Cross on the Prairie

In 2004, Emmons County farmer and rancher, Pete Naaden, had a vision to build a place of prayer on his land. That is to say, not merely a plan, but quite literally a vision.

Cross on the Prairie near the small town of Braddock—one of North Dakota’s most unique Catholic sites—is the result of Naaden’s remarkable story.
 
From a dream         
            
That year, Naaden suffered a stroke that left him unable to speak. During last rites at the hospital in Bismarck, his family joined together to pray the “Our Father” at his bedside. To their amazement, Naaden joined in and prayed the entire prayer along with them. From that point on, he steadily recovered.
            
Naaden, now 98 years old, recalls that shortly after his healing, he had a powerful supernatural experience.
            
“It came from a dream or vision I had one night,” he wrote in a letter to Dakota Catholic Action in 2007. “Someone asked me to put a cross and corpus along the road just west of Braddock. The scene was to include a statue of Mary, His Mother, and His disciple John, who were at the foot of the cross on the hill at Calvary.”

To him, the message from God was clear: he needed to build it.

“It was very profound, he was very touched by it and determined to make it happen,” said Naaden’s daughter Laurie Miller. “When you recover from that you wonder ‘why, God, did you save me? What do you want me to do?’”
            
Cross on the Prairie was dedicated with a Mass and blessing in August 2007. Since then, it has welcomed visitors year-round. People from around the world have signed the guestbook.
            
The focal point of the site is the crucifix, an 18-foot sculpture of Christ on the cross in the middle of a grassy clearing. Benches at the foot of the cross invite pilgrims to spend time in quiet contemplation with the Lord. A small grove of Russian olive trees in the northwest corner represents the Mount of Olives. At night, a light shines on the cross making it visible from far away.
            
The setting is idyllic. The crucifix stands alongside a gravel road in the middle of open rolling hills that stretch in all directions. In the shadow of the cross and the stillness of the North Dakota plains, the voice of God is loud.
            
“It's a powerful reminder for all of us that we all have a cross of some sort in this life and to carry it with dignity as Jesus Christ carried His cross,” says Father Mark Aune, pastor of Saint Katherine’s in Braddock, St. Anthony’s in Linton and St. Paul’s in Hazelton. “It's [...] beautiful, just a reflection of God's grace and God's presence, [the] beauty of God's creation. I think it's a pleasant surprise for a lot of people that are going out for a Sunday drive. You know, out of nowhere you see this beautiful cross.”
            
The project was a bigger undertaking than the family originally anticipated, requiring a good deal of time, effort and funds. Naaden enlisted sculptor Tom Neary of Bismarck to craft the crucifix. The site remains partially incomplete as the statues of Mary and St. John from Naaden’s vision have yet to be added. Naaden and the family hope to do so in the future.
            
“It’s made of stainless steel, so it’ll be there forever,” said Naaden.
            
The nails and a wound in Christ’s side are made of a metal that will rust over time, giving the appearance of bleeding.
            
The cross can have a powerful impact on those who visit it to pray. Its impact may extend beyond that, though. Coincidence or not, Naaden said that the crops near the Cross on the Prairie always get plenty of rain.
 
A Christ-centered family
            
Cross on the Prairie stands on the same land where Naaden’s father, a Norwegian immigrant, ranched and raised his family. Naaden himself was born there.
            
Naaden and his wife Mary Ellen raised their big, happy Catholic family in Braddock. They had 12 children and now have an incredible total of 102 great grandchildren, the youngest born in August 2025.
            
“We won the lottery with our parents,” said Miller. “I'm just so grateful [for] the values and the faith that our parents instilled in us… the Catholic faith was just intrinsic in our life.”
            
Pete and Mary Ellen taught by example, she said. Every night the family prayed the rosary together.           
            
Pete is a convert to the faith from Protestantism, in large part thanks to Mary Ellen.
            
“On Monday morning, I was baptized—I’d never been baptized—on Tuesday, I had my first communion and Saturday, I was married,” he recalled.
            
When describing his conversion, Pete said, “I found my rock.”
            
His son Mark, while clearing rocks from a field, found a rock with a cross embedded in the grain. That rock, etched with the words “Cross on the Prairie,” now sits at the entrance to the site.
            
Pete and Mary Ellen both grew up in Braddock and led an active life together. Pete served 28 years in the North Dakota state senate from 1973-2000. Miller described her mother, who passed away at the age of 95 in 2022, as “a living saint.”

“Mom and Dad have worked as a team,” she said. “They absolutely have been one in 
the same.”
 
Faith and youth in abundance
            
In the 18 years since its creation, Cross on the Prairie has become well known in the area and a point of pride for the community.
            
“I didn’t even really know about it when I became pastor here,” said Father Aune. “My parishioners kept saying, ‘have you seen the Cross on the Prairie? It’s beautiful.’”
            
In this patch of North Dakota, the Church is growing and thriving. Unlike in many rural communities, the parishes in Father Aune’s cluster—Braddock, Linton and Hazelton—are very young. He does about 15 baptisms a year. While other rural churches in North Dakota haven’t seen a wedding in years, Father Aune marries five to seven couples every summer.
            
The local church’s youth and vitality are thanks to what Father Aune calls the “boomerangers,” young people who left the area for college and have now returned to raise their families. Many of them work fully remote jobs online.
            
They’re drawn back to Emmons County because of the values, the work ethic, the schools and the strong Catholic roots. 
            
“People just love their faith, embrace their faith, and are proud to be Catholic,” said Father Aune. “It’s just very affirming to be a priest [here].”
            
Part of the reason the faith remains strong in the area is the same reason Cross on the Prairie is such a powerful place of prayer: the stillness and beauty of nature.
            
“You can see God’s hand in creation,” said Father Aune. “It’s just beautiful, it’s peaceful. You can feel the presence of God, the quietness or the gentle breeze, the rain that comes down.”

Those interested in making a pilgrimage will find Cross on the Prairie a little under a mile to the west of Braddock on 58th St. SE.