The following excerpt is the conclusion to “A Century of Christianity on the Dakota Prairies” written by Fr. Albert Binder in 1970.

In July of 1965, Father Mueller was appointed pastor of the Church of the Nativity of Fargo, and Father Albert Binder took over as pastor of St. Benedict’s. The closing of St. Joseph’s school in 1966 occasioned the construction of a new parish education building and the formation of a vastly-expanded CCD program for the instruction of the children.

During the years, the complexion of the parish changed. Children of the parish intermarried with non-French and non-Catholic neighbors, and families of various different nationalities moved into the area. At the same time, the number of farms declined, so that at the present time the parish is composed of at least as many wage-earners as farmers.

Old barriers of religious differences also eroded over the years, particularly during the present decade, which saw the growth of a new ecumenical spirit. Thus, when a Catholic community formed itself into a parish in the near-by community of Kindred, it found a place of worship in the local United-Methodist Church. During the floods of 1969, the congregation of St. Benedict’s celebrated its Sunday morning Mass in the Horace Lutheran Church.

Thus, a century has passed, and the parish faces the new challenges posed by a new century, as it seeks to bear witness to the continuing presence of Christ in His world.

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