About St. Mary · Dazey, North Dakota
St. Mary's Catholic Church is a small rural mission parish in the rolling hills of eastern Barnes County, just outside the village of Dazey, North Dakota. It belongs to the Diocese of Fargo and is served today as part of a parish cluster that also includes St. Boniface in Wimbledon and Sacred Heart in Sanborn. Founded by German immigrant homesteaders around the turn of the 20th century, St. Mary's is best known for its annual outdoor Corpus Christi procession — a tradition begun in 1906 and still drawing extended family members home to the wooded churchyard every year. The present stuccoed church was built in 1929 from a design associated with architect Fr. George Stauduhar of Rock Island, Illinois.
- Established
- 1905
- Patron
- Blessed Virgin Mary (St. Mary)
- Rector
- Rev. Sean P. Mulligan
- Diocese
- Diocese of Fargo
Why belong here
St. Mary's is a small but deeply rooted rural parish where the church really is the center of community life — as parishioners like Lloyd Wieland put it, 'they took a lot of pride in it. And everyone went to church.' Today the mission serves roughly sixty to sixty-five families in the rolling hills east of Dazey, gathered around weekly Mass, weekday adoration and confession, and the famous outdoor Corpus Christi procession that has drawn extended families home every summer since 1906. Whether you are a fourth-generation Wieland-descended parishioner or a newcomer to Barnes County, you will find a quiet, prayerful country parish with deep Eucharistic devotion, a beautiful wooded churchyard, and a priest shared across a tight-knit three-church cluster.
Mass times at St. Mary
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Saturday 4:00–4:45 PM (January–April)
- Sunday 12:10–1:10 PM (May–August)
- Sunday 8:00–8:50 AM (September–December)
- Tuesday 6:30–6:45 PM
Adoration times
- Sunday 7:00–8:50 AM (September–December)
- Saturday 3:00–4:45 PM (January–April)
- Tuesday 5:30–6:50 PM
History of St. Mary's, Dazey
St. Mary's Mission was founded at the turn of the 20th century by Father Joseph G. Sailer for German immigrant homesteaders who had settled the rolling hills east of Dazey in the 1880s. The first recorded Mass was said before 1900 at the Moore School by a Father Buchler. After Father Sailer came regularly for about four years and celebrated at the John Wieland home, the community built a frame church in 1904 on five acres donated by the Wielands. It was dedicated in 1905 by Bishop John Shanley. The present stuccoed church replaced it in 1929, dedicated by Bishop James O'Reilly. In 1942 St. Mary's became an independent parish under Father Roman Dworschak, who served as pastor for twenty-five years and built the Cemetery Shrine.
The Corpus Christi Tradition
The parish's signature devotion is its outdoor Corpus Christi procession, begun in 1906 by the German settlers to bring the customs of their homeland to the Dakota prairies. Each year the priest processes with the Blessed Sacrament under a canopy through the wooded churchyard, pausing at the Stations of the Cross, while parishioners follow in prayer and a choir and brass band provide music — a tradition begun by John Wieland, who directed the choir, led the band, and composed the 'St. Mary's Parade March' and other hymns still sung today. Extended family members who have moved far away return for the feast, and some Wieland descendants even schedule family reunions around it.
- First outdoor Corpus Christi procession: 1906
- Typical modern attendance: 100+; up to 250 in milestone years
- 120th anniversary procession: August 24, 2024 (held in subdued form after a damaging windstorm)
Architecture and the Churchyard
The present church was built in 1929 from a design associated with Fr. George Stauduhar of Rock Island, Illinois — Bishop Shanley's favorite architect, who died that same year while inspecting another diocesan project in Valley City. The framed, stuccoed building mixes Gothic Revival battered walls and buttresses with Spanish-influenced gables and a vaguely Moderne smoothness. The five-acre churchyard was planted by pioneer John Wieland and now shelters two wooden Stations chapels, statues, and the Cemetery Shrine, and forms the route of the annual Corpus Christi procession.
Worship Schedule
All services are celebrated in English in the Roman-Latin rite of the Diocese of Fargo. The current schedule, as published through the diocesan parish finder and aggregated Mass-time listings, is:
- Tuesday Mass: 7:00 PM
- Saturday Mass: 5:00 PM (January–April)
- Sunday Mass: 9:00 AM (September–December)
- Sunday Mass: 10:30 AM (May–August)
- Confession: Saturday 4:00–4:45 PM (Jan–Apr); Sunday 12:10–1:10 PM (May–Aug) and 8:00–8:50 AM (Sep–Dec); Tuesday 6:30–6:45 PM
- Adoration: Saturday 3:00–4:45 PM (Jan–Apr); Tuesday 5:30–6:50 PM; Sunday 7:00–8:50 AM (Sep–Dec)
Parish Cluster: Wimbledon, Dazey and Sanborn
Since 1971 St. Mary's has been served by the same priest as St. Boniface in Wimbledon. In June 2024 Bishop John Folda formally grouped St. Boniface (Wimbledon), St. Mary (Dazey) and Sacred Heart (Sanborn) into a single parish cluster, with Rev. Sean P. Mulligan named pastor of all three for a second six-year term beginning June 26, 2024. Parishes in the cluster share administrative and sacramental resources while retaining their own identities, buildings and worship schedules.
- St. Boniface — Wimbledon
- St. Mary — Dazey
- Sacred Heart — Sanborn
The 'Miracle at Dazey' (2024)
On the Friday before St. Mary's 120th Corpus Christi in August 2024, a powerful windstorm swept the Dazey churchyard and toppled many of the old trees that shade the procession route. The church itself, both Stations chapels and the statues in the churchyard were completely untouched. Parishioners and the parish priest, Rev. Sean Mulligan, have described the event as the 'Miracle at Dazey,' and the procession went forward on August 24 in a more subdued form, with the route running through the open churchyard rather than the damaged tree line.
Visiting and Contact
St. Mary's is a country parish in rural Barnes County. To reach it, head east from the village of Dazey and, at the intersection of 16th St. SE and 115th Ave., turn south; the church is on the left. For weddings, baptisms, anointing, or to confirm seasonal Mass and adoration times, contact the parish office at (701) 435-2310 (shared with St. Boniface, Wimbledon).
- Address: 1606 116th St. SE, Dazey, ND 58429
- Phone: (701) 435-2310
- Email: [email protected]
- Diocesan parish page: fargodiocese.net/dazey-stmary
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Father Buchlerbefore 1900
Said the earliest known Mass at the Moore School; no authentic record kept
- Rev. Joseph G. Sailerc. 1900–c. 1904
Rector of St. Catherine's, Valley City; one of North Dakota's most active missionary priests; founder of St. Mary's Mission; said Mass regularly at the John Wieland home for about four years
- Father Peter McGeough1929 (building)
Pastor of Sanborn; directed construction of the present church, dedicated by Bishop James O'Reilly in 1929
- Father Roman Dworschak1942–c. 1967
First resident pastor when St. Mary's became a parish in 1942; served twenty-five years; credited with improving and beautifying the grounds and building the Cemetery Shrine
- (Shared pastor)1971–present
Since 1971 St. Mary's has been served by the same priest as St. Boniface, Wimbledon (later also Sacred Heart, Sanborn)