Brainerd Catholic Events
Lenten Adoration Solemn Closing
Please join us for the conclusion of Brainerd Catholic's 40 days of perpetual Lenten Adoration.
Wednesday, April 1st, 11:00 pm, St. Andrew's Church.
The Blessing of Easter foods
The Blessing of the Easter Basket containing the food for the first meal of Easter has been a beloved Catholic ritual for centuries among families of Eastern European origin, who enjoy its rich symbolism. On Holy Saturday morning, families prepare their Easter Baskets and fill them with items that symbolize the Christian significance of Easter.
The custom of blessing Easter foods arose from the strict Lenten fasting of the past, when meat, eggs, fats, and other foods were forbidden during Lent. Easter was thus greeted with great joy as the day when Christ arose and when fasts were ended. The Church’s joy and thanksgiving were expressed in this custom of blessing the foods for the first meal of Easter.
Traditionally, the baskets are filled with: decorated hardboiled eggs (representing Christ’s Resurrection); lamb-shaped butter or sugar (representing Christ as the “Lamb of God”); bread (reminding us that Jesus is the “Bread of Life”); meats, such as ham (symbolic of great joy and abundance), sausage (symbolic of God’s favor and generosity), smoked bacon (symbolic of the overabundance of God’s mercy), or lamb (representing Christ as the “Lamb of God”); salt (symbolic of prosperity and justice, and reminding us that we are “the salt of the earth”); cheese (symbolizing the moderation Christians should have at all times); horseradish, pepper, oil, and vinegar (symbolic of the Passion of Christ and the bitter herbs of the Passover); and wine (symbolic of the Blood of the Lord).
Lastly, the basket is covered with white linen, to symbolize the shroud in which Christ’s body was wrapped.
This long-honored tradition is both deeply symbolic and delightfully heart-warming. Children are eager to help prepare and decorate the family basket and proudly carry it into the church on Holy Saturday for the blessing. Some families prepare specially decorated baskets for their young children, filled with fruits, chocolate bunnies, or other treats to be blessed.
We invite you and your family to bring your basket(s) to St. Francis on Holy Saturday at 10 a.m. Come and share in this beloved custom and make this the start of a new Easter tradition with your own family!
-Kathy Vansickle
Red Cross Blood Drive
The next St. Mathias Church-sponsored Red Cross Blood drive is scheduled for
Friday, April 10th!
Click here and enter zip code 56449 to make your appointment!
2026 Run For The Son - Faithful 5K and 10K
2026 Run For The Son Faithful 5K and 10K
Save The Date! The 2026 Run For The Son - Faithful 5K and 10K is set for September 26, 2026. Sign up to receive updates below.
40 Hours Devotion
Brainerd Catholic 18th Annual 40 Hours Devotion March 19-21 at St. Francis Church
What is “40 Hours Devotion”? It’s an ancient and ever new Catholic tradition in which we’ll come to visit and adore the Lord present in the Most Holy Sacrament of the Altar. We’ll have Exposition of the Eucharist for 40 hours straight, even all through the night. In His Presence we will have the opportunity to hear a powerful speaker, to participate in an evening of praise and worship, to join in communal prayers and to simply open our hearts to Him in private prayer.
Thursday March 19, 2026
5:30 p.m. Mass with Fr. Brandon
Wine and Hors d'oeuvres following ceremony
7:00 p.m. Talk with Fr. Brandon & Naomi Ringhand
Friday March 20, 2026
8:15 a.m. Morning Mass
9:30 a.m. Morning Prayer
12:00 p.m. Scriptural Rosary
3:00 p.m. Divine Mercy Chaplet and Confessions w/Fr. Brandon
4:30 p.m. Evening Prayer
7:00 p.m. Talk with Fr. Brandon & Naomi Ringhand
Praise and Worship follows
Saturday March 21, 2026
9:30 a.m. Morning Prayer
12:00 p.m. Franciscan Rosary
4:30 p.m. Evening Prayer
6:30 p.m. Talk with Fr. Brandon & Naomi Ringhand
Closing Ceremony and Benediction Follows
Light Refreshments
Fr. Brandon Moravitz
Pastor of Holy Spirit (Virginia), Resurrection (Eveleth), St. Joseph (Gilbert), and Our Lady of Hope (Aurora)
Naomi Ringhand
Bethany House, Marquette School, Youth Ministry at Lumen Christi Mission Field
Former Totus Tuus Missionary at Roman Catholic Diocese of Duluth
Worked at Steubenville Conferences
2nd Annual Couple's Dinner
Brainerd Catholic’s Annual Couple’s Dinner
Celebrate Love and Faith at Brainerd Catholic’s annual Couple’s Dinner. On Friday, February 13th, married couples are invited to a special evening of fellowship, enrichment, and prayer at St. Andrew's Social Hall. The Couple’s Dinner is an event designed to celebrate the beauty and sanctity of marriage while providing couples with tools to grow closer in faith and love. The evening will begin at 5:30pm with a social hour, allowing couples to mingle and enjoy fellowship in a relaxed and welcoming atmosphere. Following this, the program will commence at 6:30pm featuring engaging content that uplifts and inspires and a delicious dinner.
Through thoughtful discussions and moments of prayer, couples will have the opportunity to reflect on their shared journey and strengthen their bond. Whether you've been married for a few years or many, this event is a meaningful way to celebrate your relationship.
To ensure a spot, participants are encouraged to RSVP by February 9th. Reservations can be made conveniently online at brainerdcatholic.org/events/couplesdinner or by calling the St. Andrew’s & St. Mathias Parish Office at (218) 829-1340.
Mark your calendars for this enriching event, and join other couples in honoring and deepening the gift of marriage.
St. Mathias Blood Drive
The next St. Mathias Church-sponsored Red Cross Blood drive is scheduled for Friday, December 12th! Click here to make your appointment!
https://www.redcrossblood.org/give.html/drive-results?zipSponsor=StMathias
Grateful Hearts, Giving Hands
Join us as our parish families come together for a Celebration of Thanksgiving on Sunday, November 16th at 10:00am at St. Andrew’s Church. We will begin with Mass, followed by a time of food, music, and fellowship in the Social Hall. Come enjoy good company, share in conversation, and celebrate the many blessings of our faith community.
During the gathering, we will provide Parish Ministry updates highlighting our ongoing efforts to serve one another and our wider community. Children are invited to participate in a special Craft Corner. All are welcome!
“Give Thanks to the Lord, who is good, whose love endures forever.” 1 Chronicles 16:34.
Information Session: Cambodia Mission Trip
Come and learn more about an opportunity to participate in a mission trip to Cambodia!
Deer Hunters Mass
The St. Mathias annual Deer Hunter Mass will take place on Saturday, November 8th at 8:00pm. All are welcome! St. Hubert, pray for us.
Annual Artisan Fair at All Saints!
Artisans needed to supply baked goods, canned and handcrafted items.
Volunteers needed to help the fair run smoothly
Register below!
November 9th at All Saints Catholic Church 9:00am-3:00pm.
16898 Carlson Lake Rd, Brainerd, MN 56401
Artisans please contact Sue at 651-336-9242
Volunteers needed to help set up please contact Bonnie Staples at 218-892-0308
St. Andrew’s & St. Mathias Altar Server Formation
Are you a current Altar Server?
Have you ever wondered what it's all about?
Are you feeling called to serve the Lord at Mass?
Join us!
A night with Kim Zember
Brainerd Speaker Series
A Night With Kim Zember
How Does God Love People Who Identify as LGBTQ?
Kim Zember speaks internationally about the love and freedom she has found from leaving a homosexual lifestyle. She finds great joy in sharing about the continued restoration she finds in Jesus and the peace and fulfillment she finds in Him. When Kim is not at home in Dallas,TX, she is most likely found at her mission base in Ethiopia surrounded by all her children in her ministry, Unforgotten Faces.
Speaker, Author, Missionary... but really just another human being longing for love and belonging, who has found it and more, and now gives her life to help others find it too.
I find great joy in sharing the love, freedom and continued restoration I find through a personal relationship with Jesus. I continue to find peace and fulfillment in being “single”, with my heart and soul set on the Lord, focused on the call He has on my life, and rooted in my identity as a beloved daughter of God my Father.
I have struggled with sexuality my whole life as well as so many other temptations that never really filled me. I’ve learned that we never “arrive” and that life - no matter who you are - is a constant invitation to grow and be transformed.
I am passionate about seeing the Church be a safe place for people to come and be real about where they are at in their lives and be met with such a compassionate love that they feel like they are “home."
Please join me on October 29, 2025 at the Gichi-ziibi Center for the Arts in Brainerd, Minnesota. The 1.5 hour program is directed toward high school students but this is a topic that touches everyone in some way so anyone is welcome to attend. Learn how we love people well and love them within the context of the scripture. Following the program there will be an open Q & A with Kim to answer more questions that anyone may have.
Oktoberfest
Join us on the Feast of St. Francis for Oktoberfest, in the St. Francis of the Lakes School Yard.
Msgr. Buh Men’s & Boy’s Pilgrimage
On September 13, 2025, Men & Boys from across the Diocese are invited to walk in pilgrimage from St. Francis Catholic Church in Brainerd to St. Francis Xavier Chapel at Crow Wing State Park. This route honors the patriarch of the Diocese of Duluth, Msgr. Joseph Buh who in November of 1864 joined the Mission of Fr. Francis Pierz in Crow Wing. Msgr. Buh would go on to establish the Parish of St. Francis of Assisi in 1872 in Brainerd. During his time in Minnesota, Msgr. Buh would go on to establish 56 other parishes in the Diocese of Duluth.
Walking in the footsteps of Msgr. Buh from the parish that he founded 150 years ago to the mission chapel that first bought him to Minnesota, we will “take up the Cross” and offer prayers and sacrifice for the conversion of this land that Msgr. Buh dedicated his life to and reparation for those sins and offenses committed against Our Lord by those whom He loves.
Registration Below.
Tentative Schedule of Events:
7:30am Begin with Mass at St. Francis Church*
8:00am Leave from St. Francis toward Crow Wing
12:00am Break for Lunch (Will be set up at halfway point)
2:00pm Arrive at St. Francis Xavier Chapel at Crow Wing State Park
2:15pm Shuttle Back to St. Francis
*As St. Francis Church has been established as a pilgrimage site for the 2025 Jubilee year, all who devoutly visit this site will obtain an indulgence. Conditions outlined here: https://dioceseduluth.org/jubilee-year
Registration
There is no fee to register, however a $10-$20 donation to help cover cost of food and shuttle would be welcome.
Learn more about Msgr. Joseph Buh at: https://josephbuh.org/
