About St. Francis Ministry

St. Francis Catholic Mission Church was founded in 1861, with about 150 members, located on the Red Cliff (Buffalo Bay) Reservation, one of the smallest reservations in Wisconsin. 

The Franciscan friars arrived in the area on Oct. 13, 1878. Fr. Casimir Vogt was the first Franciscan priest to celebrate Mass in the little chapel at Red Cliff. the Franciscan Sisters from Joliet, I11., began teaching at the Red Cliff school in 1889. In 1947, the school burned down. It was replaced with a new building, but the school eventually closed in 1959.

Local artist Rita Vanderventer spent the winter of 2002-2003 painting murals in the church hall. One full wall depicts Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha. Other murals depict the second coming of Christ, the Madonna and Child, and St. Francis of Assisi. On the ceiling the artist painted highlights of the life of St. Francis, for whom the church is named.