The Catholic bulletin. [volume], May 30, 1914, Image 13

About The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995

Image provided by: Minnesota Historical Society; Saint Paul, MN

                
The history of the Church of the
Immaculate Conception is a record of
unceasing progress. It is an inspiring
story—a story replete with incidents
that proclaim the faith, the courage,
persistence, devotion and virtue of
men and women to whom Minneapolis
of today is deeply indebted. A con
trast between what is and what has
been is always interesting. When
that contrast shows that great things
have arisen from a meager beginning
it awakens courage in the human
heart and hope for the future. Surely
there is such a contrast in the case of
the Immaculate Conception parish.
Forty-seven years ago—a weather
beaten shed of warped and twisted
boards, a rude altar and ruder
benches: Today—a marble pile tower
ing above the city, holding aloft the
Cross of Christ and proclaiming God
to passing thousands.
The history of the Immaculate Con
ception parish is a history of faith—
faith in God, faith in man, faith in
the future. The early builders be
lieved absolutely in the teachings of
Jesus Christ. They believed that those
teachings must be preserved and
transmitted to future generations.
They did not think of a church as an
institution that ought to be built, or
of church-going as a laudable conven
tion. They said, "a church we must
build our children must be taught."
And they built and taught. There
was no doubting, no faltering. They
did not ask, Is it a good economic
venture? They were satisfied that
Christ had spoken: His word was
final: Beyond it there was nothing.
This was the inspiration out of which
grew the Church of the Immaculate
Conception. The same faith that in-
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augurated the project, carried it to
completion. Today we see the fruition
in a monument which proves the gen
uineness of that heaven-Inspired faith.
Humble Beginnings.
What is probably the first official
transaction in the history of the Im
maculate Conception parish took place
December 28, 1866, when the Reverend
J. McDermott, pastor of the Church of
St. Anthony in East Minneapolis, act
ing for the Right Reverend Thomas L.
Grace, Bishop of St. Paul, bought two
lots at the corner of Third Street and
Third Avenue North. The next signifi
cant event was the ordination at All
Hallows College, Dublin, Ireland, on
June 11, 1867, of Reverend James Mc
Golrick, destined to be the first resi
dent pastor of the new parish and to
spend twenty-two years of his life
shaping its future. These were simple
events enough, apparently uncon
nected and not freighted with promise
of great things to come. And yet,
combined, they were to be determin
ing factors of such importance in the
future of Minneapolis as no one could
then possibly foresee.
Father McGolrick, who was born
May 1, 1841, at Borrisokane, County
Tipperary, was ordained for the Amer
ican missions. Immediately after his
ordination he came to St. Paul, where
for a short time he served as assistant
pastor at the Cathedral. He was soon
assigned to Minneapolis to minister to
the needs of the Catholic population
on the west side of the river. Prior
to that time, the larger part of the
population of the nascent city was on
the east side of the river—a district
known as St. Anthony until 1872, when
it became Minneapolis East. The
name Minneapolis had been given to
that portion of the city west of the
river in 1852. Colonel John H. Stev
ens, the first settler, in a speech de
livered in 1855, gives credit for orig
inating the name to George D. Bow
man, editor of the St. Anthony Ex
press. The speech is published in
"Historical Sketches of Minneapolis."
Father McGolrick
5
First Church of the Immaculate Conception
1849 by Father Ravoux. The distance
from the west side settlement to the
Church of St. Anthony was consider
able, especially as street cars and auto
mobiles were unknown in those days,
and it was with a view to establishing
a new parish on the west side that
the lots, already referred to, had been
purchased.
On one of these lots a small frame
structure had been built by Father
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AN INSPIRING STORY-A RECORD OF CONTINUOUS PROGRESS
Arrives.
Before Father McGolrick's arrival
the Catholic population on the west
side of the river had to attend Mass
in the Church of St. Anthony of Padua,
Eighth Avenue and Main Street N. E.
This was the first parish in what is
now Minneapolis and was founded in
THE CATHOLIC BULLETIN, MAY 30, 1914. S
Tissot, who succeeded Father McDer
mott as pastor of St. Anthony's
Church. It was used as a school
and placed in charge of the Sis
ters of St. Joseph from St. Anthony
parish. They used to drive over
in the morning, teach all day, and re
turn to their convent in the evening.
It was a simple arrangement designed
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to accommodate the children of the
west side by relieving them of the
necessity of making the long trip
twice a day.
First Church of the Immaculate Con­
ception.
When Father McGolrick arrived to
continue the work begun by Father
McDermott and- Father Tissot, he
found it necessary to provide a place
of worship for the Catholics west of
the river. This he did by building an
addition to the rear of the little school
already erected at Third Street and
Third Avenue North. This addition
extended back parallel with Third
Avenue. It was a rough frame struc
ture fitted out with an altar, rude
benches and furnishings of the sim
plest kind. This was the first Church
of the Immaculate Conception.
It was a humble beginning—so rode
and humble that the new church was
called "the shed." But to the pioneers
it meant much. They had their own
priest to provide for their spiritual
wants they had their own little school
where their children could go to re
ceive construction in the three "R's"
and in their faith. To the pioneers,
the step was a no less welcome change
than is the relinquishment of the pres
ent Immaculate Conception Church
for the new Pro-Cathedral of St. Marx
for the people of today.
RIGHT REVEREND BISHOP McGOLRICK
First Pastor of the Immaculate Conception Parish
Larger Church Planned.
There was thrift among the pioneers
of the village of Minneapolis. Added
to that, the location was advantage
ous. There was water power and tim
ber and the land was ready to produce
wheat in abundance. The lumber and
milling industries grew. Settlers
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flocked to the new town. Catholics
were numerous among the newcomers.
Father McGolrick soon found himself
confronted with the problem of mak
ing room for the added worshippers.
It was not long before plans were un
der way for a more suitable church.
Money was soon forthcoming and in
the summer of 1871 the cornerstone
of the structure which stands at Third
Street and Third Avenue North was
laid. The first Mass was celebrated
within the walls of the new church on
December 8,1872. The church was ded
icated January 1, 1873. The Reverend
John Ireland, now Archbishop of St.
Paul, blessed the church and preached
the sermon. Father Tissot and Father
Venn were present at the ceremony.
Patrick Danehy and James Byrne
served as altar boys. The Catholics
from both sides of the river and not
a few non-Catholics turned out for the
occasion.
The new church was an edifice of
which the Catholics of that day had
reason to be proud. It was an impos
ing structure, considering the size of
Minneapolis then. The fact that It
has served until the present in the
heart of the business district, where
there is always a large transient at
tendance on Sundays, serves to show
how spacious it must have seemed to
the Minneapolis of
ago.
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forty years