A Short History of the Diocese of St. Paul

This year marks the 175th anniversary of the Diocese of St. Paul. We might benefit by knowing a bit of its early history.

In 1680, Father Louis Hennepin, the first Catholic priest on the upper Mississippi, came upon a waterfall that he named St. Anthony Falls. The city of Minneapolis would grow from this location.

In 1840, Bishop Loras of Dubuque, Iowa, whose diocese included Iowa, Minnesota and the Dakotas, sent Fr. Lucien Galtier to minister to the French Canadians who had located near Fort Snelling, in Mendota, and to those settled near Pig’s Eye--- named after a one-eyed man who owned a tavern by Fountain Cave, a cave with a spring within it, on a bank of the Mississippi. In 1842, Father Galtier built St. Peter’s, Minnesota’s first Catholic church, in Mendota. About this same time, he built St. Paul Chapel in Pig’s Eye. He said, “Pig’s Eye, converted thou shalt be, like Saul. Arise and be, henceforth, St. Paul!” This cave, now closed, is located near the intersection of Randolph and Shepard Road.

By 1850, there were about 3000 Catholics in Minnesota and the Dakotas, and St. Paul was made into a diocese with Joseph Cretin named its first bishop. In 1851, Bishop Cretin asked the Sisters of St. Joseph Carondelet from Missouri to come help. The sisters came and soon established schools, an orphanage, an Indian mission, and, after a cholera outbreak in 1853, St. Joseph’s Hospital, the first hospital in Minnesota

In 1858, Minnesota became a State. The preamble to its Constitution stated: “We, the people of Minnesota, grateful to God for our civil and religious liberty...”

By 1888, the population of Minnesota was over 780,000 and over 130,000 of these were Catholic. John Ireland was appointed the first Archbishop of the Archdiocese of St. Paul. Archbishop Ireland spoke against racial discrimination; he founded St. Paul Seminary (1895), the College of St. Thomas, St. Thomas Academy, enabled Catholic immigration to Minnesota, and initiated the building of the Cathedral.

In 1919, Austin Dowling became Archbishop. Minnesota now had a population of over 2½ million. Archbishop Dowling strongly opposed the 1922 “Oregon Compulsory Education Act,” which would have forced all 8-16 year-old children to attend public schools. This act was overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1925. Bishop Dowling established Nazareth Hall Preparatory Seminary in 1923. Nazareth Hall educated through four years of high school and two years of college. Bishop Dowling believed that this focused and cloistered education more effectively prepared young men for the priesthood than a college campus.

In 1931, John Gregory Murray was appointed Archbishop. He lived simply: took the streetcar, walked the downtown streets. He mortgaged church property and used the funds to help those suffering during the Great Depression. He decreed that Catholics could not support or belong to any organization that opposed Church teaching on eugenics, sterilization, or contraception. After WWII ended, he sent out returning chaplains to establish new parishes and schools. During his 25 year tenure, more than 50 new schools were created.

In 1956, Abp. Brady succeeded Abp. Murray. In 1958, Fr. Peyton’s Rosary Crusade, famous for its motto “The family that prays together stays together,” came to St. Paul, and over 225,000 people gathered to pray the Rosary.

In 1962, Archbishop Leo Binz succeeded Abp. Brady. Abp. Binz attended all sessions of Vatican II, and, after the Council, was appointed to the Papal Commission on Birth Control where he reaffirmed ancient doctrine regarding birth prevention.

The 1960’s were years of great tumult and confusion for the diocese. Whether it was due to Vatican II, the “Spirit of Vatican II,” the Vietnam War, the Sexual Revolution, Marxist Feminism etc., is unclear. But many Catholic schools soon closed. Nazareth Hall closed in 1970. Many priests, brothers and sisters left religious life. In 1968, 76 priests, out of 615, sent a letter to Abp. Binz objecting to Humane Vitae: “…we find it difficult, if not impossible, to accept the conclusions of the encyclical…” which possibly gave many Catholics the false impression that they could legitimately violate Church teaching.

We owe our gratitude to all those priests, brothers and sisters, active and contemplative, who sacrificed their lives to build this diocese and bring Christ into the world. They taught us that there is more to life than material goods and a terrestrial existence. They responded to Jesus’ call: “Go forth and preach the Good News to all creation.” (Mark 16:15) What is the “Good News”? Our advisor, Fr. Welzbacher, put it this way: “Christ Jesus our Lord, God the Son who became man, by His teachings and sufferings and death, opened the gates of Heaven for all who hear His Word and follow it.” It’s our turn to follow.

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Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam