PARISH HISTORY

The history of Saint Benedict Parish begins in 1913 when Fr. Odilo Alt, O.S.B., a monk of Saint Joseph Abbey, was on an excursion on horseback from the Abbey and found himself lost.  He stopped at a local farm, explained who he was, and asked for directions back to the Abbey. Before giving him directions, the farmer said he was Catholic but had never been baptized nor instructed in the faith.  He also told Fr. Odilo that there were others like him “to the North.” Fr. Odilo asked the farmer to get the word out that he would be coming back. Upon returning to the monastery, he reported his adventure to the abbot of the monastery, Abbot Paul Schaeble, O.S.B., and said: “I think there are Catholics out there.” The abbot’s response was: “go and see.” Thus began Fr. Odilo’s missionary activity, aided by other monks in the Abbey. 

In mid-November 1914 the first Mass in the area then known as Liberty Settlement was celebrated at the home of Mrs. Point by Fr. Lawrence Scheidle, O.S.B.  In 1917 a small chapel was built for $750 along a small dirt road known as Smith Road on land donated by Mrs. Mary Conway. St. Benedict Chapel was blessed on November 12, 1917, as a mission station of St. Joseph Abbey.  During the 1920s and ’30s Mass was celebrated only every other Sunday with the priest alternating between the St. Benedict Mission and the St. John the Baptist Mission in Folsom. The average attendance at this time was between ten to twenty people but, as time went on the attendance grew. 

In 1970 St. Benedict Mission had grown sufficiently to be raised to the status of a full parish.  On June 6, 1970, Archbishop Phillip Hannan erected St. Benedict Parish, entrusted the pastoral care of the parish to the monks of St. Joseph Abbey, and appointed Fr. Bernard Gorman, O.S.B. as the parish’s first pastor.  The present pastor is Fr. Charles Benoit, O.S.B. 

St. Benedict has always been a welcoming parish, inviting others to join our faith community.  This openness is appropriate since our patron, St. Benedict, is also designated as the patron saint of hospitality.  This welcoming spirit has resulted in growth over the years. The 1979 parish directory listed membership at 170 families and by the time of the 1995 directory, that number had risen to 350 families. The growth meant that they had outgrown the original chapel and in 1989 land was purchased and a new church was built on Smith Road a short distance from the original chapel. Archbishop Francis Schulte blessed the new St. Benedict Church on September 17, 1989.  In 1997 the St. Scholastica Catechetical Center was added to the parish plant, and in 2008 the trailer that had served as the rectory for the pastor was replaced by a permanent brick rectory. In 2013 the church was expanded, doubling its size, and in 2017 the Catechetical Center was expanded. The parish has now grown to over 700 families. 

Throughout our history, parishioners have arrived and departed, have been born, baptized, confirmed, nourished with the Eucharist, had their sins forgiven, entered the sacrament of matrimony, and in faith have been called out of this world to share the eternal life with our Lord Jesus Christ.  We have shared joys and sorrow, struggle and success, and survived Hurricane Katrina all of which has joined us together as a parish family. The story of St. Benedict’s is made up of our personal stories and the legacy of our commitments of service, and the gift of self.  What makes our parish successful is the willingness of parishioners to work together as a family through the various ministries, services, and organizations we provide. The faith commitment of those who have gone before us has given us a firm foundation on which to build. What we build now will be our gift to future generations of our parish family. We are then, rooted in the past, committed to the present, and open to God’s grace for whatever the future might bring. We are growing, come grow with us!