St. Mary

About St. Mary's Catholic Church & Grotto

St. Mary's Catholic Church and Grotto is a mission parish of St. Peter the Apostle in Park Rapids, Minnesota, located in the small rural community of Two Inlets in northern Hubbard County. The parish welcomes visitors with the invitation 'All are welcome in this place,' and combines a country Catholic church with the remarkable Grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes — an outdoor Lourdes-replica shrine built into the hillside beside the church. Sunday Mass is celebrated at the Grotto during the warmer months, weather permitting, and visitors are encouraged to bring lawn chairs or blankets.

Church History

The parish traces its roots to the Catholic settlers who arrived in the Two Inlets area from Perham and St. Cloud between 1891 and 1894. After meeting first in a barn in Arago Township, the community built its first church in 1902–1903 on land donated by Max and Barbara Eischens. Two fires destroyed successive church buildings — one in 1913 from lightning and the second on Christmas Eve 1933 — each time the community rebuilt, with the present church completed in about a year and designed with two entrances honoring the two inlets on the lake that gave the town its name. The parish celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2007, and the full story has been compiled in a parish history book available from the church office.

• 1891–1894: First Catholic settlers arrive from Perham and St. Cloud
• Reverend Joseph Wurm of Aitkin visits monthly to celebrate Mass in a barn near Hay Creek
• 1902: Decision to build a church; Max and Barbara Eischens donate the land
• October 1903: First Mass at the new church
• 1903: Father Jacob Engels assigned as pastor of Park Rapids with Two Inlets as a mission
• June 5, 1913: Lightning strikes and burns the church
• June 1914: Larger replacement church completed
• Fall 1920: Father Herman Decker becomes the first resident pastor
• March 1921: Parish house completed
• 1924: Parish hall built under Father Decker
• 1927: Father Decker dies and is buried in St. Mary's Cemetery
• December 24, 1933: Second church burns to the ground; hall is renovated for services
• 1934: Present church completed under Father Rocca, with two entrances honoring the town's two lake inlets
• Father Rocca serves as pastor 1933–1955
• 1995: Parish served by priests from St. Peter's, Park Rapids
• July 2005: Full-time resident pastor returns
• 2007: 100th anniversary celebrated

The Grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes

The Grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes is the spiritual heart of St. Mary's and one of the most distinctive devotional sites in northern Minnesota. Father Joseph Moylan, then pastor of St. Mary's, was inspired to build the grotto after a pilgrimage to Lourdes, France. Construction began in 1959 with the labor, prayers, and financial support of local parishioners and neighbors. The grotto remains a memorial dedicated to the pastors who have served St. Mary's over the years. It features life-size bianco carrara marble statues of Our Lady of Lourdes and St. Bernadette carved by a renowned Italian sculptor, the Stations of the Cross, and — added in 1981 — a Rosary Shrine with a large Rosary designed for Living Rosary devotions.

• 1959: Construction begins under Father Joseph Moylan after his pilgrimage to Lourdes, France
• Life-size Our Lady of Lourdes and St. Bernadette statues in bianco carrara marble by a renowned Italian sculptor
• Stations of the Cross integrated into the grounds, as at Lourdes
• April 1981: Father Alto Butkowski proposes the Rosary Shrine expansion
• July 10, 1981: Rosary Shrine dedicated, with a large Rosary designed for Living Rosary devotions
• 2022: First major maintenance in over 60 years — tuckpointing, sandblasting and sealing by A1A Sandblast Co. of Menahga
• Outdoor altar with park-bench pews, flowerbeds, cascading water feature, field-stone Stations of the Cross shrines, and a rosary-shaped path around a young white oak

Mass & Service Schedule

St. Mary's celebrates Mass weekly on Sunday mornings and offers a daily Mass opportunity on Thursdays. During the summer (Memorial Day Weekend through Labor Day Weekend), Sunday Mass is held outdoors in the Grotto at 10:30 AM, weather permitting; during the winter (Labor Day through Memorial Day), Sunday Mass moves to 11:00 AM inside the church. The Rosary is prayed half an hour before every Mass, and the Sunday parish Mass is live-streamed at 9:00 AM.

• Thursday — Daily Mass, 8:30 AM
• Sunday (winter) — 11:00 AM inside the church
• Sunday (summer) — 10:30 AM in the Grotto, weather permitting
• Rosary — 30 minutes before every Mass
• Sunday Parish Mass — live-streamed at 9:00 AM

Clergy & Staff

St. Mary's is pastored by Father Joe Richards, who also serves St. Peter the Apostle in Park Rapids. The parish secretary and bookkeeper is Lynn Gartner. The Parish Guild is led by Rose Higgins. St. Mary's is part of the Diocese of Crookston, and shares pastoral staff with St. Peter's, including Deacon John Zinniel, who serves as Pastoral Assistant and Spiritual Mentor.

• Father Joe Richards — Pastor (also of St. Peter the Apostle, Park Rapids); 218-732-5142
• Deacon John Zinniel — Pastoral Assistant / Spiritual Mentor (shared with St. Peter's); [email protected]
• Lynn Gartner — Parish Secretary & Bookkeeper; 218-732-4046; [email protected]
• Rose Higgins — Parish Guild; 218-732-4046

Sacraments

Information on preparing for the sacraments is published in the parish bulletin. Couples should contact the pastor at least six months before the wedding date to begin Marriage Preparation. Parents should contact the pastor two months before the child's birth to arrange Baptism.

• Marriage Preparation — contact the pastor six months prior to the wedding date
• Baptism — contact the pastor two months before the child's birth

Parish Life & Ministries

As a small rural mission parish, St. Mary's has a close-knit community life centered on weekly Mass, the Grotto, and a Parish Guild that helps care for the church and grounds. The parish shares offices with St. Peter the Apostle in Park Rapids, where its mailing address and secretary/bookkeeper are based.

• Parish Guild (led by Rose Higgins) — parish care and community life
• Shared parish offices and administration with St. Peter the Apostle, Park Rapids
• Live-streamed Sunday Mass extending the parish's reach beyond Two Inlets

Contact & Visit

Parish office hours are Tuesday through Thursday, 9:00 AM – 4:00 PM. The parish mailing address is PO Box 353, Park Rapids, MN 56470, and the physical address is 55744 County Highway 44, Park Rapids, MN 56470. From Park Rapids, take MN Highway 71 north about 12 miles and then west 3 miles on Two Inlets Road (County 46, becoming County 44); the church is on the north side of the road. (The parish website notes that Highway 71 north is closed at Hay Creek — follow the posted detour.)

• Parish office: 218-732-4046; [email protected]
• Father Joe Richards: 218-732-5142
• Office hours: Tuesday–Thursday, 9:00 AM – 4:00 PM
• Mailing: PO Box 353, Park Rapids, MN 56470
• Address: 55744 County Highway 44, Park Rapids, MN 56470
• Directions: 12 miles north of Park Rapids on Hwy 71, then 3 miles west on Two Inlets Road

St. Mary's Cemetery

St. Mary's Cemetery adjoins the church on Cemetery Road and contains the oldest burial of about 1903, reflecting the parish's long history in the Two Inlets community. Father Herman Decker, the parish's first resident pastor (died 1927), is buried here. Minnesota Genealogical Society records note several unmarked infant graves with wooden crosses later replaced by markers and over 300 burials recorded through December 2001. The cemetery remains active.

• Established c. 1903 with the founding of the parish
• Located adjacent to the church on Cemetery Road
• Burial place of Father Herman Decker, first resident pastor (d. 1927)
• Five acres of land for church and cemetery donated by the Waldorf family
• Several unmarked infant graves later marked; 300+ burials through 2001