About St. Stephen · Larimore, North Dakota
St. Stephen's Catholic Church is a small Roman Catholic parish located in Larimore, North Dakota, a town in Grand Forks County in the northeastern part of the state. It belongs to the Diocese of Fargo and is shepherded by Father K.S. Kopacz (familiarly known as Fr. Casey). True to its rural setting, the parish serves both its church family and the surrounding nursing-home communities, celebrating Mass at St. Stephen's, North Wood Nursing Home, and Good Samaritan Nursing Home in Larimore each week. Its mission statement calls the parish to be 'a community of disciples who inspire, nurture, and join people on their faith journey to encounter and grow in Jesus Christ.'
- Patron
- St. Stephen (the first Christian martyr)
- Rector
- Rev. K.S. Kopacz (Fr. Casey)
- Diocese
- Diocese of Fargo
Why belong here
St. Stephen's is the kind of parish where everyone knows your name — a small, multigenerational Catholic community in rural northeastern North Dakota that still gathers around a daily Mass schedule, a Sunday CCD program for kids in grades K–12, a Knights of Columbus council, an active Altar Society (the St. Anne and St. Ruth Circles), and a working parish council. It also extends Catholic pastoral care beyond its walls by celebrating weekly Mass at North Wood Nursing Home and Good Samaritan Nursing Home in Larimore, and it offers First Friday adoration from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. For visitors and traveling Catholics, weekend Masses are Saturday evening at 5:00 p.m. and Sunday morning at 9:00 a.m.
Mass times at St. Stephen
Weekly Mass schedule
Adoration times
- First Friday of each month: 9:30 AM – 12:30 PM at St. Stephen's, following the 9:00 AM Mass
Mass & Worship Schedule
St. Stephen's publishes a full weekly Mass schedule that reaches beyond its own walls to serve area nursing-home residents. The Lord's Day is kept with a Saturday Vigil Mass at 5:00 p.m. and a Sunday morning Mass at 9:00 a.m. Tuesday and Wednesday Masses are celebrated at 5:30 p.m., while Monday is the pastor's day off with no public Mass. Thursday Mass is celebrated at 11:00 a.m. at North Wood Nursing Home, and on most Fridays Mass moves to the Good Samaritan Nursing Home in Larimore at 10:00 a.m. — except on First Fridays, when the 9:00 a.m. Mass is held at St. Stephen's and is followed by Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament from 9:30 a.m. until 12:30 p.m.
- Tuesday — 5:30 p.m.
- Wednesday — 5:30 p.m.
- Thursday — 11:00 a.m. (North Wood Nursing Home)
- First Friday — 9:00 a.m. at St. Stephen's, Adoration 9:30 a.m.–12:30 p.m.
- Other Fridays — 10:00 a.m. (Good Samaritan Nursing Home, Larimore)
- Saturday — 5:00 p.m. Vigil
- Sunday — 9:00 a.m.
Lent & Easter 2025
The parish publishes the special Holy Week and Easter schedule in advance, giving travelers and parishioners time to plan. It includes Stations of the Cross, a parish Palm Sunday Breakfast, the evening Holy Thursday Mass with Night Watch, an afternoon Good Friday liturgy, and the Easter Vigil on Saturday evening.
- Fri April 11 — Stations of the Cross, 6:00 p.m.
- Sun April 13 — Palm Sunday Breakfast, 10:00 a.m.
- Thu April 17 — Holy Thursday Mass, 7:00 p.m. followed by Night Watch
- Fri April 18 — Stations of the Cross, 2:30 p.m.; Good Friday liturgy, 3:00 p.m.
- Sat April 19 — Easter Vigil, 7:00 p.m.
- Sun April 20 — Easter Sunday of the Resurrection of the Lord, 9:00 a.m.
Faith Formation (CCD)
Religious education for parish children is delivered through CCD classes held on Sunday mornings in the church basement from 10:00 to 11:00 a.m., running October through May. Two parallel class groupings serve the children of the parish: one for Pre/K through Grade 6 and another for Grades 7–12, so junior-high and high-school youth continue forming in faith alongside the younger students. Stacy Beckel serves as Director of Religious Education (DRE) per the parish's About page, while the parish homepage also lists Jenna Kyllo as Director of Religious Education — suggesting current and prior leaders of the program.
- Grades Pre/K – 6, Sundays 10:00–11:00 a.m., church basement
- Grades 7 – 12, Sundays 10:00–11:00 a.m., church basement
- DRE: Stacy Beckel
- Runs October through May
Parish Life & Ministries
St. Stephen's runs the typical small-parish mix of spiritual, service, social and stewardship groups, all led by lay volunteers. Music, the Altar Society, the Knights of Columbus, two women's Circles, Parish Council, Finance Council and a Deanery Council representation together form the working fabric of the parish. Detailed contact people for each ministry are published on the parish website.
- Music Ministry — Rose Funseth
- Altar Society — Meg Farrell
- Knights of Columbus — Brian Stark
- St. Ruth Circle (President: Meg Farrell)
- St. Anne Circle (President: JoAnne Uglem)
- Lay Directors — Bob Landman, Lonny Gunthener
- Deanery Council — JoAnne Uglem, Rose Funseth
Parish Council & Finance Council
The Parish Council is chaired by JoAnne Uglem, with members Paulette Hubbard, Leslie Wiegandt, Dean Hoover and Rosemary Hoover. The Finance Council is led by Tom McMahon and Tim Pietron. Together these councils steward the temporal and pastoral life of the parish.
- Parish Council Chair: JoAnne Uglem
- Parish Council members: Paulette Hubbard, Leslie Wiegandt, Dean Hoover, Rosemary Hoover
- Finance Council: Tom McMahon, Tim Pietron
Sacraments
The parish website highlights its sacramental life through a dedicated page for Confirmation and First Communion 2024, and reaches the homebound and elderly through weekly nursing-home Masses at North Wood and Good Samaritan, where the Anointing of the Sick and Viaticum are available as needed.
- Confirmation and First Communion program (2024 page on parish site)
- Pastoral care of the sick at North Wood Nursing Home (Thursday Mass) and Good Samaritan Nursing Home (Friday Mass)
Clergy & Staff
The parish is led by Father K.S. Kopacz — known to his parishioners as 'Fr. Casey' — who celebrated his 30th ordination anniversary with the parish in June. Fr. Riley Durkin, connected to the parish, was ordained a priest at the Cathedral of St. Mary in Fargo on August 8, 2020 and celebrated his First Mass at St. Stephen's the next day, August 9, 2020. The lay staff keeps the rectory, church and grounds running smoothly.
- Pastor: Rev. K.S. Kopacz (Fr. Casey)
- Secretary: Beth Andrys (since May 5, 2024, succeeding Teresa Gorman)
- Sacristans: Teresa Gorman, Mary Ann Smith
- Director of Religious Education: Stacy Beckel
- Website Manager: Sheila Denault — [email protected]
- Custodian: Connie Larson
- Snow Removal / Parking Lots: Dwight Stark
- Lawn Care: Sam Sather
Visit, Contact & Travel Resources
St. Stephen's makes itself easy to reach by phone and offers practical tools for traveling Catholics who find themselves in the Larimore area on Sunday. The parish website links directly to catholicmasstime.org so visitors can locate a nearby Catholic Mass when traveling. Address, phone, fax, e-mail and mailing address are all listed on the official About page.
- Rectory & Church phone: (701) 343-2377
- Fax: (701) 343-2316
- E-mail: [email protected]
- Website manager e-mail: [email protected]
- Mailing: PO Box 778, Larimore, ND 58251-0778
- Physical: 311 W. Front Street, Larimore
- catholicmasstime.org — travel Mass-finder linked from parish site
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Rev. K.S. Kopacz
Current pastor; parishioners celebrated his 30th ordination anniversary in June with refreshments served after both weekend Masses in the church basement.