About Holy Trinity · Angus, Minnesota
Holy Trinity is a small, historic rural Catholic parish in the unincorporated community of Tabor, near Angus, in northwestern Minnesota. Founded in 1889 by Czech (Bohemian) and Slovak immigrants and now part of the Diocese of Crookston, it is one of two Holy Trinity churches on the east and west sides of Tabor (the other being the Lutheran parish). The parish has not had a resident priest since the early 1990s and is currently administered as a mission church by a neighboring Crookston-diocese parish, with Mass celebrated on a rotating monthly schedule that alternates between Sunday morning and Saturday-evening times through the winter, and between 8:00 a.m. and 10:00 a.m. on Sundays through the summer.
- Established
- 1889
- Patron
- Holy Trinity (originally dedicated to St. Wenceslaus, patron of Bohemia; later renamed Holy Trinity)
- Rector
- No resident pastor; administered as a mission church. (Fr. Xavier Ilango served as pastor of Sacred Heart East Grand Forks with Holy Trinity Tabor as an assigned mission from July 2015 to June 2018; Holy Trinity is currently listed by GCatholic as a mission of the Church of the Sacred Heart, East Grand Forks.)
- Diocese
- Diocese of Crookston
Why belong here
Holy Trinity offers a small, close-knit rural Catholic community rooted in a 135-year-old Czech and Slovak immigrant heritage, where generations of the same families have worshipped since the 1880s. As a mission served from neighboring Crookston-diocese parishes, it provides the Eucharist on a predictable rotating monthly schedule, a parish cemetery holding many founders' graves, and a quiet place of prayer in the heart of the Tabor/Angus farming country. Visitors are welcomed to the church on 37639 140th Street NW for the scheduled Sunday or Saturday-vigil Masses and the annual community gatherings that continue the parish's long Bohemian-American traditions.
Mass times at Holy Trinity
Weekly Mass schedule
Parish Identity and Location
Holy Trinity Catholic Church sits in the unincorporated community of Tabor, in Polk County in northwestern Minnesota. Although its postal address is Angus, MN 56762, longtime parishioners and the diocese know the parish by its Tabor locality — 'Holy Trinity, Tabor.' It belongs to the Diocese of Crookston and is currently listed as a mission of the Church of the Sacred Heart in East Grand Forks.
- Diocese: Diocese of Crookston
- Mailing/Parish address: 37639 140th St NW, Angus (Tabor), MN 56762
- Phone: (218) 745-5853
- Status: Mission church (no resident priest since 1991)
- Parish designation: 'The Holy Trinity Congregation of Tabor'
History of Holy Trinity Parish
Holy Trinity was organized on November 13, 1889 by Czech and Slovak Catholic settlers in the Tabor area of Polk County. The first church was completed in 1890 on land purchased from the St. Paul, Minneapolis, Manitoba Railway Company, and was dedicated in 1893 to St. Wenceslaus. Father John Rech became the first resident pastor in 1900 when the parish was formally incorporated as The Holy Trinity Congregation of Tabor. Over the next century the parish built a hall, raised a new (current) church completed in 1954, and celebrated its centennial in 1989. The parish has been served by mission clergy since losing its resident priest in 1991.
- Founded: November 13, 1889
- Formal incorporation: May 17, 1900
- First church: completed 1890; first bell blessed Nov. 16, 1892
- Original patron: St. Wenceslaus; later renamed Holy Trinity
- Current church: completed early 1954; blessed by Bishop F.J. Schenk, April 1, 1954
- Centennial celebrated November 1989
Czech and Slovak Immigrant Roots
The parish was founded by Bohemian (Czech) and Slovak immigrants who gave the community the name Tabor, after a city 70 miles south of Prague. Early settlers — Frank Kovar (1880), Joseph Trefny (1881), Jacob Gust (1884) — initially worshipped at home when Father Pribyl visited from Chicago and later Montgomery, Minnesota. The parish's founding minutes, the 'Protokolni Kniha,' were kept in Czechoslovakian and record donations of bushels of wheat and $1 memberships from 19 founding members.
- 13 founders named in the 1889 minutes: Novotny, Trefny, Svoboda, Kovar, Ovsak, Kotrba, Novak, Zejdlik, Holub, Gust, Judovsky, Eidelbes, Dusek
- Vaclav (James) Novotny advanced $200 for the church land
- Jakub Novak mortgaged his farm for a $400 loan to build the church
- Centennial history book researched and written by Ellen Kotrba (1989)
Buildings and Cemetery
Three physical sites mark the parish's history. The original chapel site four miles south and one mile west of Tabor still holds the founding-era cemetery with many of the first settlers' graves. The present church building on 37639 140th Street NW was completed in early 1954 and is the third worship space on or near this site, after the 1890 frame church (enlarged in 1914) and a brief 1886 chapel destroyed by a tornado. A parish hall built by Father F.B. Tomanek in the 1930s served the community for decades.
- 1890 church: 34 × 85 ft, frame, enlarged 1914 by Father Berger
- 1954 church: completed early 1954; first Mass on Septuagesima Sunday; cost ~$130,000, debt ~$26,000
- Parish hall: built 1933–1940 under Father F.B. Tomanek
- Original Tabor cemetery: maintained four miles south of present village
Clergy and Pastoral Succession
Holy Trinity has had a continuous line of pastors since its incorporation in 1900, beginning with Father John Rech. The longest-serving pastor was Father John Berger (1913–1929), who came directly from Bohemia and is buried in the parish cemetery. Father August L. Zellekens built the present church. Since 1991 the parish has had no resident priest and has been served by clergy from Sacred Heart Parish, East Grand Forks and (more recently) Sts. Peter & Paul Parish, Warren.
- First resident pastor: Rev. John Rech (1900)
- Longest tenure: Rev. John Berger, 16 years (1913–1929)
- Builder of current church: Rev. August L. Zellekens (1940–1957)
- Last resident priest: Rev. Timothy Noah (through 1991)
- Recent mission priest: Rev. Xavier Ilango (July 2015 – June 2018) while pastor of Sacred Heart, East Grand Forks
Music and Liturgical Life
Music has been central to worship at Holy Trinity for generations. The parish is best known for the long tenure of organist Elvern Vanyo, who began accompanying Mass at age 16 and continued for 53 years — an estimated 3,000+ liturgies, including weddings, funerals, confirmations and first Communions. She prepared by reading hymnals and selecting music to match each Sunday's liturgical theme, and her ministry spanned the pastorates that included the 1954 new-church dedication and the 1989 centennial.
- Elvern Vanyo: organist for 53 years
- Centennial choir sang at the November 1989 centennial Mass
- Al Maves and his Swinging Laendler Band (Hayfield) played the centennial dance
Community and Heritage
Holy Trinity remains a touchstone of the Bohemian-American identity of the Tabor/Angus area. From 1976 the community observed Czech Days with a parade, traditional Czech and Slovak foods (potato dumplings, Czech sausage, sauerkraut, kolaches) and a dance; that annual celebration ended after several decades. Holy Trinity Catholic (east side of Tabor) and Holy Trinity Lutheran (west side) have long cooperated on community projects, including the 1976 Bicentennial and the 1989 centennial parade. A Gust family connection to the parish is preserved in the vocation of Sister Francella Gust, OSB (1932–2023), one of eleven children of John Jacob and Frances Ann (Kotrba) Gust, who was baptized at Holy Trinity and went on to 33 years of pastoral care at Villa Saint Vincent in Crookston.
- Czech Days festival: observed 1976 onward (later discontinued)
- Joint parish events with Holy Trinity Lutheran Church
- Parish listed by Diocese of Crookston among parishes in need of Serrans for vocations prayer
- Sister Francella Gust, OSB (baptized at Holy Trinity, 1932–2023) — Mount Saint Benedict Monastery alumna and longtime pastoral-care nurse
Visiting and Contact
The church is open for the scheduled Masses listed above and for prayer at other times by arrangement. Because there is no resident priest, confessions, weddings and other sacraments are coordinated through the administering parish (Sacred Heart, East Grand Forks / Sts. Peter & Paul, Warren). The mailing address used for parish business is 200 3rd St NW, East Grand Forks, MN 56721.
- Phone: (218) 745-5853
- Diocese directory: crookston.org/directories/parishes/104-holy-trinity-tabor
- Administering parish: Sacred Heart, East Grand Forks (Diocese of Crookston)
- Address for parish mail: 200 3rd St NW, East Grand Forks, MN 56721
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Father Pribylearly 1880s–1880s
Traveled from Chicago/Montgomery, MN to celebrate Mass in the homes of settlers Kovar and Gust.
- Father Slatinsky (Vesselyville, ND)c. 1888–early 1890s
Inspired and led the settlers to organize and build the first church; blessed the first bell on Nov. 16, 1892 with permission of Bishop McGolrick.
- Father Lager1890s
Stayed with Jakub Novak in Tabor and saw the original church to completion.
- Rev. John Rech1900–1902
First resident pastor after parish incorporation on May 17, 1900 as 'The Holy Trinity Congregation of Tabor'.
- Rev. Joseph Gaydousek1902–1905
Early pastor.
- Rev. Joseph Gregor
Early pastor.
- Rev. John Marshalek
Early pastor.
- Rev. John Vanicek
Early pastor.
- Rev. F. Simonikto 1911
Early pastor.
- Rev. W. Koerner1911–1912
Early pastor.
- Rev. F.J. Just1912–1913
Early pastor.
- Rev. John Berger1913–1929
Arrived directly from Bohemia on May 26, 1913; record 16-year pastorate; enlarged the old church in 1914, built a greenhouse and improved the rectory; buried in the parish cemetery.
- Rev. Carrel Gross1929–1933
Native of Moravia; while visiting his homeland, the parish was briefly served by Rev. William Klinkhammer of East Grand Forks.
- Rev. F.B. Tomanek1933–1940
Built the parish hall.
- Rev. August L. Zellekens1940–1957
Built the present (1954) church; oversaw raising of the site and construction costing about $130,000.
- Rev. John Merth1957–1969
Pastor.
- Rev. Roger Grundhaus1969–1975
Pastor.
- Rev. Arno Gustin1975–
Pastor; succeeded Grundhaus.
- Rev. Timothy Noahthrough 1991
Last resident priest of the parish.
- Rev. Xavier Ilango2015–2018
Pastor of Sacred Heart, East Grand Forks, with Holy Trinity Tabor as an assigned mission (per SS. Peter & Paul, Warren pastoral history).