If you are new to the area, we would like to welcome you to St. Benedict’s. To register as a new member of the parish, please introduce yourself to Fr. Jasinski after Mass or contact the parish office.
The parish Membership Registration form is available on the “Forms and Documents” page. New members may also contact us by completing the Online Registration form, or calling the parish office at 701-588-4288.
If you or someone you know are interested in becoming Catholic, please contact the parish office.
Our community traces its roots to French-Canadian missionary priests who ministered in the Red River Valley beginning in the 1840s. Documents show that Holy Cross Mission was present at the mouth of the Wild Rice River, 10 miles south of Fargo, by 1870.
As more settlers came, the mission church (a log cabin) was too small for the growing congregation, so a church was built on a new site (location of St. Benedict Cemetery) and renamed to St. Benedict. In 1888, a “larger church” was built. A new church was constructed on the same site in 1913, which served the parish through March of 2024.
In 2018, the parish decided to move to a new campus in the City of Horace. The first Mass was celebrated in the parish hall on March 30, 2024, the Easter Vigil. For more on the details of the project, visit the Building page.
St. Benedict Cemetery dates from the 1880s.
Presentation Sisters ran St. Joseph’s School from 1903 until 1966.
To view the art which decorated the interior of the 1913 Church, visit the Church Art page. To see how these items were incorporated into the new building, visit the Patrimony page.
After a delay of one year because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the 150th anniversary of St. Benedict was celebrated on Oct. 9, 2021.
For our celebration we welcomed back former pastors, parishioners, religious sisters (who taught in the academy or were part of the pastoral staff), and many guests. We shared memories and recalled the rich history of St. Benedict.
Links to videos, audio recording and photo album are available below:
Press the “Play” button to watch.
(Press the “Expand” button in the lower left to fill your screeen.)
Slide show of historical photos (no sound). Press the “Play” button to watch. (Press the “Expand” button in the lower left to fill your screeen.)
Recording of the presentation of the 150 year history of St. Benedict’s Parish by Paul Richard.
Click/tap picture for large images. For more photos from St. Benedict’s, visit the Photo Albums page.
Here is a list of some of the early missionaries who served the French traders and early settlers: