2025–2026 Jubilee Year marks 800 years since St. Francis of Assisi's death
Contact & Parish Offices
The parish is administered from two offices. The Mt. Calvary Office is located at the Holy Cross Church site (308 S. County W, Mt. Calvary, WI 53057) and the Johnsburg Office is at N9288 Hwy W, Malone, WI 53049. New parishioners are warmly welcomed and asked to call either office to register.
- Mt. Calvary Office — 308 S. County W, Mt. Calvary, WI 53057 — 920-753-3311
- Johnsburg Office — N9288 Hwy W, Malone, WI 53049 — 920-795-4316
- Email pastor: [email protected]
- New parishioners: call the Parish Offices at 920-753-3311 or 920-795-4316