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January 7, 2021The former mother church of the diocese has been restorted to its rightful place as the Pro-Cathedral of St. Mary.
It began on the corner of Main Avenue and Mandan Street in west Bismarck—the site of the first Catholic Church in the Dakota Territory’s bustling city. Construction on the Church of the Immaculate Conception (as it was first dedicated) began in 1874.
By 1890, the parish was flourishing. Soon, the need arose for a larger church and land was purchased on the corner of 8th and Broadway to build a new church. The church was completed and dedicated in 1898 at a cost of $12,000. This is the present church members attend today.
It would be fitting to call St. Mary’s the mother church of the diocese. On March 21, 1910, Pope St. Pius X established the Diocese of Bismarck. On that same day, the Holy Father also named Vincent Wehrle as the bishop. He had been serving as the abbot of the Assumption Abbey in Richardton. He selected St. Mary’s as the pro-cathedral, a provisional cathedral until a permanent one could be built. The pro-cathedral served as the bishop’s church for over 30 years until the Cathedral of the Holy Spirit was completed in August 1945.
In a letter to St. Mary’s parishioners this fall, Bishop Kagan wrote, “Even after Bishop Vincent Ryan completed the diocese’s Cathedral of the Holy Spirit on Raymond Street, St. Mary’s continued to hold the title of pro-cathedral. That title never lapses, and it distinguishes St. Mary Parish from every other parish in the diocese. While that specific title fell out of use over time, the fact that St. Mary Parish is our diocese’s pro-cathedral remains and the parish stands to this day as the standard bearer of the Catholic faith in the Diocese of Bismarck.”
The Pro-Cathedral of St. Mary is proud to be serving the heart of Bismarck since 1877.
Some might ask why resume using the name as part of the parish title now after all these years. The pastor, Fr. Jared Johnson, noted that retaining the pro-cathedral title as part of the parish name is a clear reminder to parishioners and visitors alike the importance of the role the parish served in the history of the diocese.
As stated in a document providing the history of the pro-cathedral, “Having been the home of the first bishop of our diocese is a tremendous honor. Because we were the Pro-Cathedral, the bishop also served as the official pastor of our parish during those years. Adding the title Pro-Cathedral to our parish name points to the history and tradition that has been a part of our parish for over one hundred years. It also allows us to continue to tell our history and share our story, namely, that our parish had a foundational role in the establishment and growth of the Catholic Church in western North Dakota.”
Even though the name change doesn’t officially change the day-to-day life of the parish, it’s a concrete reminder of the rich history of the diocese’s oldest parish. It’s a testament to the establishment of faithful witness of the people of Western North Dakota dating back to before statehood.