St. Anthony

About the Parish

St. Anthony Catholic Church is a small rural parish of the Diocese of La Crosse serving the unincorporated community of Drywood in Arthur Township, Chippewa County, Wisconsin. The parish sits on 250th Street east of the Village of Cadott, in the heart of the southern Chippewa Valley farm-and-forest country. Its official mailing address is shared with Sacred Heart of Jesus Parish in Jim Falls, and the two parishes form a cluster under a single pastor and deacon. The parish belongs to the Chippewa Falls Deanery of the diocese and is affiliated with McDonell Area Catholic Schools (MACS) in Chippewa Falls.

History — Origins in Father Goldsmith's Chippewa Valley Missions

The parish was founded as one of the small mission churches established by Father Charles F.X. Goldsmith (1845–1890), the celebrated 'Boy Priest' who took charge of St. Mary's of the Falls in Chippewa Falls on May 25, 1869 and almost immediately began a church-building campaign across the region. By 1886 he had organized twelve mission parishes in the Chippewa Valley and beyond, making Notre Dame Parish in Chippewa Falls one of only two 'mother mission churches' in northwestern Wisconsin. St. Anthony of Drywood, like its neighbors in Cadott, Jim Falls, Cornell, Boyd, and Stanley, grew out of this 1870s–1880s missionary effort, with Catholic lumber-camp and farm families of Arthur Township gathering around the new mission.

• 1869 — Father Charles F.X. Goldsmith arrives in Chippewa Falls and assumes the pastorate of St. Mary's of the Falls.
• 1870–1872 — Goldsmith builds Notre Dame Church in Chippewa Falls as the mother church of his missionary district.
• 1870s–1880s — St. Anthony Mission established in Drywood (Arthur Township) to serve scattered Catholic settlers and lumbermen.
• 1886 — Notre Dame Parish recognized as a 'mother mission church' alongside Bayfield; Goldsmith's district by now includes twelve organized mission parishes.
• November 1890 — Father Goldsmith dies; he is later entombed beneath the altar of Notre Dame Church / Goldsmith Memorial Chapel (National Register of Historic Places).

St. Anthony's Catholic Cemetery

St. Anthony's Catholic Cemetery is the parish cemetery, located in Arthur Township, Chippewa County, in the small community of Drywood alongside the church. It contains the graves of generations of Catholic pioneers of Arthur Township and is maintained by St. Anthony Parish. Coordinates are approximately 45.04540, -91.16700. Burials on file include families such as Goodman, Roshell, and others tracing back to at least the 1890s.

• George M. Goodman (1894–1982) and Frances E. née Selb (1895–1991)
• Theodore J. Roshell (1915–1986) and Margaret M. née Zimmerman (1920–1993)
• Coordinates: 45.04540, -91.16700 (Arthur Township, Chippewa County)
• Cemetery contact: c/o St. Anthony Parish – Drywood (Cadott)

Cluster with Sacred Heart of Jesus, Jim Falls

Under the diocesan pastoral plan of the Diocese of La Crosse, St. Anthony Parish is clustered with Sacred Heart of Jesus Parish in Jim Falls, sharing one pastor (Rev. Eric Linzmaier) and one permanent deacon (Deacon Kurt Zakrzewski). The mailing address, parish office, and many administrative functions are run out of the Sacred Heart rectory in Jim Falls (13989 195th St, PO Box 68, Jim Falls, WI 54748). For a time the cluster also included Holy Cross Parish in Cornell, which shared Deacon Dennis Rivers until he was granted Senior Deacon status in March 2019.

• Pastor: Rev. Eric Linzmaier
• Deacon: Kurt Zakrzewski (ordained June 23, 2020)
• Mailing / parish office: 13989 195th St, PO Box 68, Jim Falls, WI 54748-0068
• Formerly clustered with Holy Cross, Cornell (deacon served 2019)
• Diocesan pastoral-plan reconfiguration

Clergy

The parish is currently served by Pastor Rev. Eric Linzmaier and Deacon Kurt Zakrzewski, who jointly serve St. Anthony (Drywood) and Sacred Heart of Jesus (Jim Falls) within the Chippewa Falls Deanery of the Diocese of La Crosse. Deacon Zakrzewski was ordained to the permanent diaconate on June 23, 2020 and assigned to the cluster that same day. The parish was previously assisted by Deacon Dennis Rivers, who was released from his assignment and granted Senior Deacon status effective March 13, 2019.

• Rev. Eric Linzmaier — Pastor
• Deacon Kurt Zakrzewski — ordained June 23, 2020
• Deacon Dennis Rivers — released March 13, 2019 (Senior Deacon)

Sacraments and Faith Formation

The parish prepares Catholics for and celebrates the seven sacraments in union with the Diocese of La Crosse. Faith formation, First Reconciliation / First Communion preparation, Confirmation preparation, and RCIA are offered through the cluster; details and registration are arranged through the parish office. Marriages require diocesan preparation, and the Anointing of the Sick is available by request for the homebound, hospitalized, or elderly.

• Baptism (infant and adult via RCIA)
• First Communion / First Reconciliation preparation
• Confirmation preparation
• Marriage — diocesan preparation required
• Anointing of the Sick
• RCIA / Adult Initiation
• Funeral liturgies

Catholic School Affiliation — McDonell Area Catholic Schools (MACS)

St. Anthony Parish is one of the supporting parishes of McDonell Area Catholic Schools (MACS) in Chippewa Falls, the regional K–12 Catholic school system that grew out of the 1881 Notre Dame grade school opened by Father Goldsmith's successors. Children of St. Anthony families are eligible to attend MACS schools, and the parish contributes to the system through the diocesan pastoral plan and shared capital campaigns.

• McDonell Area Catholic Schools (MACS), Chippewa Falls
• Origins in the 1881 Notre Dame grade school
• Current supporting parishes include St. Anthony (Drywood) and Sacred Heart (Jim Falls)