St. Francis de Sales Church at 601 15th. Ave. North, Moorhead, MN 56560 US - St. Francis de Sales Parish
St. Francis de Sales Parish
OUR LAND AND ITS PEOPLE
Located in north Moorhead, Minnesota, our parish is in the heart of the expanse of flat prairie called the Red River Valley. The Diocese of Crookston, which covers the northwestern corner of Minnesota, is our local church, and Michael J. Hoeppner is our bishop. Our country is blessed with some of the best farmland in America, and people embrace traditional values like hard work, family, and community. Northwestern Minnesota is a great place to live and raise a family. We'd like to tell you a little bit about ourselves--so come and see!
OUR HISTORY
In 1940 Bishop Peschges of the Diocese of Crookston purchased a complete city block in the growing town of Moorhead. His vision was that a new Catholic church would be built on the property. On July 16, 1948, the new Bishop of Crookston, Francis J. Schenk, announced that a new parish in Moorhead would be built to embrace the north side of the fast growing community. On August 17, 1948, this parish was officially incorporated by Bishop Schenk under the patronage of St. Francis de Sales, and Father Francis Ketter was appointed the first pastor. The first Sunday Mass of the new parish was celebrated at Lincoln Elementary School on August 22. A temporary home for St. Francis was purchased from Our Savior's Lutheran Church and was used until a permanent building could be constructed.
During this first year St. Francis parish also began operating a grade school. Events moved quickly, and the cornerstone for a permanent church was laid on July 16, 1949, with the building process complete by December 1949. Eventually the grade school was consolidated with the school at St. Joseph's Church in south Moorhead. The 1949 church building was the parish's home until 1996. On June 26, 1996, Bishop Victor Balke dedicated the parish's present building on 15th Avenue North.
St. Francis Church was closed briefly during the spring flood of 2009 as a dike of sandbags ringed the structure, and Sunday Mass was held at St. Elizabeth's in Dilworth. There was no damage to the church, though there was a great expense of effort on the part of parishioners to keep the floodwaters at bay. A number of parishioners suffered damage to their homes, some severe.
OUR PURPOSE
Our mission is to "Seek the Lord in all that we do." Jesus promised that "All who seek, shall find." This mission--ever searching for God and bringing him with us into every situation we encounter as lay Catholics--is at the heart of our purpose as a parish. St. Francis parishioners come from every walk of life, and we are mindful of the fact that we bring Jesus with us as we go forth into our families, our places of work, and our neighborhoods. Our Lord said, "Where I am, there my servant shall be." We as lay Catholics are those servants, seeking always to find Jesus in every situation and make his love known to every person.