Three diocesan parish churches close their doors for good

It’s a sign of the times in many dioceses across the country. Parishes are being forced to close and realign with other parishes due to several factors, including declining populations, lack of priests, and crumbling infrastructure.

Father Brian Bachmeier knows too well the pain of seeing a church building close down and what remains of the congregation needing to attend Mass elsewhere, having been pastor of three parishes that have closed in the past. Father Bachmeier is the pastor of a fourth closing parish, St. Bernard of Clairvaux Parish in Oriska, slated to be torn down after 115 years due to the factors mentioned above and others.

“It’s hard, you know, because for many there’s a lot of emotion connected with it, but they’ve just really done a good job with it,” said Father Bachmeier. “Every single one of the people in this parish, they’re all going into other Catholic churches. The faith is continuing and they didn’t end it in division. And that’s how you want parishes to close.”

St. Bernard’s, along with St. Thomas’s Church in St. Thomas, and St. Michael’s Church in Wales, are well beyond their tiny congregations abilities to repair and maintain the structures (the decrees deciding their collective fates are published on pages 32-35). St. Michael’s parish family gathered for a final Mass at their church on July 9, although the church hadn’t been used for the celebration of Mass since the end of the COVID-19 pandemic. Parishioners now attend Mass at St. Alphonsus in Langdon or elsewhere. Likewise, St. Thomas’s parish has been closed for some time and parishioners are assigned to St. John’s in Grafton.

“It’s always disappointing when a church has to close,” said Bishop John Folda to those gathered for the closing Mass at St. Michael’s church. “But at a certain point, change is necessary. Parishes have come and gone in the history of the Church and in the history of this diocese, but the faith of the people who belong to those parishes endures. I hope there is also determination to keep alive this gift of faith that Jesus has given us, and not just to keep it but to live it and share it.”

The closing of a parish can be tough on those who call the church their parish home, especially if they have invested time into the parish. Della Nawman was the organist at St. Bernard’s parish nearly every Sunday from 1966 until recently, when failing eyesight made reading music difficult. Della attended the final Mass for St. Bernard’s on July 16, not as the organist, but among the congregation.

“I’m gonna miss it,” said Della. “But you know while you’re doing it, you think, ‘oh if I could just get somebody else to do this’ you know? It was just like a job that you had. You had to be there every Sunday or if you missed you felt guilty. I’m sure going to be lost. I love this church and I felt like I was doing something for God.”

Sacred articles, statues, stained glass windows, and furniture will be preserved or sent to other parishes in and outside of the diocese. The pews at St. Bernard’s and other altar furnishings will be used again at Seven Dolars Church at Fort Totten. Other items like cabinets and dinnerware from the St. Bernard’s social hall are either being auctioned off or given away. The rectory will be sold for use as a private residence once the church has been torn down and walls sealed, which is scheduled for mid-to-late August. The church bell will be relocated to the parish cemetery just west of Oriska.

The same is true for St. Michael’s and St. Thomas’s church before those buildings are removed. In addition, the St. Michael’s parish hall, located in downtown Wales, will be given to the local volunteer fire department.