Monsignor Valentine G. Gross, 83, of Napoleon, passed away November 15, 2020, at the Napoleon Care Center. Mass of Christian Burial will be held on Friday, November 20, at 10:30 AM at St. Philip Neri Catholic Church, Napoleon, ND.  Burial will be at St. Philip Neri Cemetery. A livestream will be available on the St. Philip Neri Facebook and YouTube pages. Due to COVID-19 CDC guidelines the family asks that everyone in attendance please wear a mask.

Visitation will be held on Thursday, November 19, from 6-7 PM with a prayer service at 7:00 PM at St. Philip Neri Catholic Church, Napoleon, ND.

Msgr. Valentine Gross was born January 20, 1937 to George and Frances (Schwartzenberger) Gross on a farm south of Napoleon. He attended country school south of Napoleon.

Ever since he was a very young child, he felt called to become a priest. His brothers and sisters could tell you about how they used to "play church". They would sit our pretend "pews" and then come up and he would give them "Communion".

To help fulfill his dream, his parents allowed him to attend St. John's High School in Collegeville, MN, graduating in 1955. He graduated from St. John's College Seminary in 1959 and entered St. Paul Seminary, St. Paul, MN. As a high school junior and then again, as a college freshman, the aptitude test showed that he was not intellectually fit to be a priest and he was asked to leave the seminary twice. But God's will is greater than man's. By the grace of God and with the encouragement of his family, his Pastor, Fr. Bolte and his lifetime mentor, Msgr. Vetter, he continued in his studies. On June 8, 1963, he was ordained a priest for the Dioceses of Fargo at his home parish, St. Anthony Catholic Church, south of Napoleon.

Msgr. Gross's first assignment was to Holy Spirit, Fargo, where he served as associate pastor from 1963 to 1969. He then served as associate pastor at St. Boniface, Walhalla, for one year, until he was pastor of St. Michael, Grand Forks, where he served until 1975. He was then named Rector of Cardinal Muench Seminary. He held that position for 15 years, until 1990, when he was appointed pastor of Blessed Sacrament in West Fargo. In 1995, he was asked by Bishop Sullivan to start a new parish, Sts. Anne & Joachim, in south Fargo.

Pope John Paul II elevated him to the rank of Prelate of Honor to His Holiness (giving him the title of Monsignor) in December 1999. He was invested as Monsignor on February 14, 2000.

In the words of Msgr. Gross, "The greatest gift of my priesthood has been the privilege of celebrating the Mass: offering the sacrifice on the alter, sensing the miracle that God performs through the work of my hands, and giving his Heavenly Food to those whose hunger can only truly be satisfied through the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ.

Msgr. Gross is survived by his three sisters, Mary Vetter, Bismarck, Donna Hoffman, Long View, TX and Veronica (Wilfred) Masset, LaMoure; three sister-in-law's, Christine Gross, Bismarck, Mary Ann Gross, Bismarck and Elaine Gross, Napoleon; two brother-in-law's, Edwin Ternes, Bismarck and Don Hertz, Bismarck; 66 nieces and nephew and many great nieces and nephews.

He was preceded in death by his parents; brothers, Clemens, Joe and George Gross; sisters, Frances (Clarence) Lindeman, Barbara Ternes, Helen Hertz and Lucille (Terry) Scherr; brother-in-law's, John Vetter and John Hoffman; nephew, Glen Masset and niece, Veronica Deis.