St. Margaret

Parish History & German-Catholic Roots

St. Margaret Catholic Church was founded in 1881 in the rolling farmland of Lake Henry Township, in the heart of Stearns County's German Catholic settlement belt. The parish traces its origins to the winter of 1880, when area families gathered in the home of Michael Kraemer Sr. to plan their own church. Kraemer is honored as the founder, and the patroness — St. Margaret — was chosen in tribute to his wife Margaret. The first church, a frame structure measuring 36 by 50 feet, was begun in the spring of 1882 and dedicated on July 20 of that year by Bishop Seidenbusch. In 1884 the church was lengthened by 12 feet and crowned with a 75-foot steeple, and the first parsonage followed in 1887. The community's Catholic roots reach even further back: Father Francis Xavier Pierz celebrated Mass in the home of Xavier Poepping in 1855, and Benedictine priests from St. John's Abbey in Collegeville — established in 1856 — shepherded the area's early parish life.

Our Patroness: St. Margaret of Antioch

St. Margaret of Antioch was a fourth-century virgin and martyr venerated as one of the Fourteen Holy Helpers and traditionally invoked as patron of pregnant women. According to tradition, her father was a pagan priest; after her mother died, Margaret was raised by a Christian nurse and consecrated her virginity to God. Refusing the advances of the Roman prefect Olybrius, she was tried at Antioch, tortured (the flames and a cauldron of boiling water reportedly left her unharmed), and finally beheaded — an execution said to have moved thousands of spectators to conversion. Her feast is kept on July 20, the same date on which the first St. Margaret church in Lake Henry was dedicated in 1882.

• Virgin and martyr (4th century)
• One of the Fourteen Holy Helpers
• Patron of pregnant women
• Feast day: July 20

Religious Education & Faith Formation

St. Margaret families participate in the Paynesville Area Catholic Parishes' shared Religious Education program, which meets on the St. Louis campus in Paynesville on Wednesdays during the school year. First- through fifth-graders gather after school until 4:30 PM, with busing provided from Paynesville Elementary; grades 6–10 meet Wednesday evenings from 7:00 to 8:15 PM. Sacramental preparation for First Reconciliation and First Eucharist is concentrated in the second-grade year; Confirmation is conferred in the fall of a student's junior year of high school.

• Grades 1–5: Wednesdays after school until 4:30 PM
• Grades 6–10: Wednesday evenings 7:00–8:15 PM
• Bus from Paynesville Elementary to the St. Louis campus
• First Reconciliation / First Eucharist: 2nd grade
• Confirmation: fall of the junior year

The Paynesville Area Catholic Parishes

St. Margaret is one of three parishes that make up the Paynesville Area Catholic Parishes, a single faith community under one pastor. The three parishes — St. Agnes in Roscoe, St. Louis in Paynesville, and St. Margaret in Lake Henry — share a pastor, office staff, Religious Education program, and weekend Mass rotation, while each retains its own parish identity, building, and history. In the Diocese of Saint Cloud's 2026 priest assignments, Fr. Glenn Krystosek was reappointed pastor of all three parishes while additionally taking on Assumption Parish in Eden Valley.

• St. Agnes — Roscoe, MN (Saturday Vigil Mass in summer)
• St. Louis — Paynesville, MN (Sunday 9:30 AM; live-streamed)
• St. Margaret — Lake Henry, MN (Sunday 8:00 AM in winter; Tuesday 8:00 AM)
• Shared pastor: Rev. Glenn Krystosek
• Office: 505 Burr Street, Paynesville, MN 56362 — 320-243-4413

Visiting St. Margaret

The country church of St. Margaret sits on State Highway 4 about six miles northwest of Paynesville, in the gently rolling farmland of Lake Henry Township. Its setting is quintessentially rural central Minnesota — quiet roads, corn and soybean fields, and the small lake community for which the township is named. Travelers are encouraged to confirm Mass and confession times with the parish office before visiting.

• Physical address: 23189 State Highway 4, Lake Henry, MN 56362
• Mailing address: 505 Burr Street, Paynesville, MN 56362
• Phone: 320-243-4413
• Email: [email protected]
• Located on Hwy. 4, 6 miles NW of Paynesville