About Our Lady of Hope Parish - St. Henry · Rosebush, Michigan
Our Lady of Hope Parish is a three-church Roman Catholic parish in central Michigan that unites the historic communities of St. Cecilia in Clare, St. Henry in Rosebush, and St. Charles in Leaton under one pastorate within the Diocese of Saginaw. St. Henry Church, located at 4079 East Vernon Road in Rosebush, is an Occasional Use worship site celebrated for its rural roots as the old Vernon Center Mission of St. Joseph's of East Saginaw. The parish shares leadership, faith formation, and outreach across its three sites, drawn together by a shared mission "to harness beauty, goodness, and truth to draw people into or back to the Catholic Faith."
- Established
- 1874
- Patron
- St. Henry the Emperor
- Rector
- Msgr. Francis B. Koper
- Diocese
- Diocese of Saginaw
Why belong here
St. Henry offers the rare experience of a small, historic rural Catholic parish with deep roots in central Michigan — worshipping in a church that grew from a 1874 home Mission and a $1,000 frame building to today's parish across three sites. Parishioners benefit from a full sacramental and formation life: weekly Mass, Friday Adoration, Saturday Reconciliation, OCIA (becoming Catholic), religious education, a preschool, Knights of Columbus Council #3029, Bible study, choir, and a free community fellowship meal — all under the steady leadership of Msgr. Koper and a dedicated lay staff.
Mass times at Our Lady of Hope Parish - St. Henry
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Half hour before all weekend Masses (Saturday vigil and Sunday morning)
- By appointment — contact the Parish Office
Adoration times
- Friday after the 9:00 AM Mass until 12:30 PM
Welcome and Parish Identity
Our Lady of Hope Parish is the merged Catholic community of St. Cecilia (Clare), St. Henry (Rosebush), and St. Charles (Leaton) in the Diocese of Saginaw. The parish mission, published on the official website, is to "harness beauty, goodness, and truth to draw people into or back to the Catholic Faith." All three churches share one pastor, staff, and faith-formation program, with Masses, Adoration, and Reconciliation distributed across the sites.
History of St. Henry Church (Rosebush)
St. Henry traces its origin to October 15, 1874, when Fr. Richard Sweeney celebrated Mass at the Bogan home and baptized five babies, founding what was then called the Vernon Center Mission. A permanent church was dedicated in 1887 by Bishop Henry Richter to St. Henry the Emperor; it burned completely on February 21, 1922. The present church was begun across the road the next year; the basement served the parish until the main body was finished in 1941. The school (St. Henry Academy) opened as a boarding school in August 1915, and the parish cemetery — still active today — was established in 1894.
- 1874 — Vernon Center Mission founded by Fr. Richard Sweeney at the Bogan home
- 1887 — First permanent church dedicated to St. Henry the Emperor by Bishop Henry Richter
- 1894 — Parish cemetery established on the grounds
- 1905 — Rectory completed
- 1915 — St. Henry Academy (boarding school) opened in August
- 1922 — Original church destroyed by fire on February 21
- 1923 — New church begun across the road; basement used for worship
- 1941 — Main body of the present church completed
- Early 1960s — Church and school renovated
- 1966 — St. Henry and St. Charles formally merged as one parish with two churches
St. Henry Church Cemetery
The parish cemetery sits on the St. Henry grounds at the corner of Old Mission Road and Vernon Road, 1.9 miles north of Rosebush in Isabella County. Established in 1894 — the same era as the original church — it remains an active Catholic cemetery for the parish community, with more than 800 memorials on Find a Grave. The parish office (989-433-2229) handles burial arrangements.
- Address: 4079 East Vernon Rd., Rosebush, MI 48878
- Phone (cemetery inquiries): 989-433-2229
- Established 1894
- Open to parish families
Sacramental Life
Reconciliation is heard a half hour before every weekend Mass across the parish and may also be requested by appointment through the Parish Office. Friday Adoration follows the 9:00 AM Mass until 12:30 PM. Baptisms, weddings, First Communion, Confirmation, OCIA (becoming Catholic), and Anointing of the Sick are coordinated through the parish office at 989-386-9862 or [email protected].
- Reconciliation — half hour before weekend Masses or by appointment
- Anointing of the Sick — contact the Parish Office
- Marriage preparation — begin by contacting the Parish Office
Faith Formation and School
Our Lady of Hope runs a full Religious Education program under Parish Catechetical Leader Denise Cotter, offering sacraments preparation, ongoing catechesis, and faith formation for school-aged children. Adults wishing to enter the Catholic Church journey through the parish's OCIA (Order of Christian Initiation for Adults) program, which the parish explicitly invites enquirers to explore.
- Parish Religious Education (Denise Cotter, Catechetical Leader — [email protected])
- OCIA / Becoming Catholic
- Confirmation preparation through Religious Education
Preschool and Extended Care
The parish operates a Preschool and Extended Care program led by Director Marilyn Gray ([email protected]), an outreach that extends the parish's long educational tradition — stretching back to 1915 when St. Henry Academy first opened as a boarding school.
- Preschool
- Extended Care program
- Contact: [email protected]
Parish Ministries and Outreach
Parishioners serve through a wide range of ministries that span music, hospitality, council leadership, and charity. The Knights of Columbus Clare Council #3029 (Grand Knight Bruce Wentworth) meets the first Tuesday of each month at 7:00 PM in the OLH Meeting Room at 106 E. Wheaton Ave., Clare, and runs a parish scholarship program. A free community fellowship meal is offered, choir practice and Bible study are scheduled periodically, and an online parish store returns 15% of sales to the parish.
- Knights of Columbus Council #3029 — meets 1st Tuesday, 7:00 PM, OLH Meeting Room
- Choir / Music Ministry (Stephanie Terpening)
- Bible Study
- Free Fellowship Meal
- Online Parish Store (15% returns to parish)
Parish Staff and Leadership
Our Lady of Hope Parish is led by Monsignor Francis B. Koper, Pastor, who oversees the three-site community along with a strong lay staff and volunteer councils. Daily operations, faith formation, music, liturgy, and finance are coordinated through the parish office in Clare.
- Msgr. Francis B. Koper — Pastor ([email protected])
- Lisa Benic — Business Manager ([email protected])
- Stephanie Bell — Parish Secretary ([email protected])
- Marilyn Gray — Director of Preschool/Extended Care ([email protected])
- Erika Hoogerhyde — Parish Liturgical Coordinator ([email protected])
- Denise Cotter — Parish Catechetical Leader ([email protected])
- Stephanie Terpening — Music Director
- Wes Parker — Finance Council Chair
- Tony Sapienza — Pastoral Council Chair
Contact, Location, and Visiting
St. Henry Church and parish office serve the Rosebush community from 4079 E. Vernon Rd., Rosebush, MI 48878, with the parish business office reachable at 989-386-9862 and the St. Henry rectory line at 989-433-2229. Office hours are Tuesday through Thursday, 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. The parish mailing address is 106 E. Wheaton Ave., Clare, MI 48617-1322. Weekend bulletins are posted online weekly; online giving is available through the diocese link on the parish site.
- St. Henry address: 4079 E. Vernon Rd., Rosebush, MI 48878
- Phone: 989-433-2229 (church) / 989-386-9862 (parish office)
- Email: [email protected]
- Office hours: Tuesday–Thursday, 9:30 AM–2:30 PM
- Mailing address: 106 E. Wheaton Ave., Clare, MI 48617-1322
- Website: olhclare.org
- Online giving available via the Diocese of Saginaw portal