Parish History

Holy Rosary Parish of the Town of Sigel is one of the older parishes in the area. On November 21, 1881, an agreement was made between Joseph and Anna Jagodzinski and the Right Reverend Kilian Flasch, Bishop of La Crosse for the purchase of five acres of land for $25. Three acres were for buildings and two acres for a cemetery. So, our parish began.

In the beginning, our parish consisted of people, mostly of Polish descent. The parishioners were mostly farmers or were involved in the logging industry. Our first two pastors came from North Creek, near Arcadia, Wisconsin, who traveled once a month by train to Centralia (now Wisconsin Rapids) then to Holy Rosary by horse and buggy to celebrate Mass, hear confessions, and baptize the children. We did not have a Church building yet, so the parishioners opened their homes for these events.

The first church was built in the spring and summer of 1882. The building was a wood frame structure made for timber donated by people of the parish. It was a two story building with the church on the first floor and a school on the ground floor. School classes began in 1883 with first through fourth grades. The school closed in 1913. The school had a regular attendance of fifty to sixty students.

In 1883, services were held twice each month. The parish consisted of about one hundred families at this time. When Mass was not held at Holy Rosary, the people attended services at S. S. Peter and Paul in Centralia.

The present Church building was built in 1901, costing $4,625, with Anton Billmeyer as architect and general contractor. The frame structure that had served as the church was then used for local wedding receptions and was referred to as the Sigel Polish Hall. In 1908, a two story rectory was constructed north of the church; it was sold and taken down in 1930. The Polish Hall was torn down in 1978 and our new Parish Center was built in 1980.

Holy Rosary is a strong Catholic community. Over the years, we have had several of our members enter the consecrated life. Priesthood: Fr. Francis Brzostowicz, Msgr. Joseph Andrzejewski, Fr. Stanley Andrzejewski, Fr. Albert Cepress, and Fr. Robert Remitz. Sisterhood: Sister Bernita (Grace Remitz), Sister Celestine (Marian Cepress), Sister Patrice (Rita Cepress), Sister Rosemarie (Maxine Cepress) and Sister Theresa (Theresa Kowalski).

Holy Rosary was a mission church for 76 years: 2 years to North Creek, 1 year to Rudolph, 20 years to Junction City, 6 years we had our own resident pastor with two missions to us (City Pint and Spaulding), 12 years to St. Lawrence, and 35 years to Vesper. In 1957, we became a Parish with our own pastor, Father Edmund Klimek.