About St. Michael · Junction City, Wisconsin
St. Michael Catholic Church is a small Roman Catholic parish serving the village of Junction City in Portage County, Wisconsin. Located at 324 Main Street, the parish is part of the Diocese of La Crosse and belongs to the Ss. Wenceslaus, Michael & Bartholomew multi-parish grouping within the Stevens Point Deanery. It offers Sunday Mass at 9:00 AM, weekday Masses on Wednesday and Thursday, Thursday morning confessions, and a weekly Holy Hour of Eucharistic Adoration. The parish traces its roots to 1883, when its sacramental records began, and it has served the rural Polish-Catholic farming community of central Wisconsin for well over a century.
- Established
- 1883
- Patron
- St. Michael the Archangel
- Diocese
- Diocese of La Crosse
Why belong here
St. Michael's is a faithful rural Catholic community where Mass is still celebrated in the intimate setting of a small village parish, with a 9:00 AM Sunday Mass and weekday Masses on Wednesday and Thursday morning. Parishioners can grow in Eucharistic devotion through the weekly Thursday Holy Hour of Adoration and have regular access to the Sacrament of Reconciliation on Thursday mornings. As one of the historic Polish-heritage parishes of the Diocese of La Crosse, St. Michael's offers a traditional, family-friendly place to worship within the Ss. Wenceslaus, Michael & Bartholomew multi-parish grouping in the Stevens Point Deanery.
Mass times at St. Michael
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Thursday 8:30 AM – 9:00 AM
Adoration times
- Thursday 8:30 AM – 9:30 AM (Eucharistic Adoration / Holy Hour)
History of St. Michael Parish, Junction City
St. Michael's was organized in the mid-1880s as a mission of the Marshfield parish and first attended locally by Father Krugulski beginning in 1887. A brick school-house was dedicated in September 1886 by Bishop Flasch of La Crosse. The congregation grew rapidly: by February 1897 it counted 302 families, supported a school staffed by three Sisters of St. Francis, and ran societies including the SS. Peter and Paul's Benevolent Society, the Confraternity of the Holy Rosary, and the Confraternity of the Sacred Heart.
- Sacramental records begin: 1883 (Diocese of La Crosse archives).
- 1886: brick school-house dedicated by Bishop Flasch.
- 1890: Rev. August Babinski takes charge as pastor.
- 1895–1896: large brick church (56 × 131 ft, $25,000) built and dedicated October 28, 1896 by Bishop Schwebach.
Parish Identity and Diocese
St. Michael is a parish of the Diocese of La Crosse, administered from the Stevens Point Deanery. For pastoral care it is grouped with Ss. Wenceslaus and St. Bartholomew in the Ss. Wenceslaus, Michael & Bartholomew multi-parish grouping. The parish's mailing operations are directed to Milladore, WI.
- Diocese: La Crosse
- Deanery: Stevens Point
- Multi-parish grouping: Ss. Wenceslaus, Michael & Bartholomew
- Mailing address: 146 Main St, Milladore, WI 54454-9644
Visit and Contact
Parishioners and visitors can reach St. Michael by phone or email and find the church on Main Street in the village of Junction City.
- Address: 324 Main St, Junction City, WI 54443
- Phone: 715-457-2314
- Email: [email protected]
- Diocesan website: https://diolc.org/parish/st-michael-parish-3/
Heritage and Community
Like many of central Wisconsin's earliest Catholic parishes, St. Michael's grew from a Polish-immigrant farming community in the 1880s. The historic 1896 brick church remains a testament to the sacrifices of those early families, who built not only a large worship space but also a parochial school staffed by religious sisters. Today the parish continues that legacy as a small but faithful rural congregation within the Diocese of La Crosse.
- Polish-Catholic heritage of Portage County.
- 1896 brick church still in use.
- Sister-staffed parish school documented as early as 1897.
- Part of the Stevens Point Deanery and the Ss. Wenceslaus, Michael & Bartholomew grouping.
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Father Schaller (pastor of Marshfield)circa 1886
Attended the Junction City mission from Marshfield.
- Father Krugulski1887–1888
Took charge of the congregation after it began organizing as a distinct parish.
- Rev. R. L. Guzowskiuntil February 20, 1890
Built a larger and more commodious parsonage in 1889.
- Rev. A. Kroll (pastor at North Creek)February 20 – September 3, 1890
Attended St. Michael's from North Creek.
- Rev. August BabinskiSeptember 3, 1890 – after 1897
Built the large brick church (56×131 ft, $25,000), dedicated October 28, 1896 by Bishop Schwebach.