About Sacred Heart · Lone Rock, Wisconsin
Sacred Heart Parish is a small Roman Catholic parish serving the village of Lone Rock in Richland County, Wisconsin, within the Diocese of La Crosse. The parish is part of the Richland Center Deanery and is currently served by Rev. Arockiaraj Paristham (Fr. Aro), who was appointed Parochial Administrator effective July 1, 2025. Located at 417 S Oak Street, Sacred Heart was named a Year of Mercy pilgrimage church by Bishop Callahan during the 2016 Extraordinary Jubilee.
- Patron
- Sacred Heart of Jesus
- Rector
- Rev. Arockiaraj Paristham (Fr. Aro)
- Diocese
- Diocese of La Crosse
Why belong here
Sacred Heart is a welcoming small-town Catholic parish in the Richland Center Deanery where neighbors gather to celebrate the liturgy and grow in faith together. As one of the Diocese of La Crosse's designated pilgrimage churches (Year of Mercy), it carries a heritage recognized by the wider Catholic community in western Wisconsin. Parishioners are supported in their sacramental life by dedicated diocesan priests who serve multiple small parishes in the region.
Mass times at Sacred Heart
Weekly Mass schedule
Parish Identity and Location
Sacred Heart Parish is located at 417 S Oak Street in the village of Lone Rock, Richland County, Wisconsin. Its mailing address is 32606 Durst Lane, Richland Center, WI 53581-6690. The parish operates within the Richland Center Deanery of the Diocese of La Crosse and is part of a small faith community serving rural southwestern Wisconsin.
Clergy and Pastoral Leadership
Following diocesan reassignments announced May 13, 2025 by Bishop Gerard W. Battersby of the Diocese of La Crosse, Rev. Arockiaraj Paristham (Fr. Aro) was appointed Parochial Administrator of Sacred Heart of Jesus Parish in Lone Rock effective July 1, 2025. He also serves St. Anthony de Padua Parish in Cazenovia and Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary Parish in Keyesville, with residence at the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary Parish rectory. He succeeds Rev. Irudayanathan Thainase, who was reassigned to Christ the King Parish in Spencer and Corpus Christi Parish in Bakerville.
- Current pastor: Rev. Arockiaraj Paristham (Fr. Aro) — Parochial Administrator since July 1, 2025
- Previous pastor: Rev. Irudayanathan Thainase — reassigned July 1, 2025
Diocese of La Crosse
Sacred Heart Parish is one of many parishes within the Roman Catholic Diocese of La Crosse, which covers much of western Wisconsin. The parish falls within the Richland Center Deanery. The diocesan Catholic Life office publishes clergy assignments; an announcement from May 13, 2025 specified the pastor reassignments affecting Sacred Heart.
- Diocese: Diocese of La Crosse
- Deanery: Richland Center
- Bishop (as of May 2025): Most Rev. Gerard W. Battersby, D.D.
Year of Mercy Pilgrimage Church
During the 2016 Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy, Bishop Callahan of the Diocese of La Crosse designated pilgrimage churches in each deanery of the diocese where the faithful could obtain a Year of Mercy plenary indulgence. Sacred Heart in Lone Rock was named as the designated pilgrimage church for the Richland Center Deanery. (Diocesan year-of-mercy materials are available at the Diocese of La Crosse website.)
- Designated 2016 Jubilee Year pilgrimage church for the Richland Center Deanery.
Contact and Practical Information
The parish can be reached by phone at 608-983-2367 (per the Catholic Mass Times directory listing the diocesan contact line) and its email is [email protected]. An alternate diocesan-listed phone appears as 608-585-4846. Its primary online listing remains the diocesan parish page on the Diocese of La Crosse site.
- Phone: 608-983-2367
- Email: [email protected]
- Official webpage: diolc.org/parish/sacred-heart-parish-5/
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Rev. Irudayanathan Thainasethrough June 30, 2025
Previously Pastor of Sacred Heart of Jesus Parish in Lone Rock, along with St. Anthony de Padua in Cazenovia and Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Keyesville; reassigned to Christ the King Parish in Spencer and Corpus Christi in Bakerville effective July 1, 2025.
- Rev. Arockiaraj Paristham (Fr. Aro)effective July 1, 2025
Appointed Parochial Administrator of Sacred Heart of Jesus in Lone Rock, St. Anthony de Padua in Cazenovia, and Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Keyesville, with residence at Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary rectory.