Church of Saint Stephen (Minneapolis, Minnesota)

The Church of Saint Stephen is a historic Roman Catholic church in the Whittier neighborhood of Minneapolis in the U.S. state of Minnesota. This neighborhood is where entrepreneurs and businessmen built their mansions in the modern-day Washburn-Fair Oaks Mansion District. The building was built with sandstone, brick, concrete, and copper in 1889–1891.^[1]

Church of Saint Stephen
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
The Church of Saint Stephen from the southwest
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Location	2211 Clinton Avenue S., Minneapolis, Minnesota
Coordinates	44°57′38.5″N 93°16′16″W
Area	less than one acre
Built	1889–91[1]
Architect	Frederick Corser, et al.
Architectural style	Romanesque Revival
NRHP reference No.	91001058[1]

It was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1991.^[1] It is considered significant as an early and well-preserved example of a Richardsonian Romanesque/Romanesque Revival church.^[2]

History

The parish was founded in the 1880s to serve a largely Irish immigrant population.

In 2008, Fr. Joseph A. Williams was appointed as pastor. When Williams was appointed, the parish was largely failing to follow the rubrics of the Mass of the Second Vatican Council and did not submit to the teachings of the Catholic Church.^[3] Williams' efforts to bring the parish in line with Catholic teaching resulted in many of the older parishioners walking out in the middle of Mass and leaving the parish entirely.^[4] His first Christmas Mass at the parish had no worshippers.^[5] Williams eventually rebuilt the parish into a thriving Latino community, the largest in Minnesota, with over 1,600 families.^[6][7] Pope Francis appointed Williams as an auxiliary bishop of Saint Paul and Minneapolis on December 10, 2021.^[8][9][10] Williams remained as pastor of St. Stephen's until July 1, 2022.^[11]

On July 1, 2022, St. Stephen's merged with the nearby Holy Rosary parish to become the Church of St. Stephen-Holy Rosary.^[12]

References

1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
2. Koop, Michael (January 1990). "National Register of Historic Places Registration Form: Church of St. Stephen (Catholic)". National Park Service. Retrieved February 6, 2015.
3. Coleman, Nick (March 1, 2008). "The push for conformity shoves away parishioners". Star Tribune. Retrieved May 21, 2024.
4. Bayly, Michael J. (February 15, 2009). "The Wild Reed: A Catholic "Crisis and Opportunity" in South Minneapolis". The Wild Reed.
5. Hrbacek, Dave (March 26, 2013). "Word on the streets". TheCatholicSpirit.com. Retrieved May 21, 2024.
6. French, Rose (March 31, 2013). "Latinos give Minneapolis Catholic church new life". Star Tribune. Retrieved May 21, 2024.
7. Sotro, Melina. "Evangelization, Formation, Invitation". Newsroom | University of St. Thomas.
8. "Pope Francis Names New Auxiliary Bishop of Saint Paul and Minneapolis". US Conference of Catholic Bishops. Retrieved December 10, 2021.
9. "Pope Francis Names Rev. Joseph Williams Auxiliary Bishop of Saint Paul and Minneapolis". Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis. Retrieved December 10, 2021.
10. Omastiak, Rebecca. "Pope Francis names new auxiliary bishop of Minneapolis, St. Paul". KSTP.com. Archived from the original on December 10, 2021. Retrieved December 10, 2021.
11. "Appointments - June 16, 2022". TheCatholicSpirit.com. June 16, 2022. Retrieved July 30, 2024.
12. Hebda, Bernard (May 29, 2022). "Parish merger" (PDF). Letter to Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis. Saint Paul. Archived from the original (pdf) on June 30, 2024. Retrieved July 30, 2024.

External links

• Church of Saint Stephen