St. Benedict, St. Benedict Parish

The St. Benedict area under the name of Hoodoo was already "on the map" by 1888. A Dominion of Canada map showing Mounted Police Stations and Patrols puts Hoodoo on the "Winter Trail" that went from Humboldt Mail and Telegraph Station to the north and northwest en route to Prince Albert and the ferries on the South Saskatchewan River.

Fr. Bruno Doerfler, OSB, along with H. J. Haskampt, M. and F. Hoeschen entered the area in the fall of 1902 in search of a new homeland for German Catholic settlers. They were pleased with what they saw.

The first masses in the area were offered by Fr. Bruno and Prior Alfred Mayer, OSB, on Jan. 11, 1903. On this occasion they named the district St. Benedict the first community in St. Peter's Colony to be named after a Benedictine saint.

St. Benedict was the third community in the new St. Peter's Colony selected for divine worship after Leofeld and Muenster. It was served from Leofeld by Fr. Meinrad Seifermann, OSB. The church was one of the German American Land Company's buildings and the priest's residence was a nearby stable. When Fr. Meinrad returned to the United States he was succeeded by Fr. Leo Ojdowski, OSB.

In 1907 St. Benedict was raised to the status of parish and was given St. Leo to the West as its mission.

In March 1909 Fr. Benedict Steigenberger, OSB, became pastor of St. Benedict. A new church and rectory were built some four miles east of the old Hoodoo location. This site is now known as "Old St. Benedict." Only the cemetery is kept up.

The church was blessed by Bishop Pascal of Prince Albert on the feast of the Ascension, May 21, 1914. He also blessed two new bells, giving them the names of Benedictus and Maria.

Fr. Rudolph Palm, OSB, was named pastor of St. Benedict in 1915. He succeeded in wiping out most of the debts incurred by building and staffing both the church and parochial school.

During Fr. Rudolph's term Berthold Imhoff, the artist who decorated the Muenster cathedral, also decorated both St. Benedict and St. Leo churches.

On Holy Saturday, 1943, St. Benedict Church burned, along with the bells, Imhoff’s paintings and pipe organ. A basement church was soon built on the site. However, during the time of the next pastor, Fr. George Brodner, OSB, a rectory was built in St. Benedict village and the country rectory was sold.

Fr. Matthew Michel, OSB, was named pastor in 1966. It was during his time that "Old St. Benedict," the country church was permanently closed. The name St. Andrew was dropped and the village church took the name St. Benedict.

Sunday collections in 1909 varied from 55 cents to $2.10, growing in the late 1920s to around $8. With the depression in the 1930s, collections again dropped to $2 to $3 a Sunday.

The two bells that were destroyed when St. Benedict church burned were purchased Nov. 12, 1914 from Winnipeg Church Goods Co., at a cost of $355.75. One bell weighed 960 and the other, 329 pounds.

A pipe organ was purchased Nov. 23, 1917. No price was given as donations for the organ were in a separate fund.

A beautiful altar was hand made by John Fenzl in 1935 36. For his labor he received the grand sum of $45 and a horse. He was a very talented and capable cabinet maker living in the Basin Lake area. Like all early settlers, the Fenzls were very poor and lived in a small house, about 16 by 20 feet. During the winter he did his carpentry work by day, with only basic, simple hand tools.

The altar was made in pieces. Every morning Mr. Fenzl would haul in the part he was working on and the lumber required. When night rolled around, he had to haul everything back outside so they had room to sleep. Later the pieces were taken to St. Andrew's church in an old car converted to a truck and assembled. It remained in the sanctuary (although not used as an altar after the priest turned to face the people) until 1989 when the sanctuary was redecorated under the guidance of Fr. Andrew Britz. It is now located in the unused choir loft.

In the early years all school age children occupied the front four or five pews in most abbacy churches, with a school teacher or nun sitting immediately behind them. This "warden" was there to see that the youngsters behaved! You didn't dare whisper to the one next to you or even turn your head to see who came late, or you got knuckles on your head or your ears pulled. No handshake of peace in those days, by golly! Of course, it goes without saying, that the boys and girls sat on opposite sides of the church.

The priest was up at the altar, endlessly muttering in Latin with his back to the congregation. The Epistle and Gospel were read twice, once in Latin and then in the vernacular. Sermons could be up to an hour in length.

The mass servers (boys only) kneeling on the lowest altar step, also with their back to the people, recited all the prayers in Latin. It took two weeks and even months of training to become an altar boy because you were required to memorize all this Latin.

If you intended to receive communion at mass, you were required to fast from food and drink from midnight. Not even a swallow of water was allowed.

No female could enter the church without her head covered. Hats or scarves had to be worn. Some women who found themselves unexpectedly in church without a head cover would place a handkerchief or Kleenex on their head.

In those days many churches did not have family pews. The men sat on the right hand side, facing the altar and women on the left. Mothers took one or two babies with them and the fathers were on the other side with older children. School aged children were together in the front benches.

Slowly, some brave souls (and they had to be brave) crossed the divide and worshipped at the side of their wives or husbands. When it was observed that the church building did not collapse, more and more followed suit, until all could sit wherever they chose.

With Vatican II, head coverings for women began to disappear. The priest faced the people at mass; mass was in the vernacular and fasting before receiving Communion was reduced to one hour, with permission to drink water at any time. Women were allowed to be rectors in church; girls started serving at mass; the choir is in front and everybody is encouraged to sing.

Earlier, no one but the priest was allowed to touch the host or chalice The. priest placed the sacred host into your opened mouth. Now lay women and men distribute communion as a common practice. When a priest is not available, lay services, including communion with hosts consecrated previously, satisfy the Sunday obligation to worship as a community.