About St. Anthony · Saint Anthony, North Dakota
St. Anthony Catholic Church is a small mission parish in the unincorporated community of Saint Anthony, North Dakota, situated about 15 miles south of Mandan in Morton County. It is served as a mission church of Spirit of Life Catholic Church in Mandan (Diocese of Bismarck) under pastor Msgr. Chad Gion. The parish traces its roots to the German-Russian Catholic homesteaders who settled the prairie in the late 1880s, with the first church built in 1897 and the present church completed in 1949. Sunday Mass is offered only once a month or twice, alternating by month with the parish's sister mission St. Martin's in Huff.
- Established
- 1897
- Patron
- Saint Anthony of Padua
- Rector
- Msgr. Chad Gion (as pastor of Spirit of Life Catholic Church, Mandan, which administers St. Anthony as a mission)
- Diocese
- Diocese of Bismarck
Why belong here
St. Anthony offers a rare and authentic experience of a historic rural Catholic parish: a small, multigenerational community of farm and ranch families whose German-Russian Catholic forebears literally built the present church with their own hands in 1949, hauling stone, gravel and lumber across the prairie. Weekly Sunday Mass — celebrated on the 9th of each month at 9:00 AM and on the 10th at 11:00 AM (alternating) — is offered alongside its sister mission St. Martin's in Huff, and confessions are heard before each Mass. Visitors seeking the quiet pace, deep family ties and heritage of a country parish will find an open welcome here.
Mass times at St. Anthony
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Sunday 8:30 AM – 8:55 AM (prior to the 9:00 AM Mass on odd months)
- Sunday 10:30 AM – 10:55 AM (prior to the 11:00 AM Mass on even months)
History & Heritage of St. Anthony Parish
St. Anthony Catholic Church was born of the German-Russian Catholic settlement that arrived in this corner of Morton County in 1887. The parish was first organized as 'Little Heart' in 1891 and renamed St. Anthony in 1897, the year the first wood-frame church was built. That church served the community for 33 years before being destroyed by fire in 1930. The Depression, drought, and wartime shortages pushed back construction of a new church by nearly two decades; the present church was finally completed in 1949. Its cornerstone story is one of communal sacrifice: parish ledgers preserved to this day record that in one year of construction, 170 men and women contributed labor and materials — including Nicolaus Bender's 28 man-days and 20 hauled loads — totaling 651 man-days, 1,800 sacks of cement, 80 loads of stone and 425 yards of gravel. The community marked its 125th anniversary in June 2022 with a documentary by parishioner Al Gustin.
- First settlement: 1887 by German-Russian Catholic homesteaders
- Parish organized as 'Little Heart' in 1891; renamed St. Anthony in 1897
- First church built 1897; destroyed by fire in 1930
- Current church completed in 1949 after Depression and wartime delays
- 125th anniversary celebrated June 2022
The German-Russian Catholic Founders
St. Anthony's founding families were part of the broader German-Russian diaspora — ethnic Germans who had settled in Russian colonies along the Volga and Black Sea under Catherine the Great in the 18th and 19th centuries. Facing Russification policies and conscription under the Tsars in the late 1800s, they emigrated to the Great Plains, drawn by free land under the Homestead Act. They traveled by horse and buggy, bobsled and sleigh across the open prairie to attend Mass, often in life-threatening winter weather. Family ties link St. Anthony closely with the German-Russian Catholic communities of St. Vincent (Crown Butte) and St. Martin (Huff), and many surnames — Bender, Kautzman, Mosbrucker, Ferderer and others — appear across these neighboring parishes and their cemeteries.
- Descendants of Germans from the Black Sea and Volga colonies in Russia
- Emigrated to North Dakota under the Homestead Act in the late 1880s
- Strong family links with St. Vincent (Crown Butte) and St. Martin (Huff) parishes
Pastoral Leadership & Administration
St. Anthony is administered as a mission church of Spirit of Life Catholic Church in Mandan, the principal parish of the cluster. Spirit of Life is pastored by Msgr. Chad Gion. Parishioners can reach the parish office through the Spirit of Life number or email.
- Pastor (cluster): Msgr. Chad Gion, Spirit of Life Catholic Church, Mandan
- Parish office phone: (701) 663-1660
- Parish email: [email protected]
- Diocese: Diocese of Bismarck
Holy Day & Holy Week Services
Like its sister missions, St. Anthony shares in the Holy Week and Holy Day schedule of the Spirit of Life cluster. Services rotate between the mission churches and the main parish; the current calendar should always be consulted on the Spirit of Life website.
- Holy Thursday service at St. Anthony at 7:00 PM (most years)
- Good Friday service at St. Anthony at 3:00 PM (most years)
- Check the Spirit of Life events calendar for the current year's schedule
Visiting St. Anthony
St. Anthony is a small, rural mission parish about 15 miles south of Mandan. The church and its cemetery sit at the corner of County Road 136. Parking is on the church grounds; accessibility details are not published online.
- From Mandan: take Highway 6 south for 15 miles, then west on County Road 136
- Church located at the corner with the parish cemetery
- On-site parking; call the parish office for accessibility needs
Connect with Spirit of Life Cluster
Because St. Anthony is served as a mission of Spirit of Life Catholic Church, most cluster-wide news, bulletins, ministries and faith-formation resources are published through Spirit of Life. Parishioners and visitors are encouraged to follow Spirit of Life's Facebook page for the latest announcements.
- Spirit of Life website: myspiritoflife.com
- St. Anthony page: myspiritoflife.com/st-anthonys-parish/
- Facebook: facebook.com/spiritoflifecatholicchurch
- Phone: (701) 663-1660