The history of the Diocese of Superior dates back to the 17th century. Our Journey Through Faith offers a glimpse into the historic events that played a role in the growth of Catholicism in Northern Wisconsin. Diocese of Superior - Statistics
Our Journey through Faith: A History of the Diocese of Superior,
View the summary from the last Parish self-assessment questionnaire conducted in 2012.
Read the 98-page Executive Report 2013 (PDF)
The influx of loggers and lumbermen, particularly French Canadians, into the Hayward area during the 1880s, provided the foundation for a Catholic parish here. The gatherings of Catholics were in private homes and were led by Franciscan missionaries who traveled throughout the Great Lakes to evangelize the Native Americans. The construction of Hayward's first Catholic church was made possible with land donated by the North Wisconsin Lumber Company and with donated materials and labor. In 1886, the first Mass was celebrated in the new stone structure. In 1907, the growing parish constructed a school next to the church, but it, like many Hayward institutions, failed to survive the end of Hayward's logging boom and was discontinued in 1913. In the 1930s the parish had recovered from the logging exodus and was again growing. By 1967, continued growth led to the construction of the parish's present structure, and in 2002 a new 5,060- square-foot parish center and adoration chapel was built across the street. Today’s 555 registered families of St. Joseph share their faith with the Hayward community in many ways- through ministry to shut-ins and the sick and elderly, through weekly donations of food and weekly radio broadcasts of the Sunday morning Mass.
REFERENCE: Our Journey through Faith: A History of the Diocese of Superior,
by Sam Lucero, 2005.