As Early as 1870, the pastors of Most Precious Blood Parish in New London and later Lebanon came to Clintonville to conduct religious services, which were held in private homes. The parish at that time was called St. John's Congregation. There is evidence the first mass was probably celebrated in Clintonville on March 15, 1871. It was on this date Seraphrin Kleinkopf, son of Louis and Bridget Kleinkopf, was baptized, according to the Baptismal records of Most Precious Blood Parish of New London.

In 1874 there were 13 families registered in the parish.

In the summer of 1875 the congregation build the first church building on the site approximately where the current rectory is now. The church is described as being 25 by 40 feet, about 1/8 the size of the present church building. The sidewalls were 12 feet tall, made of clap board with three windows on each side. A square tower rose slightly above the ridge of the roof. The cost of the building was $2,000. There is evidence that parishioners donated timbers used in the church construction. The new church was named St. Rose of Lima, dedicated to the first canonized saint in America. One year later the parish built a balcony to accommodate the growing number of worshipers.

The later part of the 19 century the Christian community was flourishing in Clintonville. There were many congregations organizing and building churches. The year St. Rose Parish built its first church (1875), St. Martin's Lutheran Congregation, organized just one year before, built its first church and school. Also in that year the Congregationalist of Clintonville were organizing with 27 families and in 1885 built a church which is still used today. The Methodist Episcopal Congregation build a church in 1876, the Salem Evangelical Congregation in 1882 and the Seventh Day Adventist, also in 1882. Christus Lutheran Church was organized in the summer of 1888. The Bethany Congregation of Clintonville was organized with 18 members, in 1893, as the Scandinavian Free Church.

The first resident priest came to Clintonville in 1881, with the arrival of Father Peter Lochman. To date, there have been a number of resident priests who have served the parish as pastors or associate pastors. (Click here for a list of pastors.) That same year (1881) the parish purchased three lots on the corner of what is now 7th and Auto Streets for $500. (At the time there was no Auto Street.) A boarding house on the corner lot was converted into a rectory. Also on the lots, at the time of purchase, stood a small stable and a barn. The stable was sold and moved off of the grounds and the 24 by 35 foot barn was rebuilt into a school and convent. The school and convent stood approximately where the present day school stands. Upon completion of the building, the newly organized Franciscan Sisters of Christian Charity were engaged to teach school which opened in the fall of 1883. The same order of nuns taught a St. Rose School until 1994.

With the completion of the Milwaukee Lake Shore and Western Railroad, The Catholic Directory of 1883 lists the following as missions of Clintonville: Bear Creek, Marion, Tigerton, Antigo, Eagle River, and Rhinelander. Father John Seubert, pastor at that time, "spent himself in the care of these infant communities."

In 1882 a 400 pound bell was added to the church tower. That bell is now hanging in the present tower, along with a 900 pound bell, purchased in 1932.

The small framed church could not accommodate all the people. On New Year's day 1893, a parish meeting was held. The parishioners enthusiastically supported the building of a new church. That same meeting a building committee was elected. By the end of February, The Clintonville Tribune reported $4,000 had been raised. Members of the parish living on nearby farms donated field stone for the new church's foundation.

On March 19, it was decided that the original plans were too ambitious, based on plans received in February from the Chicago Architect, estimating at a cost of $8,000. After some discussion the drawings were changed so that the complete measurements would be 100 by 45 foot, with walls 23 feet high and a tower of about 120 feet. The five windows on each side and the three in front in the original sketch were not changed, but instead of having a special wing for the sacristies, the sanctuary was made smaller and the space saved was used for sacristies. These changes were made so that the parish would be left with a debt of not more than $1,500. The motion made by Bernard Schemmer and seconded by Math Alft. The motion was carried. By June 7 the foundation was ready for the laying of the cornerstone.

In November 1893, the parish purchased three acres of land from the City of Clintonville for $300. The land is used to this day for the parish cemetery. Previously, the cemetery was located on the church grounds, east of the present day rectory and parish offices and later south of the present church and rectory. With the construction of the (1893) church, it was necessary to remove a line of graves lying beneath the west wall of the church. Although some burials still were made after 1893 on the old burial ground south of the church, the practice gradually ceased and the bodies lying in the old cemetery were disinterred and reinterred in the new cemetery, according to Father Nicholas Diedrich's book, A History of Clintonville.