About St. Patrick · Fullerton, North Dakota
St. Patrick Parish is a small Roman Catholic mission church in Fullerton, North Dakota, in the Diocese of Fargo. It shares a pastor and alternating Sunday Mass schedule with St. Helena Parish in nearby Ellendale (the website sthelenascatholicparish.org serves both communities). Founded by Irish railroad settlers around 1900, the parish grew out of humble beginnings in a rented hall and was eventually served from a church physically moved from Ellendale. Today Mass is celebrated at St. Patrick's roughly twice a month on a rotating basis with St. Helena.
- Established
- circa 1900
- Patron
- St. Patrick
- Rector
- Fr. Patrick Parks
- Diocese
- Diocese of Fargo
Why belong here
St. Patrick is a tight-knit rural Catholic community in Dickey County where generations of farm families — many descended from the Irish railroad settlers who founded the parish — continue to worship together. Members enjoy a personal, family-sized parish served by Fr. Patrick Parks, who also pastors St. Helena in Ellendale, with confession available before and after Mass and Eucharistic Adoration on First Fridays. It is a welcoming mission church rooted in over a century of Catholic tradition on the southern North Dakota prairie.
Mass times at St. Patrick
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Sunday 11:30 AM – 12:00 PM (in Fullerton, 2nd & 4th Sundays)
- 1st Friday 4:00 PM – 5:00 PM (St. Patrick, Fullerton)
- Also by appointment — call the parish office
Adoration times
- 1st Friday 4:00 PM – 5:00 PM (St. Patrick, Fullerton)
Parish Identity & Mission
St. Patrick's is a small rural Catholic parish in Fullerton, North Dakota, in the Diocese of Fargo. From the start it has been served by the pastor of Ellendale — today Fr. Patrick Parks — and is administered together with St. Helena Parish in Ellendale through the shared website sthelenascatholicparish.org. The two churches alternate Sunday Masses so each community has regular worship while sharing a single priest.
History of St. Patrick's
St. Patrick's traces its origins to the Irish Catholic families who settled near Fullerton at the turn of the 20th century while building the Soo Line Railroad through Dickey County. Early Masses were celebrated in the Kingsley Hall until the congregation grew large enough to move a church building from Ellendale to Fullerton. The 1920s and 1930s were lean years for prairie farming families, and the parish focused on survival.
- c. 1900 — Irish railroad workers settle near Fullerton; Masses held in Kingsley Hall by priests from Ellendale.
- Early 1900s — A disused Ellendale church is physically moved to Fullerton to serve the growing parish.
- 1943 — Fr. Charles Veach arrives as pastor of Ellendale and the Fullerton mission.
- 1940s — 'God's Acre' fundraiser: each farmer donates the proceeds from one acre to the parish building fund.
- 1940s — Parish buys and converts the old Fullerton town hall into a parish center.
- 1948 — St. John's Church in Monango closes; some of its Catholic families join St. Patrick's.
- Today — St. Patrick's continues to be served by the pastor of Ellendale (St. Helena Parish).
Mass & Worship Schedule (St. Patrick, Fullerton)
Mass at St. Patrick's is celebrated on an alternating schedule with St. Helena's in Ellendale, so that each parish hosts Mass most Sundays. Weekday Mass is offered at St. Patrick's on Thursdays, and there is a special First Friday Mass each month. Holy Day vigil Masses for Christmas and Mary, Mother of God are also celebrated at St. Patrick's.
- Sunday 8:30 AM (2nd & 4th Sundays) — St. Patrick, Fullerton
- Sunday 10:30 AM (1st, 3rd & 5th Sundays) — St. Patrick, Fullerton
- Thursday 9:00 AM — St. Patrick's
- 1st Friday 5:15 PM — St. Patrick, Fullerton
- Christmas Eve Vigil 5:00 PM — St. Patrick, Fullerton
- Mary, Mother of God Vigil (Dec 31) 5:00 PM — St. Patrick, Fullerton
Parish Staff & Clergy
St. Patrick's is served by Fr. Patrick Parks, who is also the pastor of St. Helena Parish in Ellendale. Fr. Parks was ordained to the priesthood in 2016 and previously served as parochial vicar at St. John's in Wahpeton, the Cathedral of St. Mary's in Fargo, and St. James Basilica in Jamestown. The parish office can be reached at the phone number and email listed below.
- Fr. Patrick Parks — Pastor (St. Helena & St. Patrick)
- Phone: (701) 349-3297
- Email: [email protected]
Ministry Schedules & Altar Servers
Liturgical ministries at St. Patrick's — including lectors and altar servers — are coordinated through a published parish schedule on the St. Helena website. Separate schedules are kept for St. Helena (Ellendale) and St. Patrick (Fullerton), with a dedicated roster of St. Patrick's altar servers.
- St. Patrick's Ministry Schedule
- St. Patrick's Altar Servers schedule
Faith Formation & Religious Education
Faith formation for the children of St. Patrick's is offered jointly with St. Helena Parish. The parish uses a 'Faith at Home' approach (especially during the COVID-19 era and continuing today) supplemented by Diocese of Fargo resources. The goal is to help parents — recognized as the primary influence on their children's faith — foster a living relationship with Jesus Christ.
- Combined CCD / religious education with St. Helena Parish
- Diocese of Fargo online catechetical resources
- 'Faith at Home' online access to textbooks used in class
Parish Life & Community
St. Patrick's has an active parish life centered on the rhythms of rural North Dakota. The community gathers for fundraisers (such as summer burger-and-hotdog meals held in the church parking lot to support parishioners in need), Divine Mercy celebrations, prayer lines for sick members, and seasonal liturgical changes announced through the parish website.
- Parish fundraisers (e.g., grilling burgers and hotdogs in the church parking lot)
- Divine Mercy celebration
- Parish prayer line for members in need
- Schedule-change notices posted online
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Fr. Charles Veachfrom 1943
Arrived as pastor of Ellendale and the Fullerton mission in 1943; promoted the 'God's Acre' fundraising concept that funded the conversion of the town hall into a parish center.