St. Mary's Church, Cottonwood
History of the Church of St. Mary's:
St. Mary's history began in 1902 when Monsignor James Guillot of Marshall dreamed of beginning a new mission parish in Cottonwood. He visited Cottonwood and started making plans. The parish was born into legal existence on May 19, 1902, when it was incorporated according to the laws of Minnesota and the name given was "The Church of St. Mary of Cottonwood, Minnesota." Joseph Mero, a local businessman, and Thomas Cerpeski, section boss for the railroad, were appointed trustees and a committee was formed, but they were faced with many problems and nothing progressed as planned - so for the next 50 years, St. Mary's existed in name only.
After World War II, there was an influx of Catholics into the Cottonwood area and this encouraged Archbishop Murray of St. Paul to renew the plans of organizing a parish in Cottonwood. Fr. Richard Zwicky of Green Valley was given Cottonwood as a mission and planning began once again. In May of 1953, seven acres of land on the southwestern edge of Cottonwood were purchased for a total amount of $2,100 as the site for the new church.
On June 23, 1953, Fr. Adalbert Cepress was appointed as the first resident pastor for St. Mary's. Soon after assuming his duties as pastor, preparations for the building of the new church began. The first trustees appointed were Joseph Pilotte and Harry Bouressa. Shortly thereafter, a building committee was appointed and approximately 80 families made up the charter membership of St. Mary's.
As no formal building existed at the time, arrangements were made to hold Sunday Masses in the American Legion Hall and the first Mass was held on Sunday, July 5, 1953 with the celebrant being Fr. Cepress.
Groundbreaking for the new church was held on June 10, 1954. A 35' x 70' structure was planned with seating for 208. Included in the upstairs floor plan was a sacristy, room for the choir, and a kitchen in the basement. The cost was to be about $36,000. The cornerstone ceremony took place on November 14, 1954 with Monsignor Rudolph Neudecker, Pastor of Holy Redeemer parish of Marshall officiating. Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve that year was celebrated in the basement of the uncompleted church.
The first Mass celebrated in the completed church was on Easter Sunday - April 3, 1955. The Dedication of the Church of St. Mary was held Sunday, July 10, 1955 with His Excellency, Most Rev. James J. Byrne, auxiliary bishop of the St. Paul Archdiocese serving as the officiant of the 10:00 a.m. Mass. The Church was filled to capacity with overflow crowd waiting outside. A chicken dinner was served to celebrate following Mass. Many thank you comments were made that day, including special thank you to our neighboring parish of St. Andrew's in Granite Falls for donating the outside bell.
In January, 1962, St. Mary's Cemetery was established in accordance with the laws of the state. Lots were platted and a road was constructed to lead to the cemetery.
In the mid-60's, a building committee was formed and plans were put into place to construct a rectory on the church property. The structure plan was to include pastoral housing, facilities for the religious education program, and additional dining room space. Groundbreaking for construction took place on April 9, 1967. The new teaching center and rectory were completed by the fall of 1967 with a cost of $56,000. An open house of the facility was held in conjunction with the fall festival, which drew well over 1,000 people.
Over the years, improvements were made to the church and rectory along the way - several different interior painting projects were completed, landscaping was updated, a new piano was purchased, and carpet was replaced. As our parish began to outgrown its space, in 1999, plans began to build an addition to the existing church. A handicap accessible ramp was built in 2001 and a parking lot was added to the back of the church. Plans were made to add on a new worship area and dining space in the basement. Groundbreaking for this project was held on April 23, 2002 and construction began shortly thereafter. The now existing worship area was completed in the fall of 2002 at a cost of $450,000. St. Mary's Mortgage Burning Dinner was held Sunday, August 28, 2011 in the Parish Hall after Mass. A catered meal was served to all parishioners free of charge to celebrate the early pay-off of the mortgage in full for the remodel and Church addition.
The summer of 2012 brought about the remodeling of our kitchen. Remodeling expenses totaling $61,242.55 plus an additional $13,866.06 in equipment and appliance costs brought the complete cost of the project to $75,108.61. Donations from various groups and parishioners enabled St. Mary's to complete this project without taking out a loan.
Outdoor project updates occurred November of 2013 - August of 2014. Two small, older sheds were sold and replaced with one large shed. Total cost for this project was $25,171.89. Once again, St. Mary's parishioners came through. No loan was needed and the shed was paid for. At that same time, the rectory rood was re-shingled.
In 2015, St. Mary's received a new organ, which came with a $23,000 price tag. Funds to purchase the organ were obtained from donations of our generous parishioners. We celebrated Mass with music from the new organ for Easter, 2015.
After World War II, there was an influx of Catholics into the Cottonwood area and this encouraged Archbishop Murray of St. Paul to renew the plans of organizing a parish in Cottonwood. Fr. Richard Zwicky of Green Valley was given Cottonwood as a mission and planning began once again. In May of 1953, seven acres of land on the southwestern edge of Cottonwood were purchased for a total amount of $2,100 as the site for the new church.
On June 23, 1953, Fr. Adalbert Cepress was appointed as the first resident pastor for St. Mary's. Soon after assuming his duties as pastor, preparations for the building of the new church began. The first trustees appointed were Joseph Pilotte and Harry Bouressa. Shortly thereafter, a building committee was appointed and approximately 80 families made up the charter membership of St. Mary's.
As no formal building existed at the time, arrangements were made to hold Sunday Masses in the American Legion Hall and the first Mass was held on Sunday, July 5, 1953 with the celebrant being Fr. Cepress.
Groundbreaking for the new church was held on June 10, 1954. A 35' x 70' structure was planned with seating for 208. Included in the upstairs floor plan was a sacristy, room for the choir, and a kitchen in the basement. The cost was to be about $36,000. The cornerstone ceremony took place on November 14, 1954 with Monsignor Rudolph Neudecker, Pastor of Holy Redeemer parish of Marshall officiating. Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve that year was celebrated in the basement of the uncompleted church.
The first Mass celebrated in the completed church was on Easter Sunday - April 3, 1955. The Dedication of the Church of St. Mary was held Sunday, July 10, 1955 with His Excellency, Most Rev. James J. Byrne, auxiliary bishop of the St. Paul Archdiocese serving as the officiant of the 10:00 a.m. Mass. The Church was filled to capacity with overflow crowd waiting outside. A chicken dinner was served to celebrate following Mass. Many thank you comments were made that day, including special thank you to our neighboring parish of St. Andrew's in Granite Falls for donating the outside bell.
In January, 1962, St. Mary's Cemetery was established in accordance with the laws of the state. Lots were platted and a road was constructed to lead to the cemetery.
In the mid-60's, a building committee was formed and plans were put into place to construct a rectory on the church property. The structure plan was to include pastoral housing, facilities for the religious education program, and additional dining room space. Groundbreaking for construction took place on April 9, 1967. The new teaching center and rectory were completed by the fall of 1967 with a cost of $56,000. An open house of the facility was held in conjunction with the fall festival, which drew well over 1,000 people.
Over the years, improvements were made to the church and rectory along the way - several different interior painting projects were completed, landscaping was updated, a new piano was purchased, and carpet was replaced. As our parish began to outgrown its space, in 1999, plans began to build an addition to the existing church. A handicap accessible ramp was built in 2001 and a parking lot was added to the back of the church. Plans were made to add on a new worship area and dining space in the basement. Groundbreaking for this project was held on April 23, 2002 and construction began shortly thereafter. The now existing worship area was completed in the fall of 2002 at a cost of $450,000. St. Mary's Mortgage Burning Dinner was held Sunday, August 28, 2011 in the Parish Hall after Mass. A catered meal was served to all parishioners free of charge to celebrate the early pay-off of the mortgage in full for the remodel and Church addition.
The summer of 2012 brought about the remodeling of our kitchen. Remodeling expenses totaling $61,242.55 plus an additional $13,866.06 in equipment and appliance costs brought the complete cost of the project to $75,108.61. Donations from various groups and parishioners enabled St. Mary's to complete this project without taking out a loan.
Outdoor project updates occurred November of 2013 - August of 2014. Two small, older sheds were sold and replaced with one large shed. Total cost for this project was $25,171.89. Once again, St. Mary's parishioners came through. No loan was needed and the shed was paid for. At that same time, the rectory rood was re-shingled.
In 2015, St. Mary's received a new organ, which came with a $23,000 price tag. Funds to purchase the organ were obtained from donations of our generous parishioners. We celebrated Mass with music from the new organ for Easter, 2015.
Who was St. Mary?
Mary is a woman admired for her bravery and loved for her devotion to God. She walked a difficult path, knowing how costly her submission would be. The virgin birth of her son, Jesus, defied scientific logic. Mary is recognized most as the mother to God’s only Son. But how much do we know about the details of her life?
God chose Mary for what could be arguably the most important job in history – bringing our Savior Jesus Christ into the world. She was the perfect unlikely choice, which made her story even more remarkable. We know the angel Gabriel visited Mary to bring her the news of God’s plan. She would give birth, even though she wasn’t married yet. At that time, Joseph had already asked Mary to be his wife. But the two would soon embark on a life-changing journey. There is so much we can learn from Mary’s walk of obedience! |
Holy Redeemer Catholic Church
503 West Lyon Marshall, MN 56258 507-532-5711 Weekend Service Times Saturday Vigil: 5:00pm Sunday: 8:00am, 10:00am Full Schedule including other locations |
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