Holy Angels Parish

Holy Angels can trace the start of its history to sometime between 1845 and 1848, about the same time West Bend and the State of Wisconsin were formed. The Church started as a mission with services and sacraments being given in the houses of different settlers. Bishop Henni would send the nearest priest to care for the congregation which was Fr. Salzman and until 1851 Fr. Schraudenbach. In 1851, the trustees of the congregation paid $15 for land in West Bend and in 1852 they built a beamed frame Church. The name of the Church at that time was Mary, Mother of Sorrows. However, in 1857 when Fr. Rehrl took over the care of the congregation, the church changed its name to Holy Angels. This was to avoid confusion with the Barton Parish which had just been dedicated to the Immaculate Conception of Mary.
The congregation again grew too large for its building, so on July 10, 1866 a cornerstone was laid for a new brick church. That church stood a block away from where the current church sits. When the new church was completed in 1867 the old church was used as a school house. Then in 1880 the first school building was built.
Yet again the church became too small for its congregation so in 1914 the cornerstone was laid for the new church building. This is the present location of Holy Angels. Both the cornerstone from 1866 and 1914 can be seen on the outside of the building. It wasn’t until 1944 that the two middle exits for the church were added on. Then in June of 2002 the most recent additions and improvements were finished. Added were a carport, an elevator, a complete remodel of the church hall as well as updated exits to the back of the church.
Although the number of parishioners has fluctuated over its 160+ year existence, Holy Angels still stands as a strong presence in the community of West Bend.