Pro-Cathedral of St. Mary

Parish History — From 1875 Frontier Mission to Pro-Cathedral of the Diocese of Bismarck

Catholicism in Bismarck begins with the 1875 dedication of the Church of the Immaculate Conception — the first Catholic church in western North Dakota — built to serve the flood of settlers brought to the new capital by the Northern Pacific Railway. Two years later, in 1877, that mission was formally constituted as St. Mary's Parish, making St. Mary's the oldest Catholic parish in Bismarck. Out of this parish grew St. Mary's Academy (1878, the city's first Catholic school, staffed by Benedictine sisters from St. Joseph, Minnesota), which in turn seeded St. Alexius Medical Center and the University of Mary. The parish's current brick church on East Broadway Avenue was completed and dedicated on September 25, 1898, and remains in continuous use.

• 1875 — Immaculate Conception, the first Catholic church in western North Dakota, dedicated in Bismarck.
• 1877 — St. Mary's Parish formally established.
• 1878 — St. Mary's Academy opened by Father Chrysostom Foffa, O.S.B., and Benedictine sisters from St. Joseph, Minnesota.
• September 25, 1898 — Current church building dedicated.
• December 31, 1909 — Pope Saint Pius X erects the Diocese of Bismarck, carved from the Diocese of Fargo.
• March 21, 1910 — Abbot Vincent Wehrle, O.S.B., of Assumption Abbey named first Bishop of Bismarck.
• June 29, 1910 — Bishop Wehrle installed at a pontifical high Mass inside St. Mary's; St. Mary's named Pro-Cathedral.
• 1945 — Cathedral of the Holy Spirit completed; Pro-Cathedral designation moves there.
• September 8, 2020 — Bishop David D. Kagan restores 'Pro-Cathedral' title to St. Mary's.
• 2027 — Parish to celebrate its 150th anniversary.

Spanish Ministry — Misa Dominical en Español

Since its founding, Catholicism in western North Dakota has belonged to a multicultural frontier; today the Pro-Cathedral lives that out with a vibrant weekly Spanish Mass. Every Sunday at 1:00 PM, the parish celebrates a full Misa en Español — gospel, adoration, prayers, and music all in Spanish — that has become a regional gathering for Hispanic Catholics in the Bismarck area. Father Jared Johnson introduced the regular weekly schedule as part of an effort to provide more consistent ministry to Hispanic Catholics, and attendees emphasize both the joy of the Catholic faith and the joy of being Hispanic in a single celebration.

• Sunday 1:00 PM — Weekly Spanish Mass (Misa en Español).
• Spanish-language liturgical music and Eucharistic adoration included in the liturgy.
• Featured in KFYR-TV (December 2024) as a growing ministry and a cultural anchor for the regional Hispanic community.

Parish Organizations and Ministries

St. Mary's runs a traditional line-up of parish lay organizations that together cover charity, women's fellowship, men's fraternity, and outreach. The Charity and Justice Committee identifies and responds to needs within the parish, the local community, and the wider world; it meets the first Monday of each month at 6:00 PM. The Altar Society unites the women of the parish in prayer and service (assisting at funerals and special events) and meets September through May on the third Sunday at 10:00 AM. The Knights of Columbus Council 1604 brings together Catholic men for service work both national (e.g., Special Olympics) and local (e.g., Coats for Kids). St. Mary's also partners with the Society of St. Vincent de Paul (at the Cathedral of the Holy Spirit) to provide financial assistance to those in need in the community.

• Charity and Justice Committee — Chair: Hero Barth, 701-255-3387; meets 1st Monday, 6:00 PM.
• St. Mary's Altar Society — meets 3rd Sunday, 10:00 AM (Sept–May).
• Knights of Columbus Council 1604 — Grand Knight Art Archuleta, 701-425-1297; monthly meetings at the parish.
• Society of St. Vincent de Paul partnership — meets 2nd and 4th Tuesdays at the Cathedral of the Holy Spirit.

150th Anniversary Capital Campaign

To prepare for its 2027 sesquicentennial, the Pro-Cathedral is conducting a 150th Anniversary Capital Campaign led by Father Jared Johnson. A video presentation by the pastor is published on the parish's campaign-priorities-and-goals page, laying out the work to be funded over the life of the campaign.

• Worship-space updates and renovations.
• Rectory restoration — private bedroom/sitting-room/bathroom suites for each priest plus shared living room, dining room, kitchen, and chapel.
• Expansion of the Blessed Sacrament (adoration) chapel.
• Addition of a parish hall.
• Parking improvements.

Sacraments and Sacramental Preparation

The parish celebrates the full sacramental life of the Church. In addition to its daily and Sunday Masses, St. Mary's schedules regular confession times, offers ongoing Eucharistic adoration, and can send a priest for after-hours medical emergencies by calling the parish number and pressing 9. Couples and families seeking baptism, marriage, or other sacraments are directed to the parish office.

• Confession: Mon–Fri 7:25–8:00 AM; Sat 3:00–4:00 PM.
• Baptism, Marriage, and other sacraments: contact the parish office, 701-223-5562, [email protected].
• Anointing / emergency priest on call: (701) 223-5562, press 9, after office hours.

Clergy, Staff, and Office Information

The parish is currently pastored by Father Jared Johnson, with Father Jacob Magnuson serving as associate priest (both publicly named in the parish's own homily podcast and diocesan coverage). The parish office is staffed Monday through Thursday from 8:00 AM to 4:00 PM (closed Friday); for medical emergencies requiring a priest outside office hours, callers are directed to dial (701) 223-5562 and press 9. The parish mailing address is 825 East Broadway Avenue, Bismarck, ND 58501.

• Pastor: Father Jared Johnson.
• Associate: Father Jacob Magnuson.
• Parish office: 825 East Broadway Avenue, Bismarck, ND 58501.
• Phone: (701) 223-5562.
• Email: [email protected].
• Office hours: Mon–Thu 8:00 AM – 4:00 PM; closed Friday.

Saints in the Reliquary

The parish maintains a 'Saints in our Reliquary' page on stmarysbismarck.org, cataloguing the saints whose relics are venerated at the Pro-Cathedral. (Specific relic names were not captured in source crawls and should be confirmed directly on the parish site.)

Visiting, Calendar, and Online Resources

Visitors and parishioners are served by a parish calendar page, a weekly bulletin, and the official homily podcast 'St. Mary's Parish, Bismarck' at stmarysbismarck.podbean.com, where Father Jared Johnson (and guest priests such as Father Jacob Magnuson) publish recordings of Sunday and weekday homilies for streaming and download.

• Parish calendar: stmarysbismarck.org/calendar.
• Mass times & directions: stmarysbismarck.org/mass-times.
• Contact / directions: stmarysbismarck.org/contact-us.
• Homily podcast: stmarysbismarck.podbean.com.