Historic St. Mary Tours

St. Mary is located at 605 Merritt Ave, Oshkosh, WI. It is just a few blocks East of Main St and downtown Oshkosh. 

Street and lot parking available.  Please come to the East side entrance for tours and handicap accessible entrance.

Welcome to St. Mary, “the most beautiful edifice in Oshkosh!” We are proud to have one of the most beautiful churches in the Diocese of Green Bay, which was originally planned and designed as a cathedral for the Diocese.

We offer multiple tours by appointment based on fundamental questions about how to interact with a church space. They can also be combined into a more complete experience, based on your needs.

How do you “hear” what a church says?

Churches are built to announce a message. This tour focuses on the ways that St. Mary speaks. We recommend this tour for those who are not Catholic or Christian, or who are not familiar with church spaces because it will address “why,” and form a foundation for further discovery.

This is the shortest of our tours, coming in at about 20 minutes before questions.

How do you “read” a church?

Perhaps you have heard it said that art and architecture can reveal what Christianity teaches, or that the great cathedrals of history would teach the Scriptures. That’s still true today, but many of us do not know how to understand the language of beauty. This tour is recommended for those who want to learn how to understand what the art and architecture of a church space mean, heighten their own experience of worship, or understand the Christian perspective.

This is the next shortest tour, clocking in at about 35 minutes before questions, and can pair well with the “How to Hear” a church tour for a more comprehensive experience.

How do you pray using a church?

• Pray selections of the Psalms.  
• Explore the Stations of the Cross.  
• Meditate on the Life of Christ through the eyes of Mary.  
• Learn how to pray using a visual focus.  
• Adore Jesus in the Eucharist.