About St. Mary · Milesville, South Dakota
St. Mary (St. Mary's Catholic Church) is a small mission parish of the Diocese of Rapid City, situated at the intersection of two country roads in the unincorporated prairie community of Milesville, South Dakota. It is a dependent mission of Sacred Heart Parish in Philip and is served from there by Fr. Grant Gerlach, with Fr. Francis Nsubuga assigned as Parochial Vicar (effective July 1, 2026). The 1925-built church remains in continuous use by roughly 17 family units today, hosting weekend Mass on a rotating Saturday-evening / Sunday-morning schedule and serving as the spiritual and social hub for Catholic ranching families across the surrounding Haakon County plains.
- Established
- 1925
- Patron
- The Blessed Virgin Mary
- Rector
- Rev. Grant Gerlach
- Diocese
- Diocese of Rapid City
Why belong here
St. Mary's is a small prairie mission where the Catholic faith is lived out in close-knit family community. It offers weekend Mass on a rotating Saturday-evening / Sunday-morning schedule for roughly 17 active families and serves as the spiritual home for ranching households across Haakon County who want a parish rooted in century-old liturgical tradition, decorated with the flowers of the South Dakota plains, and led by priests of the Diocese of Rapid City.
Mass times at St. Mary
Weekly Mass schedule
History & Heritage
St. Mary's Catholic Church in Milesville was completed in 1925 under the leadership of its first resident pastor, Rev. Michael Brogan, and was solemnly dedicated by Bishop John J. Lawler of the Diocese of Rapid City on Wednesday, June 17, 1925. The Pioneer Review described the day under the headline 'Much Pomp in the Dedication Held at Milesville,' recording that about 150 people attended Mass and a communal dinner served in the church basement. For a century the parish has remained the religious and social center of Catholic ranching families across the sparsely settled Haakon County prairies.
- 1925 — Church dedicated June 17 by Bishop John J. Lawler
- First resident pastor: Rev. Michael Brogan
- 1981 — 35 registered families on the parish rolls
- Today — 17 registered family units
- June 17, 2025 — Centennial Mass celebrated by Fr. Grant Gerlach, Deacon Lloyd Frein, and past pastor Fr. Kevin Achbach
Centennial Celebration (June 17, 2025)
Parishioners and visitors gathered on Tuesday, June 17, 2025 to mark the 100th anniversary of St. Mary's original dedication. Roughly 80 people filled the church for a Mass that began with the ringing of the church bell and the applause of the congregation as the procession entered. Fr. Kevin Achbach, a former priest of the parish now serving in Spearfish, supplied matching white-and-gold vestments for the concelebrants. A community supper for about 100 followed in the Milesville Hall, decorated with statues and flowers from local gardens and prairies, while guests browsed old scrapbooks, record books, pictures, church memorabilia, and Milesville history volumes.
- Mass concelebrants: Fr. Grant Gerlach, Fr. Kevin Achbach, Deacon Lloyd Frein
- Altar adorned with fresh flowers and greenery
- Statue of the patron, Mary, crowned with pink roses
- Guests registered from Colorado, Wyoming, Minnesota, Florida, and South Dakota
- Returning families recalled: Quinn, O'Dea, Schofield, Harty, Williams, Pekron, Murphy, Stephenson, Patton, Falzone, Gitting, Piroutek, Deuchar, Carley
Mass & Worship Schedule
St. Mary's offers weekend Mass on a rotating monthly schedule for the small prairie community. Because regular weekend attendance often runs under 20 people, the parish alternates a Saturday-evening Mass in odd-numbered months with a Sunday-morning Mass in even-numbered months. The parish falls under the Diocese of Rapid City's cluster served out of Sacred Heart in Philip, reachable at (605) 859-2664.
- Saturday 7:30 PM — odd-numbered months (Jan, Mar, May, Jul, Sep, Nov)
- Sunday 11:00 AM — even-numbered months (Feb, Apr, Jun, Aug, Oct, Dec)
- Liturgy in English (Roman Rite)
Devotions & Eucharistic Life
Although St. Mary's does not maintain a published schedule of weekly devotions, the parish actively participates in diocesan-wide Eucharistic-renewal events. During the National Eucharistic Revival, Fr. Grant Gerlach organized a procession unique to the rural setting: with no town streets available, parishioners processed along the country roads and intersections around the church so that the route literally formed the shape of a cross across the prairie, 'stamping the land with the cross of Christ.' The annual May crowning tradition is reflected in the parish's custom of crowning the statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary with flowers for major feasts.
- 2023 country-road Eucharistic procession formed a cross across the prairie
- Statue of Mary crowned with flowers (e.g. pink roses for the 2025 centennial)
- Participation in diocesan relic tour and Eucharistic displays
Parish Life & Community
St. Mary's is at its heart a community of families bound together by faith, ranching life, and the open prairie. Roughly 17 family units make up the active parish today, and the parish hall, the Milesville Hall, and the church basement all serve as gathering places for meals, scrapbook viewings, and seasonal celebrations such as the centennial supper. The parish also overlaps ecumenically with neighboring Hardingrove Evangelical Church in Milesville, with the two congregations publishing shared Easter and Holy Week service schedules in the local Pioneer Review.
- ~17 active family units
- Centennial supper served ~100 people in the Milesville Hall
- Shared Holy Week and Easter schedule with Hardingrove Evangelical Church, Milesville
Visit, Location & Contact
St. Mary's Catholic Church sits at the intersection of 221st Avenue and 203rd Street in the unincorporated community of Milesville, Haakon County, South Dakota (ZIP 57553). Because the church is on open prairie rather than within a town grid, visitors reach it by traveling the surrounding county roads; the parish office is reached through Sacred Heart in Philip, about 29 miles south via South Dakota Highway 73. Parish phone and sacramental inquiries are handled through the Sacred Heart–Philip parish office.
- Address: 221st Avenue & 203rd Street, Milesville, SD 57553
- Parish office / mailing: c/o Sacred Heart, 307 W. Elm St., Philip, SD 57567
- Phone: (605) 859-2664
- Nearest larger Catholic community: Philip, ~29 miles south via SD Hwy 73
Diocese & Canonical Status
St. Mary's is a mission church within the Diocese of Rapid City, canonically dependent on the parish of the Sacred Heart in Philip. It is listed in GCatholic's directory (Church ID 36699) under the Diocese of Rapid City with the Sacred Heart parish as its parent entity. Clergy assignments are issued by the diocesan bishop (Bishop Scott Bullock) and published each year on the diocesan website.
- Diocese of Rapid City
- Parent parish: Sacred Heart, Philip
- Listed by GCatholic as Church ID 36699
- Bishop of Rapid City: Most Rev. Scott Bullock
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Rev. Michael Broganby 1925
First resident pastor of St. Mary's; oversaw construction of the church building, which was dedicated June 17, 1925 by Bishop John J. Lawler.
- Rev. Kevin Achbach, VG
Past priest of the parish; supplied white-and-gold vestments and concelebrated the June 17, 2025 centennial Mass while now serving as pastor of St. Joseph in Spearfish and St. Paul in Belle Fourche.
- Rev. Grant Gerlachthrough at least 2026
Current pastor of Sacred Heart in Philip and St. Mary in Milesville (residing in Philip); leading priest for the June 2025 centennial and for the 2023 country-road Eucharistic procession.