About St. Joseph · Brooks, Minnesota
St. Joseph Catholic Church in Brooks, Minnesota, is a small rural mission parish serving the farming community of Red Lake County in the Red River Valley. Established in 1916 to serve French Canadian homesteaders, it is now operated as a mission of St. Joseph Parish in Red Lake Falls under the Diocese of Crookston. The parish offers Sunday Mass at 8:00 a.m. with weekday Mass on Thursday mornings, plus confession and Saturday Eucharistic Adoration — a quiet rural worship life sustained by shared clergy with Red Lake Falls.
- Established
- 1916
- Patron
- St. Joseph
- Rector
- Rev. Bob Schreiner
- Diocese
- Diocese of Crookston
Why belong here
St. Joseph in Brooks is a quiet, close-knit rural Catholic community where a small congregation keeps regular Sunday and weekday Mass, weekly confession, and Saturday Eucharistic Adoration alive in the heart of the Red River Valley. Because it is paired with St. Joseph in Red Lake Falls, visitors and parishioners benefit from shared clergy, faith formation, and bulletins while still gathering at the historic 1922 church on Minnesota Avenue. For Catholics in the Brooks area — especially farming families and French Canadian descendants of the original homesteaders — it is a welcoming, traditional worship home under the Diocese of Crookston.
Mass times at St. Joseph
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Sunday: 7:30 AM – 7:55 AM
- Thursday: 8:00 AM – 8:20 AM
Adoration times
- Saturday: 8:00 AM – 10:00 AM
About St. Joseph Parish in Brooks
St. Joseph Catholic Church is a rural mission parish located at 305 Minnesota Avenue in Brooks, Minnesota, in the Red River Valley of northwestern Minnesota. The parish is part of the Diocese of Crookston and is operated as a mission of St. Joseph Parish in Red Lake Falls, sharing one pastor and common parish resources. The church serves the small agricultural community of Red Lake County with a regular schedule of Sunday Mass, weekday Mass, confession, and Saturday Eucharistic Adoration.
- Mission parish of St. Joseph, Red Lake Falls
- Diocese of Crookston
- Address: 305 Minnesota Avenue, Brooks, MN 56715
- Phone: (218) 253-2188
- Website: go2joseph.org
Parish History
St. Joseph was established in 1916 to serve the French Canadian Catholic homesteaders of the Brooks area, who had previously been cared for by visiting priests from the parishes of Terrebonne and Lambert. The new parish was carved from those two communities, and Father Arthur Beaulieu — previously of Lambert — became the first resident pastor. The first Mass was celebrated on December 31, 1916, and the original church nave was constructed in 1922. Successive pastors shaped the parish through the 20th century: Fr. Louis E. Proulx (1933–1955) emphasized rural stewardship and wartime maintenance; Rev. Henry Carriere (1955–1972) oversaw Brooks as the primary parish with Terrebonne becoming a mission; and Fr. Larry Wieseler (1972–retired) guided a long period of growth and facility updates, including the parish-driven 1991 renovation that uncovered hidden stained glass windows. Today, Brooks is paired with St. Joseph in Red Lake Falls in a shared-parish model under the Diocese of Crookston.
- Founded 1916; first Mass December 31, 1916
- Carved from Terrebonne and Lambert parishes
- Nave built 1922 under Fr. Arthur Beaulieu
- 1991 volunteer renovation uncovered hidden stained glass windows
- Now part of a shared parish with St. Joseph, Red Lake Falls
Leadership and Clergy
St. Joseph in Brooks is served by clergy shared with St. Joseph Parish in Red Lake Falls. Fr. Bob Schreiner serves as pastor of the combined pastoral arrangement, and Deacon John Bruggeman serves as pastoral administrator. The shared arrangement allows a small rural congregation to maintain regular Mass, confession, and adoration with consistent sacramental support.
- Rev. Bob Schreiner — Pastor
- Deacon John Bruggeman — Pastoral Administrator
Sacraments
Like all parishes in the Diocese of Crookston, St. Joseph offers the seven Catholic sacraments. Because of the small rural congregation and shared clergy, most sacraments besides regular Mass and confession are arranged by appointment through the parish office.
- Baptism — by appointment
- Eucharist — Sunday Mass (8:00 AM) and Thursday Mass (8:30 AM)
- Confirmation — per Diocesan of Crookston schedule
- Reconciliation — Sundays and Thursdays (see schedule)
- Matrimony — by appointment with the pastor
- Anointing of the Sick — by appointment
- Holy Orders — through the Diocese of Crookston vocations office
Shared Parish with Red Lake Falls
St. Joseph in Brooks and St. Joseph in Red Lake Falls together form a single pastoral community under the Diocese of Crookston. They share a pastor (Fr. Bob Schreiner), a common website (go2joseph.org), joint bulletins, a shared calendar, and coordinated faith formation. The arrangement allows both communities — Brooks to the south and Red Lake Falls just up the road — to maintain a regular sacramental life while efficiently pooling clergy and administrative resources. It is one of the rural collaboration models encouraged by the Diocese of Crookston's Diocesan Planning Commission.
- Shared pastor: Fr. Bob Schreiner
- Shared website: go2joseph.org
- Joint bulletins, calendars, and faith formation
- Red Lake Falls offers Saturday Vigil (5:30 PM) and Sunday (10:00 AM) Masses
Parish Identity and Community
The parish's website tagline — 'Go to Joseph!' (Genesis 41:55) — reflects its patron and the Catholic call to turn to St. Joseph in every need. The Brooks community has retained much of its French Canadian Catholic heritage from the homesteading era, and the parish remains a quiet but steady presence in the agricultural life of Red Lake County. The 1991 parish-wide renovation, in which members of every age group uncovered hidden stained glass windows beneath dated interior finishes, captures the parish's character: a community that cares for its own house of worship with its own hands.
- Patron: St. Joseph
- Tagline: 'Go to Joseph!' (Genesis 41:55)
- Heritage: French Canadian homesteading families of Red Lake County
- 1991 stained-glass restoration by parishioners
Visiting St. Joseph in Brooks
Visitors are warmly welcomed at St. Joseph in Brooks. The church is located on Minnesota Avenue in the small town of Brooks, Minnesota, and is reached by turning onto Main Street from Hwy 92 (off Hwy 59). The parish office can be reached at (218) 253-2188 for inquiries about Mass intentions, sacraments, or shared events with the Red Lake Falls parish.
- Address: 305 Minnesota Avenue, Brooks, MN 56715
- Phone: (218) 253-2188
- Website: go2joseph.org
- Directions: From Hwy 59, take Hwy 92, then Main Street south through Brooks
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Fr. Arthur Beaulieu1916–1933
First resident pastor; organized the parish; oversaw construction of the church nave in 1922.
- Fr. Louis E. Proulx1933–1955
Emphasized rural stewardship; managed church maintenance through WWII shortages.
- Rev. Henry Carriere1955–1972
Administered Brooks as primary parish while Terrebonne became a mission under Brooks.
- Fr. Larry Wieseler1972–retired
Long-tenured leadership; guided interior remodeling and facility modernizations.
- Fr. Bob Schreinerpresent (as of 2024)
Current pastor, shared with St. Joseph Parish in Red Lake Falls.