In the mid-1800’s, a few Catholic families settled northeast of present day Underwood, The only contact these families had with the church was through priests assigned to St. Mary’s Church in Bismarck. For several years a priest occasionally came by stagecoach to Washburn and was brought by wagon to the area. Once the railroad reached Washburn in 1903, visits from the priests became more frequent.

By the fall of 1905, fundraising for a church began under the direction of Father Bonaventure Hansen, O.S.B. The first Mass was offered in the new church on July 15, 1906, the feast of St. Bonaventure. Total cost for the new church and furnishings was $4600. Land for a cemetery was purchased in 1909. A rectory was constructed in 1917 and St. Anne’s Altar Society was established. This group has remained a driving force for social gathering within the parish and fundraising.

The membership of our parish has fluctuated through the years, depending upon the farming economy and energy development. A new church with parish hall was built and dedicated in 1963. A new rectory was completed in 1978. Our parish has always had a dedicated core of parishioners, who have shared generously in their time, talent and treasure.


St. Bonaventure had maintained a long relationship with St. Catherine’s of Turtle Lake, and in 2003 a cluster arrangement was entered into with St. Edwin’s of Washburn, resulting in our current cluster arrangement. In July of 2013, Father Patrick Cunningham became the 19th pastor of St. Bonaventure’s and our sister parishes. Throughout the years, there were many other temporary/substitute priests who generously served our parish for varying periods of time.

The history of St. Bonaventure is a record of everyday men and women of faith and love for God who worked and sacrificed, giving of their time and money for the material & spiritual welfare of the parish. More profoundly, the history is written in the recess of the souls of the many parishioners who found comfort, faith, and fellowship in prayer and the Liturgy. Therein lies the true history of our parish.