About St. John the Baptist · Bloomville, Wisconsin
St. John the Baptist is a small Roman Catholic country parish in rural Bloomville, Wisconsin, within the Diocese of Superior. Founded in 1889 on a half-acre of donated land, the parish has long served the surrounding farming community in northern Lincoln County. Since 2014 it has been clustered with St. Francis Xavier Parish in nearby Merrill, sharing clergy and sacramental ministry, and today it offers Sunday and weekday Mass celebrated in English.
- Established
- 1889
- Patron
- St. John the Baptist
- Rector
- Very Rev. Christopher Kemp
- Diocese
- Diocese of Superior
Why belong here
St. John the Baptist offers a small, country-style Catholic parish experience in rural northern Wisconsin — a tight-knit farming community where the faith has been celebrated continuously since 1889. As a clustered mission of St. Francis Xavier in Merrill, parishioners enjoy the intimacy of a historic country parish while sharing in the broader sacramental life, faith formation, fish fries, and online giving programs of the larger Merrill community.
Mass times at St. John the Baptist
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- By appointment (contact the parish office at 715-536-2803)
Parish History
St. John the Baptist traces its roots to 1887, when a half-acre of land was donated for a church in rural Bloomville. The first church building was constructed in 1889 while the parish was still part of the Diocese of Green Bay. A new church was built in 1966, with the first Mass celebrated there on Christmas Eve; the original 1912 church bell was salvaged and remains in use. From 1945 to 2014 the parish was linked with St. Augustine in Harrison, and since 2014 it has been clustered with St. Francis Xavier in Merrill.
- 1887 — Land donated for the church site
- 1889 — First church building constructed
- 1912 — Original church bell blessed
- 1945 — Became a mission of St. Augustine, Harrison
- 1966 — Present church built; first Mass on Christmas Eve
- 1981 — Sr. Marla Lang, FSPA, named pastoral administrator (first woman/layperson in role in the diocese and in Wisconsin)
- 1993 — Michele Rein becomes parish director
- 2009 — Fr. Ron Serrao named Parochial Administrator
- 2013 — Fr. Don Kania serves as pastor
- 2014 — Parish clustered with St. Francis Xavier, Merrill
Clergy & Parish Staff
St. John the Baptist is served through the Merrill-area cluster of the Diocese of Superior. The Very Rev. Christopher Kemp serves as Supervising Pastor, with Rev. John Long as Sacramental Minister and Deacon James Arndt as Parish Life Coordinator (extension 100). Parish office contact is routed through St. Francis Xavier at (715) 536-2803.
- Very Rev. Christopher Kemp — Supervising Pastor
- Rev. John Long — Sacramental Minister
- Dcn. James Arndt — Parish Life Coordinator (ext. 100)
- Parish email: [email protected]
Cluster & Parish Life
St. John the Baptist belongs to a Merrill-area cluster of parishes led from St. Francis Xavier. Shared programs include online giving, faith formation registration, school tuition payments, the FORMED Catholic media platform, and Flocknote parish communications. The cluster's signature community event is the St. Francis Fish Fry, held every Friday during Lent from 4:30 PM to 7:00 PM at St. Francis Xavier.
- Online giving & one-time donations (Visa, Mastercard, Discover, AmEx, EFT)
- St. Francis Fish Fry — Fridays in Lent, 4:30–7:00 PM
- Faith formation registration (cluster-wide)
- Flocknote parish messaging
- FORMED Catholic content library
Visit & Contact
St. John the Baptist sits at the intersection of State Highway 17 and County Road J in rural Bloomville, Lincoln County, Wisconsin. Visitors are encouraged to call the parish office at St. Francis Xavier (715-536-2803) or email [email protected] for current schedules, appointments for confession, and sacramental needs.
- Address: N4887 State Hwy 17, Bloomville, WI 54435
- Phone: (715) 536-2803
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: stfrancismerrill.org/st-john-the-baptist
- Diocese: Diocese of Superior
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Priest assigned from St. Augustine, Harrison1945–1981
St. John the Baptist served as a mission of St. Augustine Parish in Harrison, with a priest covering both parishes.
- Sr. Marla Lang, FSPA1981–1993
Franciscan Sister of Perpetual Adoration; appointed by Bishop George A. Hammes as pastoral administrator — the first woman and layperson to serve in that role in the Diocese of Superior and in Wisconsin.
- Michele Rein1993–
Assumed role of parish director after Sr. Lang's resignation; priests from Merrill, Rhinelander, and Tomahawk led sacramental celebrations.
- Fr. Ron Serrao2009–
Priest from India; served as Parochial Administrator of the Harrison–Bloomville parishes.
- Fr. Don Kania2013–
Pastor for a short time before the 2014 re-clustering.
- Very Rev. Christopher Kemp2014–present
Supervising Pastor after St. John the Baptist was clustered with St. Francis Xavier in Merrill.