About St. Kilian · Blenker, Wisconsin
St. Kilian Catholic Church is a small rural parish in the unincorporated community of Blenker, in Wood County, Wisconsin, in the central part of the state. It is one of three parishes in the 'saintsmmk' tri-parish community, joined with St. Mary in Auburndale and St. Michael in Hewitt, sharing a single pastor, bulletin, website, and staff. The parish is served by Rev. Angisamy Irudayaraj (Father Angi), Parochial Administrator, and falls within the Marshfield Deanery of the Diocese of La Crosse. Weekday and Sunday Mass are celebrated in Blenker according to the Roman (Latin) Rite, and the surrounding farming community continues a traditional rhythm of faith that has marked Catholic life in this part of central Wisconsin for well over a century.
- Established
- 1880s
- Patron
- St. Kilian (Cillian) of Würzburg
- Rector
- Rev. Angisamy Irudayaraj (Father Angi), Parochial Administrator
- Diocese
- Diocese of La Crosse
Why belong here
St. Kilian offers a quiet, close-knit rural Catholic community in central Wisconsin with Sunday and weekday Mass celebrated each week in Blenker. As part of the saintsmmk tri-parish (with St. Mary in Auburndale and St. Michael in Hewitt), parishioners enjoy a broader schedule of Masses and sacramental opportunities across three worship sites while still belonging to a single small parish family. The parish runs an active Coordinator of Religious Education (Joyce Martin), supported by a Finance Council and Pastoral Council made up of local parishioners, and a shared Prayer Tree lets members request prayers from across all three communities.
Mass times at St. Kilian
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- 1/2 hour before weekend Masses, or by appointment
About St. Kilian Parish
St. Kilian Catholic Church is a small rural Roman-Latin Rite parish serving the unincorporated community of Blenker in Wood County, central Wisconsin. The parish belongs to the Diocese of La Crosse and is part of the Marshfield Deanery. It operates as one of three parishes in the 'saintsmmk' tri-parish community — alongside St. Mary in Auburndale and St. Michael in Hewitt — sharing a pastor, staff, bulletin, and online presence. The parish's physical church sits along County Road P between Blenker and Milladore, while its mailing address and central parish office are in nearby Auburndale.
- Patron: St. Kilian (Cillian) of Würzburg, 7th-century Irish missionary-martyr
- Diocese: La Crosse (Marshfield Deanery)
- Tri-parish community: St. Kilian (Blenker) · St. Mary (Auburndale) · St. Michael (Hewitt)
- Rite: Roman-Latin
History
St. Kilian was founded in the 1880s to serve German and Bohemian Catholic farming families who had settled the Blenker area and needed a parish closer than the one in Marshfield. The parish's cemetery — known as St. Killian's Catholic Cemetery — preserves burials from those original founding families and is still referenced today through records maintained by the Heart O' Wisconsin Genealogical Society. Through the 20th century, the parish served a tight-knit rural community of farming families (Smazel, Blenker, Altmann, Bickel, and others named in published Wood County genealogies). In the late 20th and early 21st centuries, St. Kilian was grouped with neighboring St. Mary (Auburndale) and St. Michael (Hewitt) parishes to form today's tri-parish community under one pastor.
- Founded in the 1880s by German and Bohemian Catholic settlers
- St. Killian's Catholic Cemetery burials documented from the 1880s onward
- Founding-era parish families include Smazel, Blenker, Altmann, and Bickel
- Now grouped with St. Mary (Auburndale) and St. Michael (Hewitt) as the saintsmmk tri-parish
Clergy & Staff
St. Kilian is currently served by Rev. Angisamy Irudayaraj (known to parishioners as 'Father Angi'), Parochial Administrator of the tri-parish community. The parish office is staffed by Amy Sue Vruwink, and day-to-day parish leadership at St. Kilian is provided by a Coordinator of Religious Education, a Finance Council chair, and a Pastoral Council chair — all local parishioners.
- Parochial Administrator: Rev. Angisamy Irudayaraj (Father Angi) — Rectory 715-652-2728
- Parish office staff: Amy Sue Vruwink
- St. Kilian Coordinator of Religious Education: Joyce Martin — 715-305-5414
- St. Kilian Finance Council: Jon Empey — 715-652-6887
- St. Kilian Pastoral Council: Randy Dorshorst — 715-569-4419
Religious Education & Sacramental Preparation
Faith formation at St. Kilian is coordinated locally by Joyce Martin (Coordinator of Religious Education, 715-305-5414), as part of the tri-parish program that includes St. Mary and St. Michael. The parish prepares children and youth for the Sacraments of First Reconciliation, First Communion, and Confirmation through classroom instruction and family-based preparation. Parents are expected to be active partners in their children's sacramental preparation.
- Coordinator of Religious Education (St. Kilian): Joyce Martin — 715-305-5414
- Sacramental preparation for Baptism, First Reconciliation, First Communion, and Confirmation
- Marriage preparation begins at least six months in advance — contact the parish office
Parish Councils & Lay Leadership
Lay leadership at St. Kilian is exercised through a Finance Council and a Pastoral Council, both staffed by parishioners. The Finance Council oversees the temporal affairs of the parish; the Pastoral Council works with the pastor on the spiritual and pastoral life of the community. Both councils meet regularly and their contact information is published in the tri-parish bulletin.
- St. Kilian Finance Council: Jon Empey — 715-652-6887
- St. Kilian Pastoral Council: Randy Dorshorst — 715-569-4419
- Pastoral care of the sick, homebound, and hospitalized: contact the parish office to arrange Holy Communion or Anointing
Prayer & Communication
The tri-parish community runs a shared Prayer Tree for prayer requests across all three parishes, and publishes a weekly tri-parish bulletin in print and online. A dedicated parish app is available for download, and the community maintains an active Facebook page.
- Tri-Parish Prayer Tree: [email protected]
- Parish bulletin (printed weekly; also available online at parishesonline.com)
- Parish App: text 'App' to 88202, or visit myparishapp.com
- Parish email: [email protected]
- Facebook: facebook.com/saintsmmk
- Tri-parish website: www.saintsmmk.com
Visiting & Contact Information
St. Kilian's physical church is located along County Road P between Blenker and Milladore in Wood County. The Diocese of La Crosse lists the physical address as 3872 County Road P, Blenker WI, with a GPS-friendly alternate of 3872 CR-P, Milladore WI. All parish mail, however, goes to the central tri-parish office in Auburndale.
- Physical address: 3872 County Road P, Blenker, WI 54415
- GPS address: 3872 CR-P, Milladore, WI
- Mailing address: PO Box 177, 5866 Main St, Auburndale, WI 54412-0177
- Parish office phone: 715-652-2806
- Rectory phone: 715-652-2728
- Office hours: Monday, Tuesday, Thursday 8:00 AM – 4:00 PM; Wednesday, Friday 8:00 AM – 12:00 PM
Patron Saint — St. Kilian of Würzburg
The parish takes its name from St. Kilian (also Cillian or Killian), an Irish monk and bishop who, around 686 AD, traveled with eleven companions to Rome to receive a papal mission, then went on to evangelize the pagan peoples of Franconia (in present-day Bavaria and Thuringia, Germany). Kilian and two of his companions, the priest Coloman and the deacon Totnan, were martyred on July 8, 689 AD, on the orders of Geilana, whose unlawful marriage Kilian had persuaded Duke Gozbert to renounce. His relics were enshrined by St. Burchard in the cathedral at Würzburg, and St. Kilian remains the patron saint of the Diocese of Würzburg. His feast day is celebrated on July 8.
- Born c. 640 in Ireland (County Cavan); educated at Roscarbery and Touist
- Ordained a traveling bishop by Pope Conon in 686
- Martyred at Würzburg on July 8, 689 AD
- Patron of the Diocese of Würzburg and of Catholic youth in Germany
- Feast day: July 8