About St. Finbarr · Grand Meadow, Minnesota
St. Finbarr is a small Roman Catholic parish in Grand Meadow, Minnesota, rooted in the Irish pioneer settlers who first gathered for Mass in this corner of Mower County in 1858. Today it is one of three linked parishes — alongside St. Ignatius in Spring Valley and St. Patrick in LeRoy — served by a single pastor and sharing an office and staff. The parish is currently home to about 102 families and belongs to the Diocese of Winona-Rochester. It is a country parish with deep continuity: the same wooden church that was raised up and enlarged in 1920 gave way to today's modern church, dedicated in 1978 on the parish's 100th anniversary.
- Established
- 1878
- Patron
- Saint Finbarr (7th-century Irish bishop who founded the monastery that became the city of Cork, Ireland)
- Rector
- Father Gregory Parrott (Parochial Administrator, effective July 1, 2024)
- Diocese
- Diocese of Winona-Rochester
Why belong here
St. Finbarr offers a small, intergenerational country Catholic community of about 102 families, where members can know one another by name and worship in a church that has served the Grand Meadow area for more than 140 years. The parish shares clergy and staff with St. Ignatius in Spring Valley and St. Patrick in LeRoy, but each parish keeps its own identity, schedule and faith-formation program — St. Finbarr's faith formation is led locally by Coordinator Rochelle Fay. With weekly Sunday and Tuesday Mass, regular Sunday confession, and a long history of Irish Catholic devotion behind the parish's name, it is an easy place to put down roots and to participate in the life of the wider tri-parish family.
Mass times at St. Finbarr
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Sunday 8:00 am (at St. Finbarr, Grand Meadow)
History of St. Finbarr Parish
Catholic life in the Grand Meadow area began in 1858, when Father Michael Prendergast of Winona said Mass in the Arthur McNally home while traveling between Austin and Winona. The McNallys later donated land for the St. Finbarr Cemetery. Father George Keller celebrated Mass periodically from 1861 to 1865. By 1878 a small parish had formed, and in 1879 Father Arthur Hurley of St. Augustine, Austin, helped a committee acquire land on the south edge of town and build a small wooden church for $2,000. The parish was named for the 7th-century Irish bishop around whom the city of Cork grew — a tribute to the many Irish settlers in the area.
- 1858 – First Mass in the McNally home, by Father Michael Prendergast
- 1861–1865 – Father George Keller celebrates Mass periodically in the area
- 1878 – Small parish organized
- 1879 – First St. Finbarr church built for $2,000 on the south edge of Grand Meadow
- 1890–1946 – Long succession of mission pastors from St. Augustine, Austin
- 1920 – Church rebuilt, enlarged and raised on a new foundation under Father McCusker; bell installed in the belfry
Buildings, Centennial and the 1978 Church
After Father Aloys Quillin died in 1975, St. Finbarr again became a mission served by Father Vernon Schaefer, the 'flying priest' of St. Patrick, LeRoy, and the rectory was sold that October. The old church needed substantial repairs, so in 1976 the parish voted to build a new single-level church with a social hall. The stained glass windows on the south wall and the stained glass inside the church sign were preserved from the old church, and the bell was moved into the new bell tower. The Stations of the Cross, Blessed Virgin Mary and Saint Joseph statues were refurbished and installed in the new church, where the original altar now holds the tabernacle. The new church was dedicated on June 18, 1978, on the parish's 100th anniversary.
- 1975 – Rectory sold; parish returns to mission status under Father Vernon Schaefer
- 1976 – Parish votes to build a new single-level church with a social hall
- 1978 (June 18) – New church dedicated on the centennial
- 1988–1989 – Under Father Charles Collins, five classrooms and an office are added to the church and social hall
The Three-Parish Cluster (1997–Present)
In 1997 Saint Finbarr became part of a three-parish cluster with Saint Patrick in LeRoy and Saint Ignatius in Spring Valley. Father Russell Scepaniak was the first pastor of the cluster (1997–2003), and since then the pastors have resided at St. Ignatius in Spring Valley. Father Steven Peterson served 2003–2012, Father Marreddy Pothireddy 2012–2024, and Father Gregory Parrott was appointed Parochial Administrator of all three parishes effective July 1, 2024. Father Marreddy was widely noted in the local press for his demanding schedule of three weekend Masses across the three parishes.
- 1997 – Cluster formed with St. Patrick (LeRoy) and St. Ignatius (Spring Valley)
- 1997–2003 – Father Russell Scepaniak
- 2003–2012 – Father Steven Peterson
- 2012–2024 – Father Marreddy Pothireddy
- 2024–present – Father Gregory Parrott, Parochial Administrator
Parish Staff and Office
The three parishes share a single office located at St. Ignatius in Spring Valley (213 W Franklin St), with limited office hours on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9:00 am to noon. The same office phone number — (507) 346-7565 — reaches Father at any time. Staff members listed on the cluster site are Fr. Gregory Parrott as Pastor, Mary Kuhlman as Secretary, and Elaine Mills as Bookkeeper. Each parish also has its own Faith Formation Coordinator; St. Finbarr's is Rochelle Fay.
- Fr. Gregory Parrott — Pastor / Parochial Administrator
- Mary Kuhlman — Secretary
- Elaine Mills — Bookkeeper
- Rochelle Fay — Faith Formation Coordinator, St. Finbarr
- Shared office: 213 W Franklin St, Spring Valley, MN 55975
- Office hours: Tuesdays and Thursdays, 9:00 am – noon
- Phone: (507) 346-7565
Faith Formation
Faith Formation (parish-based religious education) is offered at each of the three parishes, with its own local coordinator. St. Finbarr's coordinator is Rochelle Fay, who also directs part of the parish's Catholic Ministries Appeal (CMA) overage toward youth ministry and faith education. Recent CMA overage at St. Finbarr funded new whiteboards for the Faith Formation classrooms to enable more interactive learning, as well as the replacement of all five aging furnaces in the parish buildings. Parents are invited to call the parish office at 507-346-7565 to enroll children or to be put in touch with the coordinator.
- St. Finbarr Coordinator: Rochelle Fay
- New whiteboards purchased through CMA overage funds
- Family-oriented, parish-based catechesis
- Enrollment via the parish office: (507) 346-3465
Sacraments
St. Finbarr celebrates the sacraments in cooperation with the wider cluster and the Diocese of Winona-Rochester. Sunday and Tuesday Mass provide the regular setting for Eucharist, with reconciliation available before Sunday Mass. The Diocese of Winona-Rochester's published 2026 Confirmation schedule confirms that St. Finbarr (with St. Ignatius, Spring Valley; St. Patrick, LeRoy; St. Edward, Austin; and St. Theodore, Albert Lea) is part of Bishop Robert Barron's combined Confirmation cohort.
- Eucharist – Sunday 8:30 am and Tuesday 6:00 pm
- Reconciliation – Sundays 8:00 am
- Confirmation – prepared within the tri-parish cluster, celebrated with the Bishop
- Baptism and Marriage – arranged through the parish office
Cemetery
The St. Finbarr Cemetery was created on land donated by the McNally family, the same family in whose home Father Michael Prendergast celebrated the area's first recorded Mass in 1858. The cemetery remains part of the parish's heritage and a tangible link to its pioneer Irish-Catholic roots.
- Land donated by the McNally family in the 19th century
- Direct link to the 1858 first Mass in the McNally home
Parish Identity and Mission
St. Finbarr's name — and the name of its patron — points clearly to the Irish Catholic pioneers who first gathered for Mass in this corner of Mower County in 1858 and who, twenty years later, built a $2,000 wooden church and named it for the bishop of Cork. Today the parish is home to about 102 families, part of a three-parish cluster sharing one pastor, and continues to gather for Sunday Mass at 8:30 am in the church dedicated on the centennial in 1978. The parish describes its mission as nurturing a diverse and welcoming local community, committed to following fearlessly wherever God is leading, and making Disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of Grand Meadow and the world.
- Patron: Saint Finbarr of Cork
- Current size: approximately 102 families
- Part of a tri-parish cluster with St. Ignatius (Spring Valley) and St. Patrick (LeRoy)
- Diocese of Winona-Rochester
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Father Michael Prendergast1858
Said the first recorded Mass in the Grand Meadow area, in the Arthur McNally home
- Father George Keller1861–1865
Said Mass periodically in the area
- Father Arthur Hurley1879
Pastor of St. Augustine, Austin; helped the committee acquire land and build the first St. Finbarr church
- Father John Sullivan
Succeeded Father Hurley at St. Augustine, with St. Finbarr as a mission
- Fathers Michael Smyth, James Coyne, Patrick McTeague, Patrick O'Dwyer, J. Mattson, Mark Halper, Leo Gossman, Alois Gmeinder, Patrick McCusker, Philip Matthews, Ambrose Layne, Donald Cunningham, Daniel Corcoran1890–1946
Listed by the parish as pastors/mission pastors serving St. Finbarr across this period; under Father McCusker the church was rebuilt, enlarged and given a bell
- Father John Graf1946–
First resident pastor; a rectory on North Main Street was purchased
- Father David Ryszka1951–1954
- Monsignor Raymond Galligan1954–1969
Served until his retirement
- Father Robert Kulas1969–1970
- Father Aloys Quillin1970–1975
Died in office; the parish then became a mission again
- Father Vernon Schaefer1975–
The 'flying priest' of St. Patrick, LeRoy; served St. Finbarr at the 1978 centennial
- Father James Dandelet1980–
- Father Charles Collins1986–
Five classrooms and an office added to the church and social hall in 1988–1989
- Father Robert Kulas1989–1995
Second tenure
- Father Matthew Vanissery1995–1997
- Father Russell Scepaniak1997–2003
First pastor of the three-parish cluster (St. Finbarr, St. Patrick, St. Ignatius)
- Father Steven Peterson2003–2012
Pastors have resided at St. Ignatius, Spring Valley since 1997
- Father Marreddy Pothireddy2012–2024
Reassigned to St. Joseph, Owatonna / Christ the King, Medford, effective July 1, 2024
- Father Gregory Parrott2024–present
Appointed Parochial Administrator of all three cluster parishes effective July 1, 2024