In 1885, six families began to meet for the celebration of the Eucharist at the homes of the first settlers in Hatley. Priests came from near by towns to administer the sacraments. In 1898, the first church was built and dedicated under the patronage of St Florian.
In 1905, St Florian become part of the diocese of LaCrosse. In 1906, the first resident Pastor, Fr Modorski was appointed.
In late 1907, Fr Karcz was appointed pastor. In his first year, he appointed a building committee for a new church and rectory. The present church structure and a wood framed rectory were built in 1914 and dedicated by Bishop James Schwebach.
Soon after, Fr Stanley Krakowiecki began his 27-term as pastor of St. Florian, In 1941 a flash fire burned the rectory to the ground and many church records were lost. Plans were made to build the present rectory.
In 1949, Fr Rucki was appointed administrator and pastor. During his first five years, the church was completely renovated and redecorated.
St Florian School opened its doors in 1955. In 1959, Fr Klimaszewski became pastor. He was determined to keep the school open with the help of dedicated parishioners.
1966 marked the appointment of Fr Chester Moczarny as pastor. He was only here for a short time until Fr Sigimund Lengowski was appointed in 1968. He was known as "Fr. Zig". During his pastorate, the school mortgage was burned, a new steel roof was put on the school, and the Restoration Fund was started.
In May 1978, Fr George Szews was the first young man from our parish to be ordained a priest and celebrated his Mass of Thanksgiving here at St Florian.
1980 brought Fr Chester Osowski to Hatley after Fr Zig's sudden death. Fr Thomas Abraham, "Fr Abe" was appointed pastor in 1982 and took on the responsibility of renovating the church. With the renovation complete in 1985, we celebrated our 100 year anniversary.
June 1997 marked "The Tornado of 1997" when the roof was blown off the school. Many hands pitched in to bring our school and grounds back to order.
2005 marked 50 years of St Florian School but sadly, it was closed in 2006.
After the passing of Fr Abe in 2007, we welcomed Fr Jerzy Rebacz as our pastor. He lead us through our latest renovation of the church and the re-dedication of the parish on Oct 17, 2009, as well as bringing back many of the Catholic traditions we have loved from years past. After three short years, Fr Jerzy was transferred to a parish in Stevens Point, WI.
In 2010, Fr Al Burkhardt came to Hatley for a few short years and we started sharing our priest with St Agnes Parish in Weston.
Fr Roy Witucki served as pastor for a few years, retiring to part time in XXXX. Fr Gregory Bohren then came and served as pastor of St Florian and St Agnes. Under Fr Greg, St Florian went through necessary yet much needed behind the scenes repairs. The church basement also received a much needed update, the first in over 50 years. In July 2023, Fr. Bohren moved on and Fr. Jerome Patric was installed as pastor for St. Florian and St. Agnes.
St Florian Parish has a long history with a strong foundation. We as a parish continue to grow in community spirit and faith in our God. Together we have achieved so much and look forward to the future with hope and the light of Christ in our hearts.