Our Roots
The city of Port Washington has had a Catholic school since the original was first established in 1853. The school was the mission of the first resident pastor, Father F.X. Sailer. For the first two years of its existence, lay men taught at the school. In 1855, the School Sisters of Notre Dame assumed the teaching until the school closed between 1857 and 1863. For the next seven years, the teaching duties were handled by the Sisters of the Dominican Motherhouse in Racine followed by the Agnesian Sisters. In 1870, the School Sisters of Notre Dame returned.
When the school was first established, the first classes were held in various buildings, including one built specifically for the school in the late 1860s at a cost of $7,000. The present school was constructed in 1916 at a cost of $60,000. The pastor at the time, Monsignor Peter Holfeltz, asserted that if the construction had been delayed another year, the cost would have doubled due to the war. The current St. Mary’s school building has undergone a number of expansions and remodels since it was built to adapt to the changing needs of enrollment and modernization.
A second Catholic school in Port Washington was established in the mid-1960s at St. Peter’s Parish. Both schools had students enrolled from 1st to 8th grade. St. Mary’s offered classes from kindergarten through 10th grade. As enrollment declined in the mid-1980s, the schools combined to form Port Washington Catholic School. In the early 2000s, Immaculate Conception in Saukville also joined the Port Catholic umbrella.
More recently, St. Mary’s, St. Peter of Alcantara, and Immaculate Conception formed a tri-parish cluster with the intent of eventually forming one parish. In July, 2016, this came to fruition and the three parishes merged into a single parish called St. John XXIII Catholic Parish. As part of this merger, the parish incorporated Port Catholic under its wing. The school now has the same name as the newly formed parish. Port Catholic School is now St. John XXIII Catholic School.
During the 1800s, the school worked very closely with the public school district to ensure a consistent and quality education for all children of Port Washington. Money was provided from the public school fund to support the Sisters in their effort. It was one of the last remaining unions between parochial and public schools in the country. While the monetary relationship ended around 1884, Port Catholic and the Port Washington – Saukville School District continue to have a strong relationship and commitment to provide the best learning options for all children. Currently, St. John XXIII Catholic School is a K4 site for the district.
Today, St. John XXIII has 20 dedicated instructors providing an excellent faith-based elementary and middle-school education to 192 students at one location, located at 1802 N. Wisconsin Street. St. John XXIII Catholic School functions as the parochial school option for students in northern Ozaukee County.