TINA L. SCOTT
EDITOR
Most Wisconsin bars and restaurants that serve food offer fish or a fish fry option on Fridays, but during Lent, fish fries become a regional and cultural event unto itself. Going out on a Friday night for a fish fry is a tradition for many couples and families, regardless of whether they abstain from meat on Fridays for religious reasons or not.
Roman Catholics are most widely known for abstaining from eating meat on Ash Wednesday and on Fridays as a Lenten practice.
In fact, some Catholic congregations began serving fish fries on Friday evenings, and those Friday night fish fries at churches turned into annual fundraisers.
Here in Merrill, St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church is one such congregation, and they’ve made Friday night fish fries into an event, serving baked and deep fried fish, along with deep fried jumbo shrimp, French fries or baked potato, cheese curds, coleslaw, rye bread, beverages, and homemade desserts. The smell of fish permeates the building, from the school halls to the sanctuary area, throughout the 40 days of Lent.
Fueled by the efforts of dozens of volunteers from the congregation, the St. Francis Lenten fish fries now provide a substantial amount of income for the church and school, which their budget relies upon. All of the work–from prepping the fish to making the coleslaw, deep frying the pollock to baking the desserts, waiting tables to sweeping floors, and everything in between–is done by volunteers. It takes about 75 volunteers each week to perform all the tasks necessary to turn the school cafeteria into a restaurant, where Friday-night fish fry fans can get a full meal and even a beer.
Historically, the church serves up it’s fish fry menu each Friday during the Lenten season. This year (and last) the St. Francis fish fries started the Friday prior to Ash Wednesday, which signifies the beginning of Lent, and concludes the Friday evening prior to Good Friday. This year their last Lenten fish fry will be Friday, March 31, 2023. They will not hold a fish fry on Good Friday, so that the volunteers can focus on the spiritual significance of that day. (But never fear! There are dozens of area restaurants and taverns serving up delicious fish fries that will be serving that night.)
Each week the St. Francis volunteers serve between 600 and 850 meals during their fish fries, averaging 609 to 775 meals each week during the last 11 years. In 2020, COVID canceled the event mid-season and 2021 was also a slower year, but the church is hopeful their numbers will fully rebound for the 2023 Lenten fish fry season.
Dine-in serving runs from 4:30 to 7:00 p.m. on Friday evenings in the St. Francis Xavier Catholic School cafeteria, 1708 E. 10th St. in Merrill. Takeouts and deliveries are available for an additional $1.50 charge per meal, and the phones open on Fridays at 1:00 p.m. for volunteers to take calls for takeout and delivery orders: 715.536.2803.
