On a quiet block in White Bear Lake, Minnesota, the current St. Mary of the Lake Church has stood since 1926, its interior a replica of the St. Mary's in St. Paul where the Hill family once worshipped. Outside, the 4690 Bald Eagle Avenue Parish Life Center links the church, the parish offices, and the regional Catholic elementary school into a single campus. Inside, a Catholic community of more than 2,100 households gathers for Mass in English, day after day, in a rhythm that began when Bishop Thomas Grace sent Father Joseph Goiffon north from St. Paul to minister to 200 French Canadian settlers in 1877. St. Mary of the Lake, in the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis, calls itself "a joyful and welcoming Catholic community centered in the Eucharist - forming disciples who know, follow and go forth to share Jesus Christ," and that mission shows up everywhere from its chapels and classrooms to its Habitat for Humanity builds and Refugee Ministry collections.
From a Pioneer Cottage to a Twin Cities Landmark: The Parish Story
The story of St. Mary of the Lake begins at William Markoe's cottage, where Father Goiffon, weather permitting, celebrated Sunday Mass for the French Canadian Catholics who had settled around White Bear Lake. Bishop Grace's instruction to build a proper church turned the parish into a literal construction project. Parishioners raised a 30 by 60 foot building from fieldstones, cobblestones, and evergreens gathered nearby, fashioning the original altar from packing box lumber. That first church cost $1,800 and was dedicated by Bishop Grace on August 15, 1881 - the feast of the Assumption of Mary, which the parish still keeps as its parish feast day. By 1897 more than 700 people were gathering each Sunday, and St. Mary's was the largest church in town, seating 360 at a single Mass.
The current church came as a gift from the Hill family. Mrs. Mary Hill, wife of railroad pioneer James J. Hill, summered at the Hill experimental farm in North Oaks and attended Mass at St. Mary's with her children and grandchildren. After her death in 1921, her three daughters funded a new church as a tribute - a replica of the St. Mary's in St. Paul where their mother had worshipped. The new St. Mary of the Lake Church was dedicated on the morning of November 27, 1926.
Over the decades the parish added a convent (1925), a school addition (1951), a rectory (1954), a parish center (1969), a church renovation (1988), and most recently the Parish Life Center (2004), which doubled the parish center and school space and pulled the color palette from White Bear Lake itself to tie architecturally back to the church. In 2014 the parish school transitioned into a regional Catholic elementary school, Frassati Catholic Academy, which now calls the Parish Life Center home. The parish also runs an active alumni association and offers free 352-page centennial anniversary books at the parish office to anyone who asks.
In 2016 the parish chose the Be My Witness program, rooted in Pope Francis's 2013 apostolic exhortation The Joy of the Gospel, as the framework for becoming a more intentional community of missionary disciples. After a five-month parish assessment in late 2016 and early 2017, twenty leaders gathered in February 2018 to name four parish goals: creating a culture of discipleship, cultivating new ways to engage parishioners, growing small group ministry, and unifying staff, lay leaders, and committees behind the mission. Small groups, the Mass, and "Reclaiming Sundays" have been the focus of three successive Synod years since 2023.
Mass, Reconciliation, and the Rhythm of the Liturgical Day
Daily Mass anchors the week. On Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, Mass is celebrated at 8:00 AM. On Tuesday the daily Mass moves to 5:30 PM and is preceded by confessions at 4:30 PM. The Saturday Vigil Mass is at 5:00 PM and is livestreamed on the parish YouTube channel, with an archive going back to 2010. Sunday Masses are at 9:00 AM and 11:00 AM, with confessions heard on Saturdays at 9:00 AM and Tuesdays at 4:30 PM.
Reconciliation takes place in the Reconciliation Room inside the Blessed Sacrament Chapel, which is reached through a door on the south (east) side of the church. The room offers two styles: a kneeling position behind a screen for anonymity, or a face-to-face conversation with the priest. A twelve-step handout is available for anyone who wants a refresher before going in.
The Blessed Sacrament Chapel is also the home of a 24-hour Eucharistic Adoration chapel, open to parishioners who sign in at the parish office during business hours and present identification before entering. The chapel holds up to two worshipers at a time. Stations of the Cross are prayed on Fridays during Lent at 5:30 PM, and the Anointing of the Sick is offered quarterly at the conclusion of the 8:00 AM Mass, with the next quarterly anointing announced in the bulletin. Anointing is also available on call by calling the parish office line; an answering service handles emergencies outside business hours.
The parish also keeps a strong rhythm of Marian prayer. The rosary is prayed Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday at 7:30 AM before daily Mass, and on Tuesday at 5:00 PM before the evening Mass. A parish rosary is prayed together online on Sunday evenings at 7:00 PM. A 24-hour prayer network supports special intentions throughout the year, and a rosary makers' ministry creates and repairs rosaries that are shared with the parish community and beyond.
The Seven Sacraments at St. Mary's
All seven Catholic sacraments are celebrated at the parish, with baptism, first sacraments, confirmation, reconciliation, anointing, marriage, and funerals each given their own preparation pathway.
Baptism. Baptisms are usually celebrated on the second and fourth Sundays of the month following the 11:00 AM Mass. Parents must be registered at the parish (or bring a permission letter from their own pastor), submit a copy of the birth certificate, complete the Baptism Preparation process, and choose one or two godparents who are fully initiated Catholics, at least 16 years old, and practicing the faith. First-time families and families returning after five or more years are asked to watch the Reborn video series on FORMED.
First Reconciliation and First Communion. Preparation is family-based, in line with the Church's teaching that parents are the first teachers of the faith. Candidates must have at least one full year of faith formation or Catholic schooling before the year of preparation (typically second grade). The preparation itself includes a retreat in early February, with the celebration of First Reconciliation on Saturday, February 7. The 2026-27 First Reconciliation and First Communion calendar lists the year's gatherings.
Confirmation. Confirmation is normally celebrated in eighth grade, although any baptized youth from eighth grade through age 17 is invited to discern readiness. Preparation runs one year and uses the Alpha Youth and YDisciple small-group model, with sessions on Sunday evenings from late September through mid-April, 6:30 to 8:00 PM, and an optional open gym from 6:00 PM. Candidates attend an overnight retreat and are confirmed together with other parishes of the archdiocese at the Cathedral of St. Paul. Adults who were baptized Catholic but never confirmed are invited to contact the Director of Mission.
Reconciliation (Penance). Beyond the regular Tuesday and Saturday confession times, First Reconciliation is celebrated during the family preparation process and is open to anyone who wants the sacrament.
Anointing of the Sick. The parish celebrates this sacrament both quarterly during a parish Mass and on call. The parish draws on Thomas Richstatter's writings to emphasize that anointing is for anyone seriously ill in body, mind, or spirit, including those facing major surgery, struggling with addiction, or living with mental illness - not only the dying.
Marriage. Engaged couples begin preparation by contacting the parish, and the parish also coordinates with the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis to ensure each couple completes the required diocesan marriage preparation process.
Funerals. Funerals are arranged through the parish funeral planner, Terry Reasoner. The parish provides a hospitality team and beverages for a luncheon or reception afterward, usually in the St. Joseph Room in the church building, with food supplied by the family from a list of suggested caterers. The parish encourages Catholics to plan funerals in advance, makes a Mass of Resurrection planning packet available, and offers the Ministry of Consolation - twelve to eighteen months of personal follow-up - to families experiencing a loss. A separate Companions in Grief series runs eight times a year on Thursdays from 4:30 to 6:00 PM, alternating between St. Mary's and St. Pius.
Forming Young Catholics: From Family Faith Formation through Confirmation
Faith Formation at St. Mary's runs from age 3 through grade 8 for children who attend a non-Catholic school, with First Sacrament preparation built into the family program. Family Faith Formation meets on the first and third Wednesdays of the month from 6:00 to 7:15 PM, beginning September 23, and is family-style, with parents and children learning together. A home study option is available on request. The parish's policy is that no family is turned away for inability to pay; financial assistance is built into the registration form.
Children in PreK through grade 8 who attend Catholic school receive their faith formation inside the classroom through Frassati Catholic Academy, the regional STREAM (Science, Technology, Religion, Engineering, Arts, and Math) school that operates in the Parish Life Center. Frassati is the only STREAM elementary school in the Twin Cities.
Sacramental preparation is woven into both tracks. Children preparing for First Reconciliation and First Communion gather during the Wednesday Family Faith Formation sessions, with the celebration of First Reconciliation on Saturday, February 7, and First Communion later in the spring. Confirmation preparation uses the small-group model and runs Sunday evenings from late September to mid-April, with candidates attending an overnight retreat and being confirmed at the Cathedral of St. Paul. A Totus Tuus summer program offers a week of parish-based catechesis for children and teens during the summer months.
Middle School, High School, and the Edge of Discipleship
Youth Ministry serves students in grades 6 through 12 with the dual goals of being a fun, welcoming place to belong and a real place to encounter Jesus. The middle school program, called Edge and provided through Life Teen, meets approximately every other Tuesday from 6:00 to 7:30 PM in Kohler Hall at the Parish Life Center and is free and open to all sixth through eighth graders. Each Edge night includes snacks, games, brief talks and testimonies, small group discussions, and time for prayer. The 2026-27 calendar lists roughly a dozen Edge nights between September and May, with a special combined night for the Immaculate Conception Holy Day.
High school youth ministry combines service and socials, leadership opportunities, and small groups. Confirmed Catholic teens can apply to the High School Leadership Team by September 25, helping lead and mentor younger students through Confirmation while growing as disciples themselves. Monthly service and social gatherings are posted with RSVP links, and twice-monthly Discipleship Small Groups bring six to eight teens together with trusted adult mentors for food, faith conversation, and friendship.
Both programs run on a Core Team of volunteer adult mentors who are committed disciples of Jesus willing to build intentional Christ-centered relationships with teenagers. Core Team roles include Confirmation Small Group Leaders, High School Small Group Leaders, Edge Leaders, Event Chaperones, Hospitality Team members, and a Prayer Team that intercedes for youth ministry without working directly with teens. All volunteers who work with minors must be Safe Environment Certified through the archdiocese's Essential 3 (background check, code of conduct, and safe environment training, renewed every three years).
Catholic Young Adults Ages 18 to 39
Catholic Young Adults (CYA) connects young people ages 18 to 39 to God, to one another, and to the wider community through sacramental, social, and service opportunities. The Coordinator of Young Adult Ministries runs small groups - examples include a monthly meeting for mothers of young children and weekly sessions for women in their 20s or 30s - and supports a College Student Summer Mission Trip in partnership with Catholic Heart Workcamp. The 2026 trip served in Champaign, Illinois, June 21 to 26.
CYA also runs an Annual Clothing Swap tied to Catholic Social Teaching, where young adults trade good-condition, gently used clothing after an education night with speakers on fast fashion, the dignity of work, and care for creation. Volunteer and leadership opportunities include an Event Planning Team, Small Group Leaders, and a Clothing Swap Planning Committee that collaborates with the Care for Creation Ministry. The community stays connected through a Called app channel and a Flocknote text and email list.
Adult Discipleship, Small Groups, and the Synod Journey
Adult Discipleship at St. Mary's centers on small groups, retreats, and ongoing formation through programs like the Catechetical Institute's Pillars. Small groups of 6 to 12 people meet weekly or as the group decides, in homes, at the parish, or online over Zoom, and gather in waves across the liturgical year - typically Advent, Lent, Easter, and Ordinary Time. Recent shared studies have included Matthew Kelly's 33 Days to Eucharistic Glory in Advent 2024 and Viny Flynn's 7 Secrets of the Eucharist in Lent 2025, with copies available at the parish office.
Parishioners also take part in retreats, including the annual Parish Lenten Mission, and travel to Twin Cities retreat centers for personal time away. The Synod Evangelization Team (SET) has guided the parish through a three-year formation plan: Year 1 (2023-2024) on small groups, Year 2 (2024-2025) on the Mass and Eucharist, and Year 3 (2025-2026) on "Reclaiming Sundays." Father Eilen preached a multi-week homily series titled "Mass Moments" through both liturgical seasons, with handouts and resource lists for further reading, including What Happens at Mass by Jeremy Driscoll, Scott Hahn's Seven Clues, and the FORMED series A Scriptural Walk Through the Mass with Dr. Edward Sri.
Online Catholic formation tools are made available to the parish for free, including FORMED (movies, studies, talks, and eBooks), the Hallow app for prayer and meditation, and the Amen app for daily prayer. Parishioners are encouraged to join Fr. Mark-Mary Ames's Rosary in a Year podcast through Ascension Press.
Senior and Pastoral Care for Every Stage
The Coordinator of Pastoral and Senior Ministries, Kathleen Finn, supports the spiritual and social needs of senior parishioners through a continuum of care. Communion Ministers to the Homebound bring Communion weekly to those who cannot attend Mass, while Communion Ministers for St. John's Hospital serve patients on Saturday mornings. Apartment and Care Center Ministers bring Communion or lead a prayer service for residents of local senior communities.
Memory Care Mass is celebrated monthly - alternating with St. Odilia's - for those living with dementia, their loved ones, and their caregivers, with hospitality following the Mass. Senior Mass and Luncheon is held twice a year, in the fall and spring, planned by a Senior Planning Committee. The Senior Ministry also hosts Dementia and Alzheimer's presentations once or twice a year and an End-of-Life Seminar every other year to walk parishioners through Catholic end-of-life planning, including the Minnesota Catholic Conference's Health Care Directive.
Pastoral care extends into grief through the Ministry of Consolation (twelve to eighteen months of personal follow-up after a death) and Companions in Grief, a four-week listening and prayer series offered eight times a year. The Prayer Network lifts up special intentions throughout the year; the Prayer Shawl group knits and crochets shawls that are given to those in need; and the Rosary Makers make and repair rosaries for the parish and beyond. A Bridge Club gathers the fourth Tuesday of each month, September through May (excluding December), at 10:30 AM for fellowship and cards.
For seniors and families weighing housing or care options, the parish compiles senior housing resources and points parishioners toward the archdiocese's Catholic Charities and other local agencies.
An Addiction Ministry Built on the Twelve Steps
The parish's Addiction Ministry, which began in summer 2024, meets on the first and third Wednesday of each month from 6:30 to 7:30 PM in the St. Joseph Room of the church building. The meetings are open to anyone wrestling with alcoholism, drugs, eating disorders, gambling, sex, or pornography, and attendance is kept anonymous and confidential so that attendees can find a place of safety and support. Each meeting works through the Twelve Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous alongside a consistent prayer life and sacramental reception, particularly the Eucharist and Reconciliation. Catholic in Recovery is recommended as an additional resource. The parish also publishes an addiction ministry flyer, the Twelve Steps as adapted by Catholic in Recovery, and the Serenity Prayer.
Catholic Social Teaching Put into Practice: The Justice, Peace, and Outreach Commission
The Justice, Peace, and Outreach Commission (JPOC) is rooted in the seven principles of Catholic Social Teaching - life and dignity of the human person, call to family and community, rights and responsibilities, option for the poor and vulnerable, dignity of work and rights of workers, solidarity, and care for God's creation - and runs five main efforts: Refugees, Housing, Respect Life, Care for Creation, and Legislation.
Refugee Ministry. The Refugee Ministry welcomes, protects, promotes, and integrates refugees, immigrants, and those on the margins of society - particularly those whose lives have been upended by war. The ministry has produced a booklet of recent stories, supported Lutheran Social Services collections, and run a Refugee Bicycle Project featuring Afghan refugee children. Parishioners write to legislators in support of the Afghan Adjustment Act and partner with Lutheran Social Services, Alight, and the Immigration Law Center of Minnesota.
Housing Ministry. The Housing Ministry advocates for affordable housing and emergency shelter. St. Mary's has sponsored a Habitat for Humanity build for more than twenty years, building homes in the White Bear Lake area and around the Twin Cities, and supports Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity, Philomena House (housing for homeless expectant mothers), Solid Ground, Listening House, and Common Bond. The Coordinator of Outreach also administers an Emergency Assistance Fund, offering limited financial help for parishioners and neighbors facing food, gas, housing, or bill emergencies.
Respect Life Ministry. The Respect Life Ministry educates and advocates for the protection of human life from conception to natural death. The Walking with Moms in Need program supports teens and women through organizations such as Women's Life Care Center, Denny and Margee's Baby Ministry, Birthright of St. Paul, and Philomena House. Other partners include Pro-Life Action Ministries, Rachel's Vineyard (post-abortion healing), and Prenatal Partners for Life. The group meets on the first Tuesday of each month at 5:30 PM in the Parish Life Center.
Care for Creation Ministry. The Care for Creation Ministry invites parishioners to live the Catholic call to stewardship of the earth. Activities include pilgrimages with neighboring parishes, food scrap recycling partnerships with Ramsey and Washington counties, home inventories of creation-friendly practices, and a Hymnfest for the Earth on the church feast. The ministry draws on Pope Francis's Laudato Si' and Laudate Deum and offers the Laudate Deum Action Pledge.
Legislation. The Legislative Advocacy effort provides resources on faithful citizenship and collaborates with other faith communities and the Minnesota Catholic Conference through voting, contacting legislators, staying current on bills, and attending a Day on the Hill.
Two hands-on service ministries complete the JPOC family. The Loaves and Fishes Ministry cooks and serves dinner at the Dorothy Day Center in St. Paul on the third Wednesday of each month (volunteers ages 14 and up, with a parent or guardian completing a Catholic Charities waiver for those under 18). The Rummage Sale is held twice a year, with the October rummage sale funding JPOC outreach and the June rummage sale funding the parish alumni association.
The parish also partners with Twin Cities-based Reiser Relief to operate the Haiti Mission, providing oversight and guidance for ongoing support to Haiti. Additionally, the parish runs an annual Habitat for Humanity build (in 2025 at 1730 Beebe Road North in Maplewood) and has partnered with Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity for more than twenty years.
Worship Music, Liturgical Volunteers, and the Parish Festival
Music at St. Mary's is led by the Director of Liturgical Music, Jaclyn Schwartz, and the Choir Director, Kathryn Lien. A 4th Annual Praise and Worship Concert draws musicians and the wider parish together, and the broader music ministry supports both the 9:00 AM and 11:00 AM Sunday Masses as well as occasional evening concerts.
More than 100 liturgical volunteers make the weekend Masses possible. Open roles include Greeters, Ushers, Lectors, Gift Bearers (families encouraged to bring the gifts of bread and wine together), Eucharistic Ministers, Mass Coordinators, Sacristans ("roadies," ages 14 and up), Projection System Operators (grade 8 and up), Video Broadcast System Operators who livestream to homebound parishioners, Altar Servers (students in grade 4 and up), a Laundry Committee that prepares altar linens, a Brass Cleaner team that polishes the church's brass handles, and a Church Environment and Decorating Team that supports the liturgical year. Liturgy of the Word with Children brings the Sunday scripture to children in grades 1 through 5 at both Sunday Masses on a rotating six-week schedule, while a Welcoming the Little Ones program immerses children ages 1 to 5 during Mass and the Nursery is staffed for parents who want to drop off their little ones.
The Parish Festival is the parish's largest community gathering of the year. It begins with Mass at 4:00 PM, followed by a Fellowship Dinner and family and kids' activities at the Parish Life Center. Raffle tickets are mailed to all registered parishioners in early July, with additional tickets available at the Welcome Desk. Winners are announced the night of the festival, and dinner tickets can be purchased at the Welcome Desk or online.
Frassati Catholic Academy and the Enduring St. Mary's School Alumni
St. Mary's School opened its doors on September 8, 1914, staffed by the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet, and served Catholic families in the White Bear Lake area for exactly one hundred years. To mark its centennial, the parish produced a 352-page anniversary book and an accompanying DVD featuring interviews with more than 70 alumni, priests, staff, and school families, which is given away free at the Parish Office and Welcome Desk or by mail on request.
In the 2014-2015 school year, the parish school became Frassati Catholic Academy, a White Bear Lake regional Catholic elementary school serving students in PreK through grade 8. Frassati is the only STREAM (Science, Technology, Religion, Engineering, Arts, and Math) elementary school in the Twin Cities. The school is housed in the Parish Life Center, where students receive their catechetical instruction alongside their regular classes on a daily basis. Alumni of the original St. Mary's School stay connected through an active Alumni Association that keeps in touch through newsletters and shared events.
The Cemetery, the Offices, and How to Connect
St. Mary of the Lake Cemetery sits at 1625 Stillwater Street and is governed by a Cemetery Committee that sets cemetery guidelines, makes improvements to the grounds, maintains a perpetual care fund, and shares news with parishioners. The parish encourages in-ground burial as the Church's preferred practice, while accepting cremation for those who choose it and insisting that cremated remains be buried in a cemetery or other sacred place rather than scattered or kept at home.
The parish offices, the Parish Life Center, are at 4690 Bald Eagle Avenue, White Bear Lake, MN 55110. All mail should be sent to that address. The church itself is one block north at 4741 Bald Eagle Avenue. Funeral flowers should be delivered to the church. The main phone line is 651-429-7771 (option 1 for the parish office), and the fax is 651-429-9539. Parish Office Hours run Monday through Friday, 8:30 AM to 4:00 PM from the day after Labor Day through the first week of June, with reduced summer hours in July and August. Calls after hours are answered by an answering service that passes along emergency messages to staff.
Online giving is available through the parish's secure giving portal, the Saturday 5:00 PM Vigil Mass is livestreamed on YouTube, and a Mass archive goes back to September 2010. Parishioners stay in touch through Flocknote emails, a Called app group for Catholic Young Adults, Instagram at @stmaryswblfused and @smolwblyouth, Facebook, Twitter/X, and a YouTube channel that hosts livestreams, recorded Masses, and the Synod homily series. Safe Environment information, including how to report suspected abuse, is published through the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis, and the parish observes the Essential 3 requirements - background check, code of conduct, and safe environment training - for any volunteer working with minors or vulnerable adults.
From a $1,800 pioneer church built from local cobblestones to a 1926 landmark whose interior was modeled on the Hill family's beloved St. Mary's in St. Paul, St. Mary of the Lake has spent 145 years forming disciples who know, follow, and go forth to share Jesus Christ. Its daily Mass schedule, its 24-hour adoration chapel, its seven sacraments, its family-based faith formation, its youth and young adult ministries, its senior care and grief ministries, its addiction support, and its five-pillar Justice, Peace, and Outreach Commission together make the parish a place where the Eucharist is the center and the mission of the Gospel reaches into every corner of White Bear Lake and beyond.