St. Pius X Parish was founded when the Archbishop of Milwaukee invited the Society of the Divine Savior to organize and operate the parish, and appointed the Rev. Paul Schuster, pastor of Mother of Good Counsel Parish, to supervise the renovation of the buildings of the former Gridley Dairy.

Fr. Leander Schneider 1952-1968: Building and Growing

Fr. Schneider was appointed the first pastor in the summer of 1952. On August 15, 1952, the first Mass was celebrated and the Masses that followed until springtime were said in the old dairy barn, in what is now the west end of the gym. The first Mass in the new church was offered on Easter Sunday, 1953.

In September, 1953, the parish opened a 16-room grade school. The Salvatorian sisters agreed to teach at St. Pius School and lived in the "White House," an existing neighborhood residence remodeled by parish men.

By February, 1954, the former dairy barn had been renovated into the gym and roller rink. As well as being of great financial assistance to the parish, it provided a well-supervised place for young people to meet and enjoy themselves. In 1955, the Sacrament of Confirmation was administered for the first time and the first grade school graduation occurred, with 46 students graduating.

By 1964, our parish family had outgrown its original space, as the number of families in the parish had climbed from about 700 to well over 1000. So, St. Pius Parish planned a building expansion to its facilities to add what is now the living room/dining room/kitchen area of the Rectory, showers for the gym and the portion of the school that faces 76th Street.

Our School board and financial board were instituted in 1967. The Financial Board immediately went into action taking steps to ensure our financial health, and regularly reporting on our parish's fiscal situation. Our Parish Council was begun in 1968.

Fr. Raphael Birringer 1968-1976: Winds of Change

Fr. Leander Schneider retired in 1968. Our new pastor was Fr. Raphael Birringer, who came to us from Mt. St. Paul College in Waukesha where he had served as a professor.

In 1971 the folk group and chorus were formed to improve the Saturday night folk Masses and to help the congregation learn the new songs. In 1972, the distribution of Communion by lay people(men at first) was implemented.

The cumulative effect of Vatican II and the increased involvement in church leadership by lay people, led to an increasingly active role for our parish in the volatile social issues of the 1970's, such as opposition to legalized abortion and the fight for racial equality. The spirit of activism would eventually express itself in our justice and peace ministry.

In 1974 our Parish Council decided that St. Pius X would sponsor bingo. The following year, we were granted a license by the state to hold "Special Bingo Parties," on Tuesdays starting in March and continuing through June. In June the Parish Council voted to approve an ongoing bingo program to begin in September.

Fr. Luke McArthur 1976-1989: Peace and Justice

Fr. Raphael Birringer's ministry as pastor ended in June 1976 and Fr. Luke McArthur became pastor. In 1977, we commemorated our 25th Anniversary, holding a Silver Anniversary Festival and Bratfest.

Many justice and peace projects took place during these years. Among them, in 1980, our Salvatorians welcomed two Cuban refugees to live with them in the rectory until transportation, jobs and housing could be arranged. Also a group called W.O.W. (Wauwatosa for Open Wauwatosa) was formed in response to concerns that Wauwatosa was not open to racial integration. In 1982, Our Justice and Peace Commission presented the Wauwatosa Common Council with a petition signed by 4,632 people, calling for a referendum on a nuclear weapons freeze.

In 1983, St. Pius joined a handful of other area parishes designating themselves as sanctuary sites for undocumented aliens from conflicts in El Salvador and Guatemala. In 1985, St. Pius joined a lawsuit against the U.S. Government to block the Attorney General from prosecuting Sanctuary workers and to refrain from arresting or deporting any Salvadorans and Guatemalans from the U.S. until conditions of civil war, human rights violations and persecutions had ceased in those countries.

Our first Grass Mass (Outdoor Liturgy) was celebrated in 1984 and our weekly organized fellowship after the Sunday Masses started in 1987. Also in 1987, the parish first became involved in the Habitat for Humanity project.

On April 10, 1988 Mr. and Mrs. Conrad Simon, charter members of St. Pius X, had the honor of burning the parish's mortgage during an all-parish meeting.

Fr. Bill Remmel 1989-1994: Stay the Course

Fr. Luke MacArthur announced the end of his ministry as pastor at St. Pius. Fr. Bill Remmel was appointed to take over for Fr. Luke as of January of 1994.

In July, the first Director of Administrative Services was hired with the responsibility for managing many of the financial and administrative duties within the parish. In the spirit of pursuing the idea of collaboration with other parishes, the Director of Administrative Service position became a joint position between Christ King Parish and St. Pius. In 1992, our parish began publishing our quarterly newsletter, Pius Postings. In 1994, we started a committee to evaluate how our facilities could be made more accessible to the disabled, leading to the installation of the automatic opener for the southern-most door at the parking lot entrance to the church.

Fr. Keith Brennan 1994-2000: Challenges of an Urban Parish

Fr. Keith Brennan took the reins of St. Pius X in 1994 and became pastor in 1995. His tenure saw changes that affected the way parishes in urban areas do "business." The Archdiocese handed down directives that called for more collaboration between parishes. Many parishes were being forced to merge. In response, the Tri-Parish group of St. Pius X, Christ King and St. Bernard's was born and entered into a collaborative planning model.

Our parish school faced a crisis during this time. Enrollment had dropped and the Parish Council was making some hard financial choices in the face of flat contributions and rising costs. Fr. Keith appealed to the Archdiocese and was given a grant that allowed the school to continue to operate.

Some changes in our liturgies took place in 1996. The Archdiocesan "Norms for Practice" called for all Masses to offer wine and for parishes to make room for female acolytes. St. Pius X instituted a new greeting rite, where parishioners would write down celebrations on a sheet in the vestibule for announcing at the beginning of Mass. And, the Ministers of Hospitality program made its debut.

And, for the first time in several years, St. Pius X had an Associate Pastor. Fr. Jeff Wocken, SDS, was part of the pastoral team from mid 1999-mid 2000.

Fr. Robert Marsicek 2001-Present

In June 2000, Fr. Keith Brennan was assigned to a position in the Salvatorian order. Our parish was led by an administrator, Fr. Michael Bigley, until our new pastor, Fr. Robert Marsicek joined us in June,  2001. Fr. Bob joined us just in time to kick off the parish's celebration of its 50th Anniversary. The festivities started at the Grass Mass in August, with the introduction of the "Anniversary Minute," a reading at the end of Mass of a short description of one year of the parish's history. The celebration was capped with an Anniversary Weekend on August 24 and 25, 2002. Saturday night saw a Sock Hop in the gym and Sunday centered on a Anniversary Mass and sit-down luncheon afterwards.

Father Bob's leadership helped the parish to grow. The Justice and Peace Commission remained active working with Repairers of the Breach, food pantries and issues of homelessness and racism. In 2003 we began a relationship with our sister parish, Santa Maria in  Nebaj, Guatemala. Delegations have traveled from St. Pius to Santa Maria in 2004, 2008 and 2009. Padre Rigoberto Perez Garrido, Santa Maria's former pastor, came to visit St. Pius in 2006. The music ministry under the direction of Kathy Wellenstein grew to add chime and hand bell choirs. In 2011 our school merged with the St. Bernard School to form our new combined parish school, Wauwatosa Catholic. The school campus is a St. Bernard's Parish, while St. Pius X became the tri-parish center for religious education. Our childcare program expanded to both campuses. In 2008, Fr. Bob was asked to serve as pastor to both Mother of Good Counsel and St. Pius X parishes. The Salvatorian presence continues to shine it's charisma on both parishes. All for the greater glory of God and for the Salvation of souls.