Brainerd Catholic
St. Mathias Catholic Church
St. Mathias Catholic Church
4529 County Road 121
Fort Ripley, MN 56449
St. Mathias is one of the older parishes in the Duluth Diocese. Monsignor J.F. Buh began to visit the area in 1887 and Mass was said in the homes of the people.
Originally, St. Mathias was a French settlement, and although the parish was a mission of St. Francis Church in Brainerd, it was looked after by Father Arthur Lamothe from Belle Prairie in the St. Could Diocese. Fr. Lamothe served as pastor from 1890 until 1905. A framed church was constructed under his direction on land donated by the Gideon Matte family, and this also included the cemetery.
The first full-time pastor of St. Mathias was Fr. E. Bossus from 1905 to 1909. During his pastorate, the rectory was built in 1906. When he left there were 57 families in the parish. He was succeeded by Fr. Lamy; he stayed until 1918. He added a sacristy and two galleries built the steeple, and installed a 400-pound bell. In July 1920, Father Tertoogan, a native of Holland, started the Crosier connection with the parish until 1996.
Because of the increasing size of the parish, it was necessary to build a new and larger church. Local farmers began digging the basement in December 1923, and on Sept. 24th, 1924, Mass was offered for the first time in the basement. The first Mass offered in the newly completed Church was on Aug. 26th, 1928.
While on vacation in Holland in 1930, Fr. Tertoogan was offered the Stations of the Cross from a Jesuit Church in Rotterdam at no cost. He shipped them to St. Mathias, paying $50 for the freight. These are the Stations that now grace our church.
In August 2001 Bishop Dennis Schnurr clustered the parishes of St. Andrew’s, St. Francis, and St. Mathias under the pastorate of one priest, Fr. Seamus Walsh. In 2010, Bishop Paul Sirba clustered the parishes of St. Andrew’s, St. Francis, St. Mathias, All Saints, and St. Thomas of the Pines and appointed Fr. Tony Wroblewski as the pastor of this new cluster. Beginning in July 2014, the parishes of the Brainerd area were then reorganized into two smaller clusters, with St. Andrew’s and St. Mathias forming the “south” cluster pastored by Fr. Daniel Weiske.
In 2012, St. Mathias celebrated their 125th Anniversary. It is also home to one of the very few Catholic cemeteries in the area.
