A Place on the Prairie Since 1872
St. Michael's Catholic Church, Grand Forks' mother church since 1872, anchors a block of parish buildings between Fifth and Sixth Avenues North in the heart of the city. From its two bronze-topped bell towers (visible for blocks around) to its one-thousand-seat Romanesque nave, the parish has shaped Catholic life across northeastern North Dakota and northwestern Minnesota for more than a century and a quarter. The parish describes its mission as putting people in communion and intimacy with Jesus Christ, through worship, education, evangelization, and service. Today, with daily Mass, an attached parish school, formation programs from toddler through twelfth grade, an OCIA process for adults, weekly adoration, and a wide web of service ministries, St. Michael's remains one of the largest and most active parishes in the Diocese of Fargo.
A Heritage Reaching Back to 1872
The first regular Masses in what would become St. Michael's territory took place in 1872, when Father L.F. Simonet, traveling south from Pembina and St. Boniface in Manitoba, gathered French-Indian (Metis), French-Canadian, Irish, and German families who had settled near the confluence of the Red and Red Lake rivers. In a letter to his Canadian bishop the following year, Simonet wrote that he had found "24 Catholic families within a distance of four miles" and promised to return in the spring if the settlers would put up "a temporary chapel." They did.
A tiny log or frame chapel is believed to have served as the first St. Michael's somewhere along the river. In 1878, Captain Alexander Griggs - the steamboatman often called the "Father of Grand Forks," and not himself Catholic - gave Father Louis L'Hiver a piece of land at Sixth Street and DeMers, where a frame church was raised, complete with a free-standing bell tower. Father L'Hiver, who reportedly planted potatoes in 1879 on what is now DeMers Avenue, served the young parish until 1883.
The parish was already incorporating before North Dakota was a state. On July 23, 1884, the Territory of Dakota declared that from that day forward St. Michael's would be known as "a body politic and corporate" under the name "St. Michael's Roman Catholic Church of Grand Forks, Dakota."
Five Churches Before the Present One
By 1883, the frame church had been replaced by a brick-surfaced wood structure with a 105-foot steeple, dedicated that year and praised by the local press as "the largest as well as the finest church edifice in Dakota." The parish already counted five hundred families scattered across muddy roads that reached into Minnesota.
That church stood only four years. A windstorm - locals disagree whether it was a tornado - blew it apart in 1887, and a second church was dedicated that same year: a brick building with high ceilings, beautiful columns, and an elaborate altar, designed by Father Edward J. Conaty, a Massachusetts-born former lawyer who became one of St. Michael's most celebrated pastors.
That church, too, was lost - this time to fire in 1907. Rising from the second destruction, the parish "thought big." The Hancock Brothers, an English-born firm out of Fargo that had designed parts of the state capitol and St. James in Jamestown, was hired to design the magnificent Romanesque structure that would become the present church.
The 1909 Romanesque Sanctuary
The parish house was rolled to the other end of the block so the new church could stretch out in all its grandeur. The building was dedicated in 1909. The same Romanesque design, the same massive bell towers, the same deeply vaulted sanctuary, and the same Munich Studios of Chicago stained glass have welcomed worshippers ever since.
The stained glass windows are considered among the finest in America. The interior includes a ribbed half-dome apse above the altar, representing the dome of Heaven; a chancel arch whose gold-leaf detail was re-emphasized during a careful restoration; the Stations of the Cross and side shrines; a choir loft beneath the great wheel window; reconciliation rooms built into the historic confessionals; and a lower auditorium once meant for "lectures and entertainment" with a seating capacity of one thousand.
In 1988, the U.S. Department of the Interior placed St. Michael's on the National Register of Historic Places.
Parishioners have long considered their church the largest in the state, and some old-timers even call it a "Pro-Cathedral," a tradition that began in the 1910s or 1920s when a bishop's chair was installed in the sanctuary. The title quietly slipped off the letterhead when the bishop remained in Fargo.
The 1985 Restoration
In September 1985, scaffold towers rose forty feet into the nave. For four months, parish Mass moved to the school Youth Center while craftsmen from Conrad Schmitt Studios of Milwaukee worked through the building. They brought over fifty thousand pounds of scaffolding, two hundred gallons of paint, 2,100 feet of stencils, and twenty-seven boxes of 23-karat hammered gold leaf. The renovation strengthened the egg-and-dart frieze along the upper walls, refined the angels in the apse mural, repaired and gilded the altars and sanctuary furnishings, re-leaded capitals on the pillars, and added finishing to the great sanctuary. The artists described the building as "an architectural jewel."
Volunteer crews stripped and refinished the church woodwork, dismantled an aging weather-walk between the school and church basement, and painted the sacristy walls. John Karlstad of Timber Structures dismantled every pew - some twenty hours of labor each - and refinished them in golden oak. The floor under the pews was rebuilt with hard tile in a rich rust color, and a thicker carpet was laid in the sanctuary itself. New votive candle racks, locally forged in Romanesque style by the Ornamental Iron Company, replaced fire-prone wooden stands. The Mother of Perpetual Help Shrine was relocated to a quieter wall to protect it from soot and allow for personal devotions. The confessionals were remodeled into reconciliation rooms with woodwork salvaged from earlier furnishings. A new north entry was added to provide wheelchair access to both the nave and church basement, with brick and arch windows made to match the original Romanesque building.
The parish rededicated the renovated church that Christmas season, with Bishop James Sullivan presiding.
The Flood of 1997
In April and May of 1997, the Red River swallowed roughly half of Grand Forks. Sandbags rose. On Friday, April 18, the parish celebrated its scheduled 7:15 and 5:15 Masses; at 8:00 p.m. a four-hour Holy Hour for flood protection began; at 9:00 p.m. seventy prisoners from the flooding county jail were transferred into the Youth Center. By Saturday morning, water was already running into the basement. The Sunday Mass was already canceled: the entire town had been put under mandatory evacuation.
The priests returned by military vehicle on Monday, April 21, and found the sanctuary, the bell towers, and the upper floors of the parish house and school intact. The Blessed Sacrament was moved to Larimore. For nearly a month there were no Masses in St. Michael's. A parish-wide Mass was eventually held at the Ramada Inn on the west edge of town. With temporary lights and portable heaters, a one-room parish office was set up by May 12. On Monday, May 18, Mass resumed at St. Michael's - with meager lighting, no heat, and no toilet facilities.
In the months that followed, volunteers from near and far ripped out walls, furniture, and equipment, filling at least twenty semi-trailers with debris. By mid-1998 the Youth Center and lower floors of the school were back in use. The church basement was finished in the fall of 1999, and by the spring of 2000 the parish life had returned to its usual haunts. The flood is still part of the parish's identity: a quiet reminder that the building has been rebuilt, quite literally, more than once.
Mass Schedule, Reconciliation, and Adoration
St. Michael's celebrates Mass seven days a week.
- Saturday: 7:15 AM, plus the Anticipatory Mass at 5:00 PM
- Sunday: 7:30, 9:00, and 11:00 AM, plus 5:00 PM
- Monday: 7:15 AM
- Tuesday: 7:15 AM and 5:15 PM
- Wednesday: 7:15 AM and 12:10 PM
- Thursday: 7:15 AM
- Friday: 12:10 PM
Confessions are heard every weekday morning before the first Mass and on Saturday afternoon before the Vigil. Weekday confession times run from 7:00 to 7:10 AM and again from 7:45 to 8:00 AM; Tuesday adds 4:45 to 5:05 PM, Wednesday adds 11:50 AM to 12:05 PM, Friday runs 11:40 AM to 12:05 PM, and Saturday afternoon runs 4:00 to 4:50 PM. There are no Sunday confessions.
Eucharistic Adoration is held every Tuesday from 8:00 AM through 9:00 PM.
A selection of Masses is livestreamed: Sunday at 7:30 AM, Monday through Thursday at 7:15 AM, Friday at 12:10 PM, and Saturday at 7:15 AM. The streams are available on the parish Facebook page and YouTube channel.
Sacraments: Baptism, Reconciliation, First Communion, Confirmation, Marriage
Infant baptism begins with a meeting with a priest or deacon. Parents fill out a baptism form and a godparent or sponsor eligibility form and forward a photo of the child's state-issued birth certificate to the parish office. Baptisms are not celebrated during Lent.
First Reconciliation is prepared for and received in the second grade. First Eucharist is prepared for and received in the third grade, normally in the Easter season, with Bishop Folda of the Diocese of Fargo presiding. Following Bishop Folda's pastoral letter Go Make Disciples, the two sacraments will from this point on be celebrated separately: third graders will receive First Eucharist at their home parish beginning spring 2027, and fourth graders will receive Confirmation from the Bishop beginning spring 2028. The parish's Director of Religious Education, Marie Vetter, oversees preparation.
Couples preparing for marriage meet with one of the parish priests, complete the Pre-Marriage FOCCUS Inventory Survey, attend a diocesan Marriage Preparation Seminar, and take a course in Natural Family Planning. Weddings are celebrated Friday between 2:00 and 7:00 PM and Saturday between 10:00 AM and 2:30 PM. There are no weddings on Sundays or Holy Days of Obligation, and none during Lent. The Music and Liturgy Coordinator helps the couple plan music, and the parish supplies guidelines for environment, photography, and printing.
Forming the Faith from Toddlers Through Twelfth Grade
Faith Formation at St. Michael's runs on Wednesdays from September through May, with an Opening Mass in late September and weekly classes from 6:15 to 7:45 PM in the church basement.
- Catechesis of the Good Shepherd: A Level I atrium for children ages 3 through 6. Three weekly sessions (Tuesday morning, Thursday afternoon, Friday morning) are led by trained catechists and assistants, with a maximum of twelve students per session.
- Grades 1-8: Wednesday evening formation with weekly classes.
- Grades 9-12: The high school youth group meets throughout the year, combining classes, socials, and service.
- OCIA (Order of Christian Initiation of Adults): An inquiry class for adults curious about becoming Catholic, baptized in another tradition and seeking full communion, or baptized Catholics who have not yet received First Communion or Confirmation. Classes begin in the fall and run through the Easter season.
Financial assistance, including payment plans and scholarships, is available so that no family sits out because of cost.
St. Michael Catholic School
The parish elementary school has been in continuous operation on the parish block since 1916, when the St. Joseph of Carondelet sisters took charge of a building whose construction cost was underwritten, in full, by the Altar Society. The school now belongs to All Saints Catholic Schools, a system serving the Grand Forks region.
The school offers a fully accredited Catholic education for kindergarten through grade six. Historically, about 15 percent of the student body has come from minority backgrounds. The parish calls the school a steady gift to the city of roughly a quarter million dollars' worth of accredited education each year. Families interested in enrollment should contact the parish office.
Music and the Liturgical Ministries
The Music and Liturgy Ministry draws its vision from Vatican II: "the musical tradition of the universal Church... forms a necessary or integral part of the solemn liturgy." The parish's musical life includes St. Michael's Choir, an adult choir that meets Wednesdays at 7:30 PM and sings twice a month at Sunday Mass in all voice parts (soprano, alto, tenor, bass); the Seraphim, a second adult vocal ensemble; cantors and song leaders; and an accompanist who plays piano or organ for the assembly. A youth choir is being organized for grades 4 through 8.
The parish also fields a full set of liturgical ministries at every weekend Mass: extraordinary ministers of Holy Communion, mass coordinators (sacristans), proclaimers (lectors), hospitality ministers (greeters and ushers), altar servers (open to anyone who has received First Communion), and a small Environment Committee that cares for plants, flowers, and seasonal decoration.
The Pastorate and the Parish Staff
Pastor Rev. Raymond Courtright oversees a parish in a long line of pastorates dating back to Father Simonet's 1872 visit. Father Garrett Aberle is the Associate Pastor. Two deacons serve at the parish: Deacon Albert Schmisek and Deacon John Bredemeier, the latter ordained in 2015.
Marie Vetter is the Director of Religious Education. Jesse Zyskowski coordinates Music and Liturgy. Erin Perronteau serves as Business Manager. Michele Delmore and Mary Ann Austin are parish secretaries. Pat Deziel is the Plant Manager. The parish office at 418 N. 6th St. is open Monday through Thursday from 9:00 AM to 4:30 PM and Friday from 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM, closed on holidays and holy days.
Parish Organizations
The Parish Council, a quarterly consultative body to the pastor, is led by President Rhonda Varriano and Vice President Brent Lahr.
The Altar Society, led by President Janet Burns, cares for the sanctuary, supplies altar breads, maintains the church basement kitchen, cleans and launders vestments and altar linens, coordinates funeral receptions, and raises funds through the annual Fall Breakfast/Bazaar and raffle, as well as the Blue Envelope collection on the first Sunday of each month.
The Knights of Columbus Council 1260, led by Grand Knight Craig Pfau, sponsors a Right to Life dinner, vocations support, breakfasts, and various parish services.
The Finance Council, chaired by Father Courtright and Treasurer Tom Rerick, oversees the parish budget. The Bridge Builders Endowment Fund, incorporated in 1974 and chaired by President Tom Gehrz, raises private funds for the parish school. The St. Michael's Foundation, incorporated as a 501(c)(3) in 1992 and chaired by Scott Schreiner, accepts planned gifts and bequests for the long-term support of the parish.
Adult faith opportunities include bible studies, retreats, lecture series, and seasonal formation events advertised through the parish.
Outreach and Service
St. Joseph's Social Care and Thrift Store, located at 620 8th Ave S. in Grand Forks, is the parish's front-line outreach partner. Food donations can be left in the collection box at the church, and Sunday school children bring their gifts forward at the Offertory. The store distributes groceries and used clothing to neighbors in need.
The Christmas Basket ministry, run through Thanksgiving and Christmas, distributes food baskets and gifts of clothing to registered parishioners in need. A giving tree in the church entrance holds tags listing clothing items requested.
The Homebound Ministry takes the Eucharist to parishioners who cannot attend Mass, currently visiting on the first Friday of each month.
Prayer Partners commit to praying at home or wherever they wish for parish, Church, and world intentions; a fresh list of petitions is sent at the beginning of each month or liturgical season.
The Life Runners Grand Forks chapter meets on the second Saturday of every month at 8:15 AM, wearing Life Runners attire for a visible witness to the cause of life. The group prays the Life Runners Creed, a Rosary, and the Divine Mercy Chaplet, and participates in the 40 Days for Life campaign at the diocesan level.
RaiseRight (formerly Scrip) gift cards for area gas stations, grocery stores, restaurants, and dozens of national retailers turn ordinary household spending into a steady fundraiser for the parish, with no extra cost to the buyer.
Stewardship, Scholarships, and Planned Giving
Parishioners are encouraged to tithe through weekly envelopes, online giving via WeShare, stock and IRA contributions, and memorial gifts. The Foundation and the Bridge Builders Endowment support the long-term work of the parish and the school. The St. Michael the Archangel Association, founded to honor those who have included the parish in their wills, offers charter membership to anyone making a planned gift.
Each spring, a long list of named scholarships - the Deraney, Dusek, Endres, Halcrow, Jeffery, Mannes, McGurran, McKinnon, Micka, Richmond, O'Keefe, Sister Marie Patrick, Pribula, Rogalla, Ryan, Sherman, Wasylow, and Zeidlik scholarships, among others - helps send St. Michael's students to the parish school.
For Visitors
Street parking is available around the church, and additional parking is available in the lot east of the school, accessible from N 5th Street. The courtyard behind the church is reserved for the drop-off and pick-up of elderly guests and those with disabilities; an elevator at this entrance provides access to the nave.
Visitors are welcome to come as they are. The parish asks only that visitors stay attentive to the liturgy, leave a modest offering envelope if they wish to support the parish financially, and remember that there is no obligation to give. Weekend Masses run Saturday at 5:00 PM and Sunday at 7:30, 9:00, and 11:00 AM, with an evening Mass at 5:00 PM.
The parish encourages everyone to register, especially those who consider St. Michael's their church home. Registration can be arranged by emailing the parish office at parishoffice@stmichaelsgf.com or by calling (701) 772-2624.