Welcome to Mary Mother of Mercy Catholic Parish! Mary Mother of Mercy, a parish of the Diocese of Gary, was established in 2026 with the merger of Queen of All Saints, St. Mary’s, and Notre Dame—all formerly parishes located here in Michigan City. Come visit our parish and experience the inspiring worship, excellent faith formation, loving service, and generous hospitality as we seek to continue the ministry of Jesus.

St. Mary, the Immaculate Conception (founded 1867)

St. Mary’s Church began when two early Catholic communities in Michigan City—St. Ambrose, an Irish parish, and St. Mary’s, a German parish—united to form St. Mary the Immaculate Conception Parish on November 1, 1867. The Gothic-styled church is the home of beautiful artwork, which includes the Katherine Barker Memorial Altar, sculpted by Alfonso Iannelli (Art Institute of Chicago); exquisite F.X. Zettler stained glass windows from Munich, Germany; and Daprato Statuary Stations of the Cross and Crucifix from Chicago, Illinois.

In 1925 the church building was enlarged to its present size with the addition of transepts and a new sanctuary and sacristies. The principal stained glass windows depict two beautiful mysteries of the Holy Rosary, with the Ascension of Jesus into heaven on the east side and the Coronation of the Blessed Virgin Mary on the west.

Queen of All Saints (founded 1950)

In 1950, John Francis Noll, Bishop of the Diocese of Fort Wayne–South Bend, established Queen of All Saints Parish on the east side of Michigan City. Fr. John Roessler was appointed by Bishop Noll as the first Pastor of this parish, which enjoys the patronage of Mary. He was soon followed by Fr. Leonard Cross who cared for the sacramental and pastoral needs of Catholics in this section of Michigan City from 1951 until 1970.

In 1970, Bishop Andrew G. Grutka assigned Fr. Alfred Dettmer to Queen of All Saints Parish as its Pastor. Under his leadership, the current church was constructed, and the parish community continued to grow. After his retirement in 1996, Fr. Michael Yadron was assigned to the parish for seven years as the fourth Pastor of Queen of All Saints Church. He was succeeded as Pastor by Fr. Terrence Chase in 2003. Fr. Kevin Huber was assigned in 2010 and served for eleven years as pastor, overseeing the planning, construction, and financing of the Legacy Center on the parish campus. Our current Pastor, Fr. David Kime, was assigned to Queen of All Saints in 2021 and was tasked with guiding the parish through a “pastoral planning process” which resulted in the merging of St. Mary’s and later Notre Dame into Queen of All Saints Parish, renamed Mary Mother of Mercy in 2026.

Notre Dame (founded 1953)

Notre Dame Parish was started through the request of Catholic families living in Michigan City nearer the Lake who desired their own church and school. Fr. James Stapleton was recommended and appointed pastor, and on June 14, 1953, the first Mass was celebrated in a makeshift worship space on the new campus.

Archbishop Noll directed the construction of a school, relieving overpopulation at the local St. Mary’s, and Fr. Stapleton made this the principal project of the parish. The general contract was awarded to Tonn and Blank, Inc., who completed the school—built in a Georgian/Colonial Revival style—on May 6, 1955. Classes began in September of that year, with Sisters of the Holy Cross, Notre Dame, IN, teaching the school’s 145 initial students.

The parish’s second pastor, Fr. Albert Van Nevel, succeeded Fr. Stapleton in 1957; Fr. Leo Armbruster followed in 1963, overseeing the construction of a new convent, rectory, and church, the latter of which was dedicated by Bishop Grutka on May 18, 1969. After the Holy Cross Sisters ended their teaching ministry at Notre Dame in 1981, the Pastor at that time, Msgr. Edward Litot, remodeled the convent into an office and classrooms for preschool and kindergarten—the purposes the building serves today.

Fr. Keith McClellan, appointed administrator in 2005 and pastor in 2006, shepherded the Notre Dame community for twenty years until his retirement in 2025. Fr. David Kime succeeded him as Pastor and oversaw the incorporation of Notre Dame into the new Mary Mother of Mercy Catholic Parish in 2026.