St. Patrick Catholic Church was established on September 16, 1901, in Enderlin, North Dakota, which lies on the banks of the Maple River. Mass was first offered here in 1882 by Rev. James A. Stephen, who traveled by train and buckboard from Moorhead. It remained a station church from 1884 to 1898, and Rev. J.B. McDonald supervised the building of the church that opened its doors in 1901.
With the opening of the Dakota Territory to farmers, merchants, and businessmen in 1885, this area soon had many new arrivals. Rail arrived in Enderlin in 1891 by way of the Minneapolis, St. Paul and Sault Saint Marie Railroad. Their western division was headquartered in Enderlin. The round house brought many good paying jobs to the area. The first workers were mostly Irish immigrants, and in a short time St. Patrick Catholic Church was built on land granted to them by the Railroad.
There were 30 families in 1906, and on June 28, 1961 the church had its largest Confirmation group of 80 young people and adults confirmed.
After 14 years in Enderlin, in 1991 Msgr. John Anderson moved to St. Philips Catholic Church in Hankinson. Fr. Ben Bachmeier returned for one year. Fr. Paul Duchschere served the parish from 1992-1994.
Fr. Raymond Courtright served here from 1994-1997. Fr. Courtright organized the high school youth for a pilgrimage to Paris, France for World Youth Day in 1998. There was much discussion regarding the crumbling foundation and replacement of the house; but this was put on hold as Fr. Courtright was assigned to the Newman Center in Grand Forks.
In 1997 Fr. James McKinney was assigned to St. Patrick's and numerous projects were completed. The demolition of the old rectory took place October 6, 1998 and during the first half of May 1999 the new house was completed.
St. Patrick's parish council was formed then, which aided in the completion of several projects. The church roof and steeple were re-shingled in the fall of 1999 and summer of 2000. In 2001 there were 84 registered families celebrating the 100 year anniversary of St. Patrick's.
Fr. John Fallon was assigned to St. Patrick's in 2002. He was in Enderlin until 2006. Msgr. Daniel Pilon served at St. Patrick's from 2006-2012. There were 94 families registered in 2007. The CCD/Religious Ed building was demolished during Msgr. Pilon's time as it needed too many costly repairs. Men's and women's' restrooms were remodeled and added to the basement.
Fr. Finnestad, pastor of St. Aloysius in Lisbon, was assigned administrator of St. Patrick's from January to June of 2012. Fr. Aerts was assigned as Administrator from June 2012 to June 2016. Because of plumbing and rainwater problems, tiling was done and a sump pump was installed. The wall and floor covering was recently replaced. The church has new carpeting and the altar sanctuary has been tiled. It is thanks to the generosity of our parishioners that we have been able to do so many improvements.
As of 2016, there are 86 registered families and Father Chris Markman, our 26th Pastor, is currently serving St. Patrick's.