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St. Cornelius Catholic Church in Dryden, MichiganSaint Cornelius Catholic Church in Dryden Michigan
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Welcome to St. Cornelius Catholic Church!

Welcome to St. Cornelius. Welcome to Dryden: “Where Friendliness is Served Country Style.” St. Cornelius Church is located in the Southeastern corner of Lapeer County, Michigan. The parish is included within the Thumb Vicariate, in the Northwest region of the Catholic Archdiocese of Detroit. In recent times the parish has grown, while at the same time, it has maintained the spirit of hospitality that its people have been known for. To learn more about our patron saint, or about the work, mission and ministries of this church, take a gander and look through the website. If you can’t find what you’re looking for, give us a call. We’d be happy to help you.  

Parish Mission Statement

Dedicated to Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
Guided in all things by the Holy Spirit.
To the Glory of God the Father. 
 
St. Cornelius Parish: A Brief History

Our parish was formed in 1957.  The first Masses were held in theStatue of St. Cornelius upstairs room of the current Dryden Public Library.  The original church building was constructed the following year and is now our multi-purpose room, Dunn Hall.  In 1986, we completed an addition of 2400 square feet, our present church, to keep up with our growing enrollment. 

After 38 years as a mission church, we were pleased to become a full-fledged parish on September 25, 1995. At that time, we happily welcomed Father Wayne G. Ureel as our pastor and constructed a modest home for him next to the church grounds. The following year we finished a large garage for his truck and for additional storage. A fourth weekend Mass was added in September 1997. In 1998, Deacon Don Cox was welcomed to the parish.

Over the years, our membership has grown to more than 700 families, causing growing pains in many areas of parish life. There are activities going on each night of the week, often two or three at the same time. As a result, a 3,000-square-foot building was built in 2001. It houses administrative and Family Faith Formation offices and two meeting rooms.

Father Dunn retired in 1995 but served the parish until May 2001. Father Matthew Kafka joined our parish in June, 2001 as a weekend associate and has recently moved into the area to be more a part of our parish family. Father Charles Ratnasamy became Associate Pastor in 2008.

Plans for a new and larger church began in 1997. Over time many adjustments had to be made, and the project, the result of tireless effort by the Building Committee, underwent several changes due to a variety of circumstances well beyond anyone’s control.

A Building Fund was formally established in the fall of 2001 and continues to this day. Everyone, including new parishioners, is encouraged to make a financial contribution to help with ongoing expenses of the new church. Bequests and year-end tax donations are additional ways to support the Building Fund.

Groundbreaking took place on July 8, 2007. Construction began in earnest, although many hurdles had to be overcome. Parishioners responded generously and finally, after many hours of work by construction crew and parishioners, Bishop Flores dedicated our new church on February 8, 2009!

Since July 2007, St. Cornelius has been clustered with the parishes of St. John the Evangelist, Allenton and St. Nicholas, Capac. Father Wayne is pastor of all three sites.  More information about Mass times can be found on our INFO page.


To find out more about St. Cornelius our Patron Saint,  click HERE .