About St. Helen · Saint Helen, Michigan
St. Helen Catholic Church is a Roman-Latin rite parish in Saint Helen, an unincorporated community in Richfield Township, Roscommon County, Michigan, within the Diocese of Gaylord. The parish serves the small Lake St. Helen area of northern Lower Michigan, located off I-75 exit 222. According to the official Mass schedule, the parish currently holds its Sunday Mass at 9:00 a.m. as part of a Family of Parishes that also includes Immaculate Conception, with weekday Masses celebrated at Immaculate Conception at 9:00 a.m. and a Saturday Vigil at 4:30 p.m., and confessions heard Wednesdays from 6:00–7:00 p.m. As of a 2026 diocesan decree, St. Helen is being united into St. Joseph Parish in West Branch effective July 1, 2026, with St. Helen becoming a limited-use church.
- Patron
- St. Helen (Saint Helena of Constantinople)
- Diocese
- Diocese of Gaylord
Why belong here
St. Helen is a small, family-friendly Catholic parish in the heart of northern Michigan's lake country, embedded in a close-knit community that comes together weekly for Sunday Mass and forms part of a Family of Parishes with Immaculate Conception. The parish offers a traditional Sunday morning Mass (live-streamed), a clear Wednesday-evening confession schedule, and access to weekday Masses at its partner parish, making it a steady spiritual anchor for residents of Richfield Township and visitors to Lake St. Helen. Joining means belonging to a community that, despite its small size, has endured for generations and is now being formally united with St. Joseph Parish in West Branch in 2026 to ensure sustainable sacramental life well into the future.
Mass times at St. Helen
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Wednesday 6:00–7:00 p.m.
Parish Identity & Location
St. Helen Catholic Church is a Roman-Latin rite parish located in the small northern Michigan community of Saint Helen, part of Richfield Township in Roscommon County. The parish sits in the heart of lake country on the eastern side of Roscommon County, near Interstate 75 and bisected by M-55, and is part of the Diocese of Gaylord.
- Roman-Latin rite
- Diocese of Gaylord
- Richfield Township, Roscommon County
Diocesan Affiliation
St. Helen is one of many parishes in the Diocese of Gaylord, the Catholic diocese serving northern Lower Michigan. The diocese's 2026 pastoral plan calls for the extinctive union of St. Helen with St. Joseph Parish in West Branch, taking effect July 1, 2026, with St. Helen becoming a limited-use church under St. Joseph.
- Diocese of Gaylord
- Merger effective July 1, 2026 with St. Joseph Parish, West Branch
Community & Visitor Info
Saint Helen is a small, easygoing lake community known for fishing and the Bluegill Festival, held each summer since the late 1940s. Visitors to Lake St. Helen and Richfield Township find a handful of local churches, including St. Helen Catholic Church, Hope Lutheran Church, Community Baptist Church, and Northern Light Church. Directions to the parish: from I-75 take exit 222 and head north 2 miles on St. Helen Road (Old M-76); the church is on the left.
- I-75 exit 222
- St. Helen Road (Old M-76)
- Lake St. Helen area