About St. Ann · Waubun, Minnesota
St. Ann is a Roman Catholic parish in Waubun, Minnesota, situated on the White Earth Reservation in northwestern Minnesota and part of the six-parish White Earth Catholic Community. The parish was established in 1910 by Benedictine missionaries from St. John's Abbey and is today served by the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate (OMI). It belongs to the Diocese of Crookston under Bishop Andrew Cozzens. St. Ann offers Mass six days a week in Waubun and shares its parish office, religious education program (the Tekakwitha Center), and Oblate priests with its sister parishes across the reservation.
- Established
- 1910
- Patron
- St. Ann (mother of the Blessed Virgin Mary)
- Rector
- Fr. John Cox, OMI
- Diocese
- Diocese of Crookston
Why belong here
St. Ann is a small, close-knit Catholic parish at the heart of the White Earth Reservation community, offering daily Mass throughout the week, the sacraments, and a strong devotional life including a monthly Rosary for Life and Memorial Day rosaries for deceased military veterans at the parish cemetery. Parishioners worship in the Roman Catholic tradition, share a regional faith-formation program (the Tekakwitha Center) and cemetery care with five neighboring parishes, and are shepherded by Oblate priests whose religious order has served this mission since the 1980s — making St. Ann both a stable weekly parish and a living link in a 110-plus-year Catholic presence on White Earth.
Mass times at St. Ann
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- 30 minutes before each Mass
- By appointment with a priest
About St. Ann Parish
St. Ann is one of six parishes of the White Earth Catholic Community, a regional Roman Catholic family of faith that serves the White Earth Reservation in northern Minnesota. The parish is led by Oblate priests and belongs to the Diocese of Crookston under Bishop Andrew Cozzens. It shares its parish office, staff, and faith-formation program with the other five parishes of the community — Most Holy Redeemer (Ogema), St. Benedict (White Earth), St. Theodore (Ponsford), St. Anne (Naytahwaush), and St. Frances Cabrini (Big Elbow Lake).
- Patron: St. Ann
- Diocese: Crookston
- Founding: 1910, by Benedictine missionaries
- Current pastors: Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate (OMI)
History of St. Ann and the White Earth Catholic Community
Catholic life on the White Earth Reservation began in the 1870s when diocesan priests from St. Paul — and then Benedictine monks and sisters from St. John's Abbey — established St. Benedict Mission in White Earth (1878). From that mother mission, missionaries founded a network of chapels and stations across the reservation, including St. Ann in Waubun in 1910. The Benedictines and Benedictine Sisters staffed the parish, its schools, and religious education for much of the twentieth century. In the late twentieth century, the Benedictines gradually handed parish ministry over to the Diocese of Crookston and, by about 1980, to the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate (OMI), a congregation founded for mission work and the only religious-order priests in the diocese. The Oblates reorganized the six parishes into the present-day White Earth Catholic Community, sharing clergy and staff. The community now holds St. Kateri Tekakwitha — the first Native American saint — as patroness of its missions, and honors the Virgin Mary and the parish patron saints alongside the Wisdom of Ancestors and the Ojibwe 'good red road.'
- 1868–1873: St. Paul diocesan priests visit White Earth from St. Francis, Crow Wing
- 1873–1878: Rev. Ignatius Tomazin founds Most Holy Redeemer at White Earth
- 1878–1980: Benedictines administer St. Benedict Mission and surrounding parishes
- 1910: St. Ann Mission, Waubun, established
- 1909: Diocese of Crookston erected
- c. 1980: Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate (OMI) take over pastoral care of the White Earth parishes
Parish Staff and Clergy
The parish is served by Oblate priests who also serve the wider White Earth Catholic Community. The parish office in Waubun is staffed by the parish secretary/bookkeeper, who also directs the Tekakwitha Center for faith formation.
- Fr. John Cox, OMI — Pastor
- Fr. Solomon Gaja, OMI — Associate Priest
- Janet Lhotka — Secretary/Bookkeeper and Tekakwitha Center Director
- Fr. Walter Butor, OMI — former pastor of the White Earth Catholic Community (resided in the Waubun rectory)
Faith Formation: The Tekakwitha Center
Religious education for all six White Earth Catholic Community parishes is coordinated through the Tekakwitha Center, named for St. Kateri Tekakwitha, patroness of the missions. The center offers onsite grade-level classes (when catechists are available), youth faith formation, and adult RCIA classes. Registration for the program year is coordinated by Janet Lhotka. Volunteers are invited to serve as catechists — no prior teaching experience is required, and training and mentoring are provided.
- Youth Education / Religious Education for grades K–12
- RCIA for adults (contact: parish office in Ogema, 218-983-3261)
- Catechist recruitment and training
- Contact: Janet Lhotka — 218-473-2101 (office) or 218-261-0753 (cell); [email protected]
Sacraments
Information about Baptism, Marriage, and RCIA is published on the parish website. The parish asks couples to meet with the pastor twelve months before a planned wedding, and families to register with the parish office for infant baptism.
- Baptism: call the parish office to register yourself or your child
- Marriage: appointment with the pastor at least 12 months before the celebration
- Reconciliation: 30 minutes before Mass or by appointment
- RCIA: contact the parish office in Ogema, 218-983-3261
St. Ann Waubun Cemetery
The parish maintains the St. Ann Waubun Cemetery, located on Highway 59 in Waubun. The cemetery receives perpetual-care support through parish donations (checks payable to 'St. Ann Church (W)' and earmarked 'Cemetery'). Spring clean-up is done in advance of Memorial Day, and the cemetery is the site of the annual Memorial Day rosary and VFW ceremonies honoring deceased and active-duty military.
- Cemetery inquiries: contact the parish office
- Spring clean-up each year before Memorial Day
- Memorial Day rosary for veterans at 11:00 AM, followed by VFW Post 9880/Auxiliary ceremonies at 11:30 AM
- Donations: checks payable to 'St. Ann Church (W)', earmarked 'Cemetery', mailed to the parish office or placed in the collection basket
Prayer Chain and Pastoral Outreach
The parish supports a prayer chain that anyone can join or send intentions through. Parishioners are also invited to lead the rosary at weekend Masses during May (contact Sally Simonson, 218-473-2379).
- Prayer Chain: Lori Tibbetts, 218-841-4963
- Rosary leaders for May: Sally Simonson, 218-473-2379
Visiting and Contact Information
The parish office is located in Waubun and serves all six parishes of the White Earth Catholic Community. Office hours are published on the parish website. The community can be followed on Facebook under 'White Earth Catholic, MN', where Sunday Mass from Most Holy Redeemer in Ogema is also live-streamed.
- Parish Office: 1112 3rd St, Waubun, MN 56589
- Phone: 218-473-2101
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: http://www.whiteearthcatholiccommunity.com/st-ann.html
- Social: Facebook — 'White Earth Catholic, MN'
- Office hours: Wednesday & Friday, 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM (or by appointment)