Connecting Faith and Life on 80th Street
The Church of St. Rita has stood on 80th Street South in Cottage Grove since 1970, when the first building went up to serve a parish of 350 families newly formed four years earlier. Today the parish counts roughly 1,450 households and lives by a single phrase: Connect Faith and Life. That motto sums up what St. Rita's has tried to be from the start, a Catholic community in the southern Twin Cities where the Sunday Mass reaches into Monday morning. Whether someone is visiting for a weekend, looking for a parish home, returning to the practice of the faith, or simply curious about the Catholic Church, the message on the door is the same: all are welcome.
A Brief History of the Parish
St. Rita's was incorporated as a parish of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis on September 1, 1966. Its founding pastor, Fr. John Brandes, recruited families from St. Thomas Aquinas in St. Paul Park to launch the new community, and for its first years the parish celebrated Mass at Park High School until a church building could be raised. That building, a stark modern structure of white concrete blocks, was completed in 1970 on the same 80th Street lot the parish still occupies. The original design imagined two worship spaces, a Theater of the Word and a Hall of Celebration, but only the first was ever built.
In 1986, the parish dedicated the present worship space. Archbishop John Roach led the dedication of an addition finished in white stucco, with curved corners meant to echo the warmth of Christ's encircling love. The expansion brought the current worship area, the chapel, reconciliation rooms, administration offices, and staff workspace, and included a remodeling of Seton Hall and the construction of a 36-foot bell tower. The tower holds a 2,100-pound bell that had been obtained from St. Joseph's Parish in Emmett, South Dakota. A new kitchen for Seton Hall was added in 1998, the same year a statue of St. Rita with an outstretched arm was placed at the entrance to welcome all who arrive. In 2005, parishioner and landscape architect Anita Kerper designed the gardens that now surround the building.
Loss came in 2004, when pastor Fr. Jim Grogan died of an inoperable brain aneurysm. The outdoor cross at the driveway entrance, installed in 2006, is dedicated in his memory. By 2010, the parish had outgrown its catechetical space, and Fr. Bill Deziel formed a committee to plan another addition. Fr. Rick Banker carried the project to completion, and the new wing was dedicated on April 17, 2016, as part of the parish's 50th anniversary. The worship space has since been updated with a new tabernacle, a cross and corpus, enhanced Stations of the Cross, a statue of the Virgin Mary, and new kneelers, all gifts from the parish community. The tabernacle and altar have been moved to the center of the sanctuary, and a chapel enlargement accommodates the growing number of daily Mass and adoration worshipers.
St. Rita's was the home parish of Fr. Evan Koop, who was ordained in 2012 as the first priest to come out of the parish. Deacon Jack Nicklay, a skilled woodworker, built a new tabernacle stand to match the original altar and ambo, along with shelves, tables, and other furnishings that have shaped the look of the worship space.
Mass, Adoration, and Reconciliation
Weekend Masses are celebrated on Saturday at 5:00 PM and on Sunday at 8:30 and 10:30 AM. Weekday Masses follow a Tuesday-Thursday evening pattern and a Wednesday and Friday morning pattern: Tuesday at 5:00 PM, Wednesday at 8:30 AM, Thursday at 5:00 PM, and Friday at 8:30 AM. Confession is heard on Saturday afternoons at 4:00 PM or by appointment. Eucharistic Adoration fills most of Thursday, with the Blessed Sacrament exposed from 8:30 AM to 5:00 PM; hourly slots are available for those who want to commit to a regular hour of prayer before the Eucharist. The parish office is open Monday through Thursday from 8:00 AM to 4:30 PM and Friday from 8:00 AM to noon.
Weekend and daily Masses are livestreamed on Facebook. A small team of trained volunteers runs the cameras for the Sunday 8:30 and 10:30 AM Masses, the Wednesday and Friday 8:30 AM Masses, and the Thursday 5:00 PM and Saturday 5:00 PM Masses.
The Patroness: St. Rita of Cascia
St. Rita was born Rita Lotti in 1381 in Roccaporena, near Cascia in the province of Umbria, Italy, the only child of Antonio and Amata Lotti. After a difficult marriage and the loss of her husband and two sons, she entered the convent in 1413. She is known for a deep devotion to the Passion of Christ; in 1441, after hearing a sermon on the Crown of Thorns, a thorn from the crucifix in her chapel became embedded in her forehead and remained a visible wound for the rest of her life. Shortly before her death on May 22, 1457, she asked a relative to bring her a rose from her childhood garden in midwinter, and a single rose was found in bloom. Roses have been associated with her ever since, and she is venerated as the Saint of the Impossible. Pope Leo XIII canonized her on May 24, 1900, and her feast is celebrated each year on May 22.
Faith Formation from Kindergarten Through Confirmation
Faith formation at St. Rita's is built on the conviction that parents are the first teachers of their children, and the parish's programs are designed to support, not replace, the faith life of the home. The curriculum, drawn from Our Sunday Visitor, leads children from an early-childhood foundation through grade-by-grade study of Revelation, the Holy Trinity, Jesus Christ, the Church, Morality, the Sacraments, and the Kingdom of God.
Elementary Faith Formation gathers on Wednesdays from 4:30 to 5:45 PM. Kindergarten uses Allelu, an early-childhood program rooted in Scripture, prayer, ritual, and community. Grades 1, 3, 4, and 5 work through Alive in Christ, and Grade 2 combines faith formation with the immediate preparation for the sacraments of First Reconciliation and First Holy Communion. Tuition is $110 per student, with a discount for early registration, a $350 family cap, an $85 sacrament fee, and a $50 credit for an adult volunteer. Sacramental preparation is required to take place at the parish of registration, even for children who attend Catholic schools. First Reconciliation is celebrated in December and First Holy Communion in May. Kathy Raible coordinates the elementary program.
For students in grades 6 through 12, Middle and High School Faith Formation meets on Wednesday evenings from 7:00 to 8:30 PM. The format alternates between small-group discussion and a once-a-month Large Group session held in the worship space, with parents welcome to attend. Grades 6 and 7 work through a video curriculum that explores Catholic identity and walks through the Bible; grades 8 through 10 build community in small groups and dig into the Catechism. Director of Religious Education Elizabeth Trksak oversees the program, and a homeschool option is available for families whose schedules do not fit the Wednesday night rhythm.
Confirmation preparation begins in ninth grade and concludes with the sacrament in tenth grade. The program runs alongside faith formation, with attendance in a faith formation program from grades 8 through 10 required of all candidates. Each candidate chooses a sponsor for prayer and faith conversations, participates in a Confirmation retreat, and selects a patron saint name. The Confirmation Mass itself is typically celebrated at the Cathedral of Saint Paul in the spring.
Youth Ministry, CORE, and Resound
The Youth Ministry at St. Rita's offers young people a chance to step into the roles that older parishioners have traditionally filled. High schoolers are encouraged to serve as lectors, ushers, Eucharistic ministers, and members of the audio/visual team, and a livestream crew is being built specifically with youth in mind. The CORE Peer Ministry Team brings together young people and adults who plan Large Group evenings and monthly activities; CORE meets on the first Monday of each month and welcomes students in grades 9 through 12.
Music has a youth outlet of its own. Resound, the youth music group, rehearses two or three Monday nights a month and is open to new singers, musicians, and A/V operators. The parish also offers Catholic Youth Summer Camp, a Senior High Mission Trip, and a Ladies Night In for girls in grades 6 through 12 and the women in their lives. Every other year, high school leaders are invited to attend the National Catholic Youth Conference, and the parish periodically joins the World Youth Day pilgrimage.
Music Across the Liturgical Year
Music Director Adam Baus leads a music ministry that St. Francis of Assisi might have called praying twice. Five primary choirs span traditional and contemporary sound: the parish Choir, open to all singers without audition and presenting twice a month; Joyful Praise and Echo, a small group of confident independent singers who present twice a month; Resound, the youth choir for grades 6 and up; Deuteronomy, the men's choir; and Ordo Virtutum, a women's ensemble rooted in classical repertoire. WBIG brings contemporary, tight-harmony singing once a month, and a Children's Choir is open to singers in grades 1 through 5. A dedicated Music Ministry YouTube channel organizes playlists for Advent, Christmas, Lent, Holy Week, Pentecost, Ordinary Time, and the summer, as well as a recommended listening list for funerals.
Sacraments and Pastoral Care
The seven sacraments are at the heart of parish life. Baptisms are celebrated on the second and fourth Sundays of each month at noon, with a baptism preparation class for parents on the first Tuesday of each month at 6:30 PM. The Anointing of the Sick is available to anyone facing surgery, illness, or the frailties of age, not only those near death, and can be arranged for the homebound or hospitalized. Couples inquiring about Holy Matrimony are asked to call the parish office at least six months before the desired wedding date. Young men discerning a call to the priesthood or diaconate are pointed to the Archdiocese's Office of Vocations, and the parish regularly prays for an increase in vocations.
Pastoral Care extends the parish's reach beyond the building. Because hospitals and nursing homes no longer notify churches of patient admissions, the parish asks family members to call the office when a loved one would like a visit from a priest or deacon. Eucharistic ministers also bring Communion to the homebound. A Prayer Group for Priests commits twenty minutes a day to praying for the pastor, and members of the parish are welcome to join.
Reaching Out: Peru, Tanzania, Ghana, and the Community Meal
St. Rita's is a parish with one foot firmly in Cottage Grove and another in three countries. The Mission Outreach Commission coordinates the parish's relationships with its sister parish, Los Santos Martires, in Chimbote, Peru; with Fr. Augustine Mbiche's orphanage, St. Monica's, in Tanzania; and with Fr. Albert's school in Ghana, which Fr. Albert visits each summer. The sister-parish relationship with Chimbote began in 2000, and parishioners have visited Peru several times since, including a 2016 trip to attend the Beatification Mass of the Three Blessed Martyrs of Chimbote, Polish Franciscan priests Michal Tomaszek and Zbigniew Adam Strzalkowski, and Italian missionary priest Alessandro Dordi, who were murdered in 1991.
Closer to home, the parish hosts a Community Meal on the third Friday of each month in Seton Hall at 6:00 PM. The hot meal is free and open to anyone who wants to join; cooks and servers are always needed. Once a month, the parish packs meal bags at Listening House in St. Paul, a day-shelter and resource center for people who are homeless, disadvantaged, or lonely. Members of the Mission Outreach also serve at Hope for the Journey shelter and help run volunteer weeks there. A community food shelf donation basket near the baptismal font lists monthly needs for local ministries.
Volunteers: The Hands of the Parish
St. Rita's runs on its volunteers, and the list of ways to serve reads like a small directory. In worship, volunteers serve as A/V operators, altar servers, Eucharistic ministers, lectors and commentators, ushers, sacristans, members of the Environment Team that decorates the church for the liturgical seasons, and a Plant Care team that tends the indoor greenery. A Funeral Lunches team ministers to grieving families by hosting a reception after the funeral, and a Respect Life Group advocates for unborn children and their mothers.
Outside the sanctuary, the Knights of Columbus, open to all Catholic men, meet once a month on the third Thursday to raise money for a range of charities. The Craft Ministries group meets on the first Thursday of the month at 2:00 PM to knit prayer shawls for the sick and homebound and to make rosaries for the missions. A Sunday Night Rosary Group gathers at 6:30 in the Eucharistic Chapel, and a Wednesday Morning Coffee Group hosts fellowship and treats after the Wednesday Mass. Money Counters tally the weekly collection, Office Mailings volunteers handle the parish's periodic mailings, Gardening volunteers care for the award-winning grounds through the summer, and a Worship Space Cleaning team cares for the sanctuary once a month. Adult volunteers who work with children, teens, or vulnerable adults complete the Archdiocese's Essential 3 requirements: a background check, VIRTUS training, and a signed Code of Conduct.
Getting Connected
Anyone interested in becoming a parishioner can pick up a registration form, fill out the two pages (one for family information, one to indicate interests in the parish's many groups), and mail it or drop it off at the parish office. A separate authorization form is available for those who would like to set up automatic withdrawals for their weekly contributions; online giving is also available through the parish's giving system.
The parish offers every household a free subscription to FORMED.org, an online library of Catholic movies, podcasts, Bible studies, books, and children's programming that can be enjoyed individually, as a family, or with a small group. Bible study itself is offered in fall and spring sessions, with small groups meeting either Monday evenings or Tuesday mornings for a nine-week focus on a book of Scripture. Small groups are also available for parishioners who want a more informal setting to pray and discuss faith.
St. Rita's is, at its heart, a parish of hospitality. From the days when Fr. Brandes recruited families from St. Thomas Aquinas to today, when the parish welcomes visitors at the door and online, the call has been the same: come in, find a place, and connect faith and life.