About Our Lady of the Scapular · Sheldon, North Dakota
Our Lady of the Scapular is a small Catholic mission church in the farming community of Sheldon, North Dakota, in the Diocese of Fargo. It is clustered with two neighboring parishes — St. Patrick's in Enderlin and Holy Trinity in Fingal — and is served from the parish office in Enderlin. The three-church grouping is pastored as a single pastoral unit by a single priest, with weekend Masses rotating among the three worship sites and a shared weekday Mass schedule. The cluster's shared website, enderlinfingalsheldon.org, posts the up-to-date Mass rotation, second-collection schedule, and online giving for all three churches.
- Patron
- Our Lady of the Scapular (Blessed Virgin Mary, under the title of the Brown Scapular)
- Rector
- Rev. F. Scott Karnik
- Diocese
- Diocese of Fargo
Why belong here
Our Lady of the Scapular offers a warm, rural Catholic community in the Sheldon area where the faithful gather for weekly worship as part of a tight three-parish cluster with St. Patrick's in Enderlin and Holy Trinity in Fingal. A single pastor shepherds all three communities, so parishioners know their priest personally and worship is celebrated in the simple, faithful style typical of small-town North Dakota parishes. The cluster supports online giving and posted second-collection appeals that connect the parish to the wider Church (Peter's Pence, Holy Land Collection, Catholic Home Missions Appeal, World Mission Sunday, Black and Indian Home Missions, Retirement Fund for Religious).
Mass times at Our Lady of the Scapular
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Saturday 4:30 PM – 4:55 PM (Sheldon)
- Sunday 8:00 AM – 8:25 AM (before 8:30 AM Mass) and 10:00 AM – 10:25 AM (before 10:30 AM Mass)
- Wednesday 8:30 AM – 8:55 AM (before 9:00 AM Mass in Sheldon)
About Our Lady of the Scapular
Our Lady of the Scapular is a small Catholic mission parish in Sheldon, North Dakota, located in the Diocese of Fargo. The parish is one of three Roman Catholic worship sites in a single pastoral cluster — joined with St. Patrick's Church in Enderlin and Holy Trinity Church in Fingal — and is administered from the cluster office in Enderlin. Because Sheldon itself is a very small community, the church functions as a 'mission' in the canonical sense, served by the cluster's pastor rather than a resident priest of its own.
- Patron: Our Lady of the Scapular
- Diocese: Diocese of Fargo (Bishop John Folda)
- Cluster: St. Patrick's, Enderlin • Holy Trinity, Fingal • Our Lady of the Scapular, Sheldon
Parish Leadership
The cluster's current pastor is Rev. F. Scott Karnik, who was appointed by Bishop John Folda on June 28, 2023, to a six-year term as pastor of all three parishes: St. Patrick's (Enderlin), Holy Trinity (Fingal), and Our Lady of the Scapular (Sheldon). Older third-party directories list Rev. John Aerts as the previous administrator. All correspondence, phone calls, and donations are directed through the Enderlin parish office.
- Rev. F. Scott Karnik — Pastor (appointed June 28, 2023, six-year term)
- Rev. John Aerts — Administrator (per older directory listings)
- Cluster office phone: (701) 437-2791
Cluster Worship Sites
The cluster's three worship sites allow small rural congregations to share a pastor while still maintaining a regular Sunday presence in each town. Sheldon hosts the Saturday evening Mass every week, while Enderlin and Fingal alternate Sunday Mass times.
- St. Patrick's Catholic Church — 302 Bluff St, Enderlin, ND 58027
- Holy Trinity Catholic Church — Fingal, ND
- Our Lady of the Scapular Catholic Church — 145 Crosswell St (a.k.a. 6 Crosswell St.), Sheldon, ND 58068
Stewardship & Online Giving
The cluster's shared website provides online donations via credit card or EFT (electronic funds transfer) from a checking or savings account. The site also publishes the year's second collections, which include both universal Church appeals and diocesan/national collections.
- Online donations via enderlinfingalsheldon.org (EFT from checking or savings recommended — credit-card fees are higher)
- Peter's Pence — 3rd Sunday of January
- Holy Land Collection — Good Friday
- Catholic Home Missions Appeal — 4th Sunday of April
- World Mission Sunday — 3rd Sunday of October
- Black and Indian Home Missions — 3rd Sunday of November
- Retirement Fund for Religious — 2nd Sunday of December
Visiting & Contact
Parishioners and visitors are encouraged to call the cluster office in Enderlin for the most current Mass rotation and any changes due to Holy Days, weather, or special celebrations. The mailing address for Our Lady of the Scapular is the same as St. Patrick's in Enderlin.
- Office phone: (701) 437-2791
- Website: http://www.enderlinfingalsheldon.org/
- Mailing: c/o St. Patrick, 302 Bluff St, Enderlin, ND 58027-1330
- Street address (church): 145 Crosswell St., Sheldon, ND 58068
Diocese of Fargo
Our Lady of the Scapular is one of many rural parishes in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Fargo, which covers the eastern half of North Dakota. The diocese was originally erected as the Diocese of Jamestown on November 10, 1889, by Pope Leo XIII, and was renamed the Diocese of Fargo on April 6, 1897. The current bishop is the Most Rev. John Folda, who was named coadjutor by Pope Francis in 2013 and now shepherds the diocese.
- Diocese: Diocese of Fargo
- Current bishop: Most Rev. John Folda
- Parish Finder: fargodiocese.org/parishfinder
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Rev. John Aerts
Listed as Administrator of Our Lady of the Scapular on third-party church directories (older listings).
- Rev. F. Scott Karnikbeginning June 28, 2023
Appointed by Bishop John Folda as Pastor of St. Patrick's Church, Enderlin; Holy Trinity, Fingal; and Our Lady of the Scapular, Sheldon for a six-year term.