The Eucharist is consecrated for the first time in the updated worship space at St. Francis Xavier, Merrill. Numerous priests, including the recent parish ministers, were in attendance for the celebration. (Submitted photo)
Jenny Snarski
Catholic Herald Staff
After 60 years of waiting, which has included hopes and disappointments, St. Francis Xavier Church in Merrill saw their extensively renovated worship space rededicated during a Mass celebrated by Bishop James P. Powers on Tuesday, July 14.
In the introductory invitation to the “Him First” capital campaign by Parish Life Coordinator Dcn. Jim Arndt, he acknowledged, “Over the years, as we have seen our family members baptized, receive first Communion, be filled with the Holy Spirit through Confirmation, get married, and even ordained on the orange carpet, this space can no longer be referred to as a temporary worship space … this has truly become our spiritual home.”
In the context of the diocesan push to move From Maintenance to Mission, he announced that, with the church’s debt paid off in 2023, it was “time to embark on a major renovation of our worship space to make it feel more like a church.”
St. Francis Xavier Church in Merrill was founded as a parish in 1885, 10 years after a mission had been established. Before the turn of the 20th century, a school was added for the growing parish. It was in the late 1950s that, given continued growth in the area, the Catholic community was divided into two parishes—the original St. Francis and the new St. Robert Bellarmine.
St. Robert’s added a school building in 1959. Elementary students attended St. Robert Bellarmine and the middle school was housed at St. Francis. St. Robert’s used the school gymnasium as the worship space with plans for a church building at a later date.
“The reality is, that just never happened,” said Dcn. Arndt, who is also parish life coordinator for St. Francis’ clustered parish, St. John the Baptist in Bloomville. “There’s always been hopes, there’s always been dreams” of building a church one day, but that never happened, until this year.
In the mid 1990s, St. Robert and St. Francis parishes merged back into one under the original patronage. The original St. Francis structure was sold to the local school district, and everything was consolidated into one building at the St. Robert Bellarmine site. An addition was added to the school for the middle school students.
Dcn. Arndt confirmed that since the parish merger, there was real movement forward toward building an actual church. Unsure of the exact circumstances, those plans came to a halt and the gymnasium became permanently used as a makeshift church.
There was money in a previously set-up building fund, but it was specifically dedicated only to a new construction project. Eventually, in the early 2020s, a judge deemed the funds transferrable to a renovation project, and “that really started the ball rolling,” Dcn. Arndt recounted.
When a new structure might cost $7-9 million, the building committee believed the existing $350,000 could “go a long way” in a renovation project. Once permission was received from Bishop Powers, they began working with Stevens Point-based Ellis Construction, which had worked on other church projects in the Wausau region.
Interested initially in some basic renovation numbers, Dcn. Arndt explained, “The next thing you know, we’re planning and designing things over about 12 meetings.”
When the $2.1 million price tag was given and the company asked for a project start date, Dcn. Arndt put on the brakes. Seeking guidance from the diocese’s Presbyteral Council, approval was voted on and a feasibility study was quickly pulled together.
“It was determined that we could probably raise the $2 million needed through a capital campaign,” he said. The final number for pledged funding was about $1.9, not including $500,000 that included the original building fund and one other source.
“We moved forward about a year earlier than anticipated,” the deacon reported. “The parishioners’ response was absolutely phenomenal.”
“Time, talent, treasure … It was just an outpouring of support.” In April 2026, the campaign began the third of a four-year project, with only $400,000 left to collect on.
Having paid off the existing building debt, the parish was motivated not to have finance any of the new renovations. “They really pulled through” on that goal, assured by their parish life coordinator that, if done right, no new debt would need to be taken on.
The vision for the renovated church—still the original gymnasium structure—was for it “to become a place where the whole environment will reflect the heavenly nature of the Mass. We want all people, no matter how young or old, to be inspired and to know that when they walk into our church, they will know that God lives here.”
Plans were to create a more prayerful and inspirational worship space that reflected “more fully the sacredness of the Mass, which is where we celebrate the Eucharist, the source and summit of our Catholic faith.”
Included in the renovations were enlarging the sanctuary and relocation of the tabernacle, dry wall covering the brick walls, new flooring, window replacements, repair and refinishing of the existing pews, new lighting and sound, creation of a family room and reconfiguration of the confessionals.
Dcn. Arndt described the July 14 rededication as “fantastic. Absolutely phenomenal,” with one exception. It was one of the hottest days of the summer, and air conditioning was one of the items that did not make it onto the shortlist of top priorities.
It was projected to be another $100,000 for that system, and it got put on the backburner, according to Dcn. Arndt. Emphasizing how “really, really warm” it was in the new space, he said he heard zero complaints. Everyone simply shared how worth it was being at the monumental event.
One of the comments he heard repeated was that the people has been longing for this for so long.
“There are so many parishioners who are just so happy, who never thought they would see the day when their repurposed gymnasium would actually look like a church,” he exclaimed.
Dcn. Arndt shared that Bishop Powers is “well aware of the tremendous support” parishioners offered this project. One outward expression of this unity was in the presence of every one of the parish’s former ministering priests at the rededication Mass, from the current sacramental minister – Fr. John Long – to the others who are still living, Fr. Mariadas Vallabhaneni, Fr. Chris Kemp, a former pastor and supervising pastor, as well as Fr. Jim Horath.
Although Fr. Horath lives in Mosinee, he still considers St. Franics Xavier to be his home parish, and he regularly helps with Masses.
Fr. Michael McLain, a former parochial administrator of the parish, died in 2015.
As the parish’s financial officer, Tracy Creel facilitated the “Him First” campaign, getting pledges, managing the money and being involved in making sure that the primary goal of “putting Jesus first” was being accomplished.
“Our whole campaign was to put him first,” she stated. “It was to put Jesus back into the center of the church, behind the altar and to make a wonderful worship space for him, to give him glory at every Mass.”
Dcn. Arndt shared his impression of the tabernacle’s former placement, “like Jesus was just stuffed in a corner.” One of the best ways to return him to his proper priority was to literally re-center the Eucharistic presence right at the center and as the focal point.
Creel and Dcn. Arndt credited a local parishioner, Kathy Casper, an interior designer by trade, for a “fantastic” job coordinating color schemes across wood and trim stains and other colors in the space.
One of the most satisfying parts of this project has been the reaction of parishioners, especially those who watched the saga unfold over decades.
This became visible extended beyond the sanctuary’s re-centering on the tabernacle. While there were some major gifts donated of $50,000 or more, donors wanted to remain anonymous. Even with some of the longstanding difficult feelings surrounding the closure and merger from 40 years ago, “one of the beauties,” Dcn. Arndt said, “was that community and fellowship that developed.
“We’re trying to stay more focused on this community as a united whole,” he noted. “This was a parish effort and not any individual’s thing.”
“There are a lot of parishioners that were worried they weren’t going to see the renovation,” Creel admitted. Those from the older generations who are alumni of the school, she added, “are just super pleased that they were able to see this come to fruition and enjoy this new worship space. Many were skeptical as this wasn’t the first time a major renovation had been considered. They were hesitant to give at first, but once things got underway and concrete steps were taken toward renovating, support increased and now they “can’t believe” how the space has been transformed.
She concluded, “We put Jesus front and center.”
