Kateri Tekakwitha Native American Center

Kateri Tekakwitha Native American Center and Saint Joseph Chapel

The Kateri Tekakwitha Native American Center and Saint Joseph Chapel, Elbridge, is a worship site of the Diocese of Grand Rapids located at 3802 N. 144th Ave., Hart, Michigan. Established in 1891 in Oceana County, it is part of the diocese's Northwest Lakeshore Deanery. The site is administered in conjunction with St. Gregory Parish in Hart, and inquiries about Mass or other services are handled through the parish office there.

History and Native American Heritage

The chapel traces its origins to St. Joseph Mission, founded in 1891 to minister to the Ottawa (and some Ojibwa) people of Elbridge Township on the western shore of Michigan. The Diocese of Grand Rapids, erected from the Detroit Diocese in 1882, administered the mission from 1896 onward. Sacramental, financial, and parish records kept for St. Joseph Mission span 1883 to 1973 and are preserved in the diocesan archives and at Marquette University. When the Diocese of Gaylord was created in 1971, most parish files for the surrounding territory were transferred there, while bishops' correspondence, financial and statistical reports, and photographs remained at Grand Rapids. In the modern era, the historic chapel was re-dedicated as the Kateri Tekakwitha Native American Center, named for the Mohawk-Algonquin saint beloved by Indigenous Catholics.

• Mission founded 1891 as St. Joseph Mission, Hart/Elbridge
• Administered by Diocese of Grand Rapids from 1896
• Records transferred to Diocese of Gaylord in 1971; bishops' files and photos remain at Grand Rapids
• Rededicated as Kateri Tekakwitha Native American Center with Saint Joseph Chapel

Clergy and Pastoral Care

The chapel is served by Rev. M. Thomas Bolster, listed by the Diocese of Grand Rapids as the canonical pastor. Parish operations and sacramental inquiries are coordinated through the parish office at St. Gregory in Hart.

• Canonical Pastor: Rev. M. Thomas Bolster

Native American Ministry in the Diocese of Grand Rapids

The Kateri Tekakwitha Native American Center is a key worship and ministry site for the Diocese of Grand Rapids' Native American Ministry. Through this ministry, the chapel connects local Catholics with the Tekakwitha Conference, a religious non-profit organization that advocates for evangelization among Indigenous Catholics of North America. The annual Tekakwitha Conference, described as 'a gathering of All Nations,' is dedicated to St. Kateri Tekakwitha and brings together Native Catholics from across the continent.

• Diocese of Grand Rapids – Native American Ministry
• Tekakwitha Conference (national gathering of Indigenous Catholics)

Deanery and Regional Context

The chapel belongs to the Northwest Lakeshore Deanery of the Diocese of Grand Rapids, which serves the Oceana County shoreline of Lake Michigan. It is geographically and pastorally linked to other historic mission parishes in the deanery, including St. Michael in Brunswick (1885), St. John the Baptist in Claybanks (1886), All Saints in Fremont (1901), and St. Gregory in Hart (1908), as well as nearby St. Joseph in Weare (1884) and Our Lady of the Assumption in Rothbury (1923).

• Deanery: Northwest Lakeshore Deanery
• County: Oceana County, Michigan

Visiting the Chapel

The worship site is located in Elbridge Township, north of the village of Hart, in a rural part of western Michigan. Because the chapel is administered through St. Gregory Parish in Hart, visitors are encouraged to contact the parish office at the diocese-listed number for current Mass times, confession availability, and details about special services or feast-day celebrations honoring St. Kateri Tekakwitha.

• Address: 3802 N. 144th Ave., Hart, MI 49420
• Phone: 616-243-0491
• Inquiries: routed through St. Gregory Parish, Hart