New St. Kateri Tekakwitha church building dedicated in Bay Mills

The U.P. Catholic

“When the church was being dedicated, I was crying, I was very emotional,” Fr. Dominic Yamoah Afrifa, pastor of St. Kateri Tekakwitha in Bay Mills, said. “That tells you how joyful I am now. What seems to have been dead is now resurrected.” Fr. Afrifa also serves as pastor of Holy Family Mission, Barbeau and St. Isaac Jogues Mission, Sault Ste. Marie.
Following the devastating fire in May of 2021 that resulted in the loss of St. Kateri Tekakwitha Mission in Bay Mills, the community celebrated the dedication of the newly rebuilt church building on Aug. 11, 2024. The groundbreaking for the new building took place in June of 2023. Bishop John Doerfler was the principal celebrant of the dedication Mass, and concelebrated with priests from across the diocese, including Fr. Afrifa, with deacons assisting.

“The dedication of a church is setting aside a place in perpetuity for divine worship, highlighting the importance of the worship of God in our life,” said Bishop Doerfler.
During the time it took to rebuild, parishioners were able to continue attending Mass at St. Francis Xavier Parish in Brimley while waiting for the new church building to be completed.

The dedication began outside the building as Bishop Doerfler passed the keys for the building to Fr. Afrifa and asked him to unlock the doors. Lifelong parishioner Wanda Perron spoke at the beginning of Mass on some details about the new church. “This church is specially designed to welcome all,” Perron said. “It is the reason why there is only one step in the whole church. That can be found at the sanctuary, which signifies God being above all of us and the need to come to him.” Perron also remarked on the arrangement of the pews. “The pews’ arrangement speaks of the need for us to open our hearts to the grace of God which is in abundance in his presence.”

The church dedication included the consecration of a new altar, which was anointed by Bishop Doerfler and dressed with the altar cloths by women of the parish as well as Wanda Donnay, sister of the late former pastor of St. Kateri, Fr. (Bro.) John Hascall, OFM, Cap. Donnay is a parishioner at St. Francis Xavier in Brimley. The Mass also included an anointing of 12 points on the walls of the church done by the bishop.

Fr. Afrifa said that he strongly believes he is not the only person who is happy about the rebuilding of the church. “We could not fit into the church,” he said. The pews were at full capacity with attendees, and some had to sit in the gathering space. He added, “Some people could not be here and stay for the long period for the dedication, but they were here [the previous day]. They came to view what we have … and they are proud we have this church back.” Fr. Afrifa’s parents, John Asante and Ernestina Oduro, were present at the dedication, having traveled over 5,000 miles from Ghana to attend. Fr. Joseph Adu-Owusu Agyemang also traveled from Ghana to attend. He also serves as Justice of the High Court in Ghana.

Parishioners Dianne Compo and Cindy Wilson reflected on the occasion of the dedication and how they felt being able to attend Mass at their own home parish once again. Wilson said, “We’re so excited to have our church back, finally. It’s been a long haul … The part that’s really hard are the things that we lost and it’s not just things—it was the traditional items that we had within the church to honor Our Lord and the Virgin Mary, made by the Native Americans: the needle crafts, the carvings. That’s the hard part.”

Compo said after the dedication Mass, “Today is homecoming. That’s what it feels like to me, that we are now back home. We have been gone visiting for a long time and now we’re back, and we belong here. Our roots are here.”

Perron shared her thoughts on the dedication at the reception following the Mass. “I’m just very glad,” she said. “It’s been a long time coming. We did go to [St. Francis Xavier, Brimley] and they opened their doors for us, but it’s nice to be in our own church, within our own community. I’ve been here my whole life—this church, the church that burned before it, the little church before that—has been a part of my whole life. You hate to see one burn, but now look what we’ve got. We’ve got a beautiful, big church.” With a smile, Perron added, “I can’t wait to go to Mass in it.”