St. John Cantius Parish was organized in 1897, J.J. Hof, early land speculator, developer and realtor, donated land and materials for the church.

Oconto County Reporter
October 24, 1902

C. W. Brown is at Sobieski, Wis., working on the Catholic church there.

For the first few years there was no church in Sobieski and the people attended mass in surrounding parishes, or in the homes of Sylvester Rorzych, a Mrs. Jankie and Mrs. Charles Deteige.  Then the town’s godfather, John Hoff, donated land for a church and cemetery and in 1897 a house of worship was built.  As more settlers arrived, the church became too small, and the priest, Father Polaczk, encouraged the parish to build a new St. John Cantius church.  Ground for the new sanctuary was broken in 1902.

The congregation was preparing to celebrate its golden jubilee, falling on October 20, 1952, when two months earlier a bolt of lightning struck the frame building and demolished it.

http://wigenweb.org/shawano/ssjb_001.htm
The Green Bay Gazette (October 11, 1910) referred to Hof as "the man who established a large colony of Polish farmers in Sobieski and vicinity." It also credited him with building a large number of homes for the Polish settlers, a fact that is recorded in no other source.

Hof's funeral took place on Thursday, October 13, at St. John Cantius Church in Sobieski. Father Francis Nowak was the celebrant of the solemn Requiem Mass and was assisted by the Franciscan Fathers and other neighboring clergy. An overflowing crowd of Polish settlers from Hofa Park, Pulaski, Krakow and Sobieski attended final rites and bid the last farewell to the founder of their settlements. Interment took place in the cemetery, a short distance beyond the church. To this day, the monument standing over the grave of John J. Hof is the largest and most prominent of all at the Sobieski Catholic Cemetery.

St. Maximilian Kolbe is the new parish that grew from the merger of St. Joseph Parish, Chase; St. Louis Parish, Abrams; and St. John Cantius Parish, Sobieski.

All three parishes had traditional roots and heritage.  St. Louis and St. John's were established as Polish parishes.  St. Joseph's, although not established as a Polish parish, was the mission parish of St. John Cantius.  Over the years, the Franciscan Friars ministered at each parish.  Since we were linked, over 12 years ago, we have been ministering to the spiritual and educational needs of our communities as one parish.

Finally, at our last Annual Parish Meetings in 2006, we felt that it was time for us to become one new parish.  All three parishes closed during Lent 2007, and the new parish of St. Maximilian Kolbe resurrected with the Easter Vigil on April 7, 2007.

On August 4, 2011 we became a linked parish with St. Benedict in Suamico and St. Pius in Little Suamico with Father Gerald Prusakowski as the head pastor.