About St. John the Baptist · Princeton, Wisconsin
St. John the Baptist is a small Catholic parish in Princeton, Wisconsin, rooted in the Polish and German immigrant community that settled the Green Lake County area in the 1870s. The parish was founded by families who named their American church after St. John the Baptist in Ludomy, Poland, where many had been baptized. After more than a century as an independent parish, St. John the Baptist was merged on March 1, 2025 into the newly created Mater Dei Parish of the Diocese of Madison, joining with All Saints (Berlin), Our Lady of the Lake (Green Lake), Holy Family (Markesan/Kingston), and St. James (Neshkoro). Today the church continues to serve its rural congregation with regular Mass, confession, Eucharistic adoration, and the famous annual Polish Picnic.
- Established
- 1871
- Patron
- St. John the Baptist
- Rector
- Msgr. James L. Gunn (Pastor of Mater Dei Parish, which includes St. John the Baptist, Princeton)
- Diocese
- Diocese of Madison
Why belong here
St. John the Baptist offers a tight-knit rural parish family with daily Mass Tuesday through Friday and Sunday worship in a historic 1887-1888 brick church. Parishioners can participate in weekly Eucharistic adoration (Tuesdays after Mass), regular confession times, and the beloved annual Polish Picnic each August — a tradition that has run (with a few breaks) since 1903. As part of the new Mater Dei Parish, the Princeton church is served by a stable team of priests and a deacon, giving small-town Catholic worship the resources of a multi-site parish.
Mass times at St. John the Baptist
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Tuesday 5:45 PM – 6:45 PM
- Sunday 7:30 AM – 7:55 AM
Adoration times
- Tuesday 8:30 AM – 9:30 AM
Parish Identity & History
St. John the Baptist Catholic Church is a small but historically rich parish in Princeton, Green Lake County, Wisconsin. It was founded by Polish and German immigrants in the 1870s — many tracing their origins to Ludomy in what is now the Kuyavia-Pomerania region of Poland — and was named after the Catholic church of their home village. The first church was built in 1871, dedicated in August 1873, and the parish formally became a parish in 1883. The current brick church was built in 1887-1888 and is still used for worship today. In 2025 the parish was merged into Mater Dei Parish of the Diocese of Madison, the latest chapter in a story now spanning more than 150 years.
- First church built 1871; dedicated August 1873
- First resident pastor: Rev. Joseph Szpecht (1875)
- Elevated from mission to parish in 1883
- Current brick church built 1887-1888
- Founding families largely from Ludomy, Poland
- Merged into Mater Dei Parish on March 1, 2025
Clergy & Pastoral Staff
Since March 1, 2025 St. John the Baptist has been served by the clergy of Mater Dei Parish. Msgr. James L. Gunn (ordained 1977) is the pastor; he served as parochial administrator of the cluster from August 2024 and was formally installed as pastor of Mater Dei in 2025. He is assisted by two parochial vicars — Fr. Eric Nielsen and Fr. Anthony (Tony) Thirumalareddy — and Deacon Terry Larbes.
- Msgr. James L. Gunn — Pastor
- Fr. Eric Nielsen — Parochial Vicar
- Fr. Anthony Thirumalareddy — Parochial Vicar
- Deacon Terry Larbes
The Polish Picnic
The annual Polish Picnic is the parish's signature community event and one of its defining traditions. First held in 1903, it has run (with gaps in 1905, 1948-1955, and 2023) for well over a century. Held on the third Sunday in August, the picnic features a car show, cornhole tournament, live music, a chicken dinner, basket raffles, a big raffle (with prizes including $5,000 and $1,000), a pie auction, and an online auction. The 2025 edition was the parish's 120th picnic.
- Tradition since 1903
- Held on the third Sunday in August
- 120th edition in 2025
- Car show, cornhole, music, chicken dinner, raffles, pie auction
School & Faith Formation
St. John the Baptist operated a parish school that began in three basement classrooms beneath the church and moved to a new $250,000 structure in 1959, peaking at 167 students. After decades of declining enrollment — down to six to eight students in its final years — the school closed about 2021. Today All Saints School in Berlin is the only Catholic school in the Mater Dei pastorate.
- Original school in church basement
- New school building opened 1959 ($250,000)
- Peak enrollment: 167 students
- School closed about 2021
- All Saints (Berlin) is now the pastorate school
Mater Dei Parish & the Diocese of Madison Reorganization
Effective July 1, 2023, the Diocese of Madison reorganized its 102 parishes into 30 pastorates; St. John the Baptist was assigned to Pastorate 10, alongside All Saints (Berlin), Our Lady of the Lake (Green Lake), Holy Family (Markesan/Kingston), and St. James (Neshkoro). On March 1, 2025 Bishop Donald J. Hying canonically erected the cluster as a single parish under the name Mater Dei, with Msgr. James Gunn installed as pastor. All Saints School in Berlin remains part of the new parish.
- Pastorate 10 formed July 1, 2023
- Erected as Mater Dei Parish on March 1, 2025 by Bishop Donald J. Hying
- Six worship sites: All Saints (Berlin), Our Lady of the Lake (Green Lake), St. Mary (Kingston), St. Joseph (Markesan), St. James (Neshkoro), St. John the Baptist (Princeton)
- All Saints School (Berlin) is part of Mater Dei Parish
Contact & Visit
Parishioners and visitors can reach St. John the Baptist at its church office at 1211 W. Main St., Princeton, WI 54968, or by phone at (920) 295-6209. The parish website at stjohnprince.org carries the current Mass schedule and parish news. The former school phone line, (920) 295-3541, has also been associated with the parish.
- Address: 1211 W. Main St. (also referenced as 125 Church St.), Princeton, WI 54968
- Parish phone: (920) 295-6209
- Former school phone: (920) 295-3541
- Website: https://www.stjohnprince.org/
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Rev. Joseph Szpecht1875–
First resident pastor of St. John's; served during the mission era before it became a parish in 1883.
- Rev. Joseph Cieciorka
Resumed the Polish Picnic in 1956; it has been held continuously since under his pastorship.
- Fr. Dale GrubbaJune 1985–2023
Longest-serving pastor in parish history (≈38 years); at his retirement he was 82 and planned to move to Endeavor to continue work on the Our Lady of Guadalupe shrine.