The population on the sign heading into Regal, Minnesota, was 54. Baptized at St. Anthony Parish there, Kelli Kleinshnitz attended Mass with her family — aunts, uncles, cousins and grandparents included. She recalls there were very few ministries where her family did not participate and there was rarely a weekend she was not an altar serve
Kelli Kleinschnitz recalls these memories fondly while also speaking with certainty when she says, “I owe all my life and all I love about it to my small parish closing and burning down.”

According to 2003-04 data the parish was comprised of 53 families or 138 total parishioners. Kleinschnitz recently looked through their old parish directory.
“It was about four pages, and my [extended] family was 40% of the parishioners,” she laughed.
She recalls some family members regularly serving as ministers at Mass and once she became an altar server, she rarely sat in the pew.
“That’s the beauty of a small parish — you can be hyper-involved in all things,” Kleinschnitz said.
Since the New Ulm Diocese, where the parish was located, experienced a decline in priests, smaller parishes were being reviewed for closure. The process was expedited for St. Anthony’s when their current pastor, Father Fred Fink, announced his retirement.
Kleinschnitz vividly remembers the emotion her family felt and recalls her parents’ involvement in the parish council meetings to decide the next steps for the parish.
Two options were presented: closure, or converting the building to an oratory where the status of “church” would be maintained but would not host regular Sunday Mass.
Kleinschnitz attended a town hall meeting for the parish in the spring of 2005 and recalled seeing a couple there whose presence and involvement were, in her mind, a steady pillar in the parish.
“The husband said, ‘Why would we close and lose all this?’” she said.
“I remember being a young kid and feeling the raw emotion of it and thinking, ‘Gosh, maybe this is a really bad thing and we should be really angry.’”
At that same meeting,fearing a lack of participation and questioning the financial feasibility of transitioning to and sustaining an oratory, parishioners voted to close the parish.
“I remember my mom encouraging me by saying, ‘Jesus is in the next town over, too. We’re Catholic here and they’re Catholic over there,’” Kleinschnitz said.
St. Anthony’s final Mass was held in July of 2005. Walking down the aisle as an altar server at the end of Mass, she recalls tears rolling down her cheeks while at the same time feeling “sent” as light shone through the open doors of the church.
The closure meant sacred items would be given new homes in other parishes, and eventually the decision was made to burn the building to preserve the sacredness of the holy space, giving the local fire department an opportunity to use the building as a live drill site.
Parishioners, including Kleinschnitz, watched as the church was lit and burned.
Following the closure, her family opted to become part of the community of St. Louis in Paynesville. In her new community, Kleinschnitz started to experience her faith in new ways.
“What really impacted my life was when my mom got invited into a group at the parish that made a huge impact on her,” she said. “My mom realized they were not just coming [to church as part of their routine]. There was something deeper in their relationship with Jesus.”
At the time, Kleinschnitz was in her early teens. She witnessed her mom regularly attending adoration and digging deeper into the Catholic faith. As her mom learned, she shared it with Kleinschnitz.
“For me, all this registered as the truth,” she said.
Shortly after making the switch to St. Louis, Kleinschnitz felt welcomed into the community. She was profoundly moved by the invitation to and her attendance at Central Minnesota TEC, a three-day retreat weekend based on the Paschal Mystery. There, Kleinschnitz said she “experienced authentic Catholic friendship.”
Kleinschnitz went on to Franciscan University of Steubenville, Ohio, which further enriched her faith. There, she met her husband, Thomas. Earning a degree in special education, she started out as a teacher and then felt called to ministry in the Church.
“I realized I didn’t just want to teach and develop plans. I wanted to teach about our faith,” she said.
Teaching led to part time work in youth ministry which led to parish ministry. Kleinschnitz, mother of six, now serves as the faith formation director for the Holy Saints Area Catholic Community, comprised of the parishes of St. Mary Help of Christians in St. Augusta, Holy Cross in Pearl Lake, St. Wendelin in Luxemburg, St Nicholas in St. Nicholas and St. Anne in Kimball.
She doesn’t know how her life would have unfolded had St. Anthony remained open, but she knows a few things with certainty.
“I sit here with cherished memories and gratitude for my small rural parish, though there was grief and sadness in its closing. Little did I know the Holy Spirit had much more in store for my personal relationships, community and authentically living my faith,” Kleinschnitz said.