THE STORY OF ST. VINCENT'S PARISH

 

Over one hundred years ago, in 1888, the local Con­ference of the St. Vincent de Paul Society established a small mission chapel near the corner of Blair and Virginia in St. Paul, Minnesota. This was the begin­ning of St. Vincent's Parish in the life story of the Catholic Church in the Archdiocese of St. Paul.

The 125 families, predominantly Irish, who worshiped in St. Vincent's Chapel, were the nucleus of what was to become a vital center of St. Paul's "Frogtown" area. Priests from St. Luke's Parish served the small community. The very year of its founding was the year in which Pope Leo XIII, recognizing the growing importance of St. Paul as a Catholic center in the midwest, granted the diocese metropolitan rank and appointed John Ireland as its first archbishop.

 

The story of St. Vincent de Paul Parish is a story of growth through hard work and sacrifice. Father Raleigh from nearby St. Joseph's Parish offered the first Mass in the newly constructed chapel.

 

Every Sunday the Reverend (later Bishop) John J. Lawler offered Mass in the St. Vincent's Chapel, thus distinguishing him as St. Vincent's first pastor, al­though his pastorate lasted scarcely a year.

 

In October of 1889 the first St. Vincent's Rec­tory was ready for occupancy. Archbishop Ireland ap­pointed a young Irish Priest, the Reverend Laurence Cosgrove, to be St. Vincent's first resident pastor. His pastorate of twenty years was marked by great material and spiritual growth in the parish.

 

Father Cosgrove himself became somewhat of a legend. He was a man of great zeal, energy, and foresight. In addi­tion to being pastor of St. Vincent's, he served as chaplain of Calvary Cemetery, chaplain of the Ancient Order of Hibernians, chaplain of the State Order of Foresters, and first pastor of St. Andrew's Parish, which was founded in 1889 as a mission of St. Vincent's. Father Cosgrove, a scholarly man in literary gifts, in his rare quiet moments wrote and had published a small hardbound volume entitled "A Popular History of St. Vincent's Church". In beauti­fully flowing prose, he records and describes with a wealth of detail.

 

May 7, 1898,  the formal dedication by Archbishop Ireland of the newly erected St. Vincent de Paul Church. Father Cosgrove wrote, "In 1897 it was found that around the handful of people that eight years before had assembled in a tiny mission chapel there had grown up a large and flourishing congregation for which the church was entirely insufficient."

 

November 1, 1900, - ground was broken for St. Vincent's School. July SI, 1901 - St. Vincent's School, staffed by four Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet opened with an enrollment of 190 children.

September 8, 1902 - the dedication of St. Vincent's School, "an imposing structure three stories high,..Stands in spacious grounds, large enough, after providing ample playground for the children, to afford an enclosed park prettily laid out in greensward and flower beds eight classrooms with a seating capacity of 500, an ornamental fountain in the middle of the playground."

 

Thus Father Cosgrove has described the school, the building of which was to him a dream come to reality. In the afternoon of the day the school was dedicated there took place an event unique in the records of the church in the Northwest," the Confirma­tion of 150 converts. "ten nationalities were repre­sented among those was Samuel Lung, a Chinaman, Minnesota's first Chinese Catholic convert, and prob­ably the first in the entire Northwest."

 

The Reverend Patrick O'Brien, the speaker for that occasion, praised Father Cosgrove for being "a true priest of God." He added, "I would say there ought to be said of him...'If you want his monument, look around you.'" Father O'Brien made it clear that he referred not only to material buildings, but also to the evidence of spiritual growth: "The new school is his testimony in stone; his latest converts, his testimony in the flesh."

 

Father Cosgrove's pastorate established the groundwork upon which St. Vincent's was built He was followed by the Reverend William Walsh, who served as pastor for two ywears. Then in 1912 Archbishop Ireland appointed the Reverend Timothy E. Crowley to St. Vincent's.

 

Today the memory of Father Crowley is most often associated with the boys' choir he established and directed during his pastorate. From their places of honor in the sanctuary the boys, accompanied by Mrs. Loretta Haas Wunsch, organist, provided music for the High Mass each Sunday. This choir was deeply ap­preciated by the people, and it functioned through the 1940’s.

 

During Father Crowley's ten years at St. Vincent's an addition to the rectory was constructed, and extensive rebuilding of the school became an ur­gent necessity after a very destructive fire. In Sep­tember, 1922, Father Crowley was appointed to be the first Rector of Nazareth Hall Preparatory Seminary. Here in his work with future priests he frequently drew upon his fund of knowledge and experience gained during his years as pastor of St. Vincent's parish.

 

In 1922 Archbishop Austin Dowling appointed to St. Vincent's Parish a priest of outstanding personal qualities and of wide experience. The Reverend Martin I. J. Griffin had been & parish assistant, Workhouse Chaplain, secretary to Archbishop Ireland, Treasurer of St. Thomas College, and pastor of St. Cecilia's Parish before his appointment to St. Vincent's. He is still remembered with great affection by many parishioners for his deep concern for all, especially for the poor, and for his ability to greet each parishioner-young, old, or in-between by name. Father Griffin, too, was a builder; a builder of deep, last­ing, human relationships with and among his people. The occasion of his silver jubilee as a priest was an event of parishwide joy and celebration. Every parishioner had the opportunity to share wholeheartedly in commemoration of their pastor's twenty-five years as an ordained priest of God.

 

Another highlight of Father Griffin's pastorate was the Golden Jubilee of St. Vincent's Parish. An eventful week, including a two-day bazaar, preceded the official celebration which took place on Sunday, November 20, 1938. At 11:00 A. M. a Solemn Pontifical

High Mass was celebrated in St. Vincent's Church by the dearly loved Archbishop of St. Paul, John Gregory Murray. Among the priests assisting him on that occa­sion was the Very Reverend William 0. Brady, later to become Archbishop Murray's successor.

 

Following the Mass, a turkey dinner was served by the ladies of St. Vincent's Altar and Rosary Society under the chairman­ship of Mrs. Frank Brand, President.Descriptions of the Golden Jubilee were written by St. Vincent's Students who participated in an essay contest sponsored by Father Griffin, all give evidence of an alive, involved parish populace.

 

St. Vincent's then numbered 815 families, all of moderate means. The school, staffed by eight Sisters, had an enrollment of 365 students. Gertude Kammerer, an eighth grade student at the time, listed the "considerable improvements" made under the direction of Father Griffin: she wrote, "The auditorium in the basement of the church had been completed from new dishes to new walls. In addition to these were new cabinets, a new sink, kitchen utensils, lighting sys­tem, heating system and thirty-two folding tables, which were made by the men of the parish." She went on to exclaim,"The results were simply miraculous1. Now we are not ashamed to have even the Pope visit our auditorium."

 

A sixth grade student, Rita McDonald, recorded in her essay that in the procession from the rectory to the church "28 priests, eight altar boys, two candlebearers, two monsignors, and a crossbearer accompanied the archbishop". Another student, James Mullins of the seventh grade, noted that the Reverend Michael O'Brien, who preached at the jubilee Mass, urged his hearers to remain true to their traditions of loyalty to the faith, and to be obedient to authority in "these troubled times."

 

In 1940 Father Griffin accepted an assignment to St. Stephen's Parish in Minneapolis. Here he spent the last five years of his life. Father Griffin was succeeded at St. Vincent's by the Reverend Peter F, Meade, whose insistence upon the power of prayer is vividly remembered by many parishioners today. During Father Meade's pastorate the "Daily Adoration Society of St. Vincnet's Parish" was established. From June 19^3 through June 1951 the Blessed Sacrament was was exposed for daily adoration from 9:00 in the morn- ing until Benediction at 7:30 in the evening. According to a report prepared by Miss Teresa Devereaux, President of the society in 1951,the prac­tice was discontinued because of the illness of Father Meade and the appointment of only one priest to St. Vincent's Parish.

 

The Reverend Thomas G. Exley came as ad­ministrator to St. Vincent's in June of 1951. People delight in recalling his seemingly unlimited physical energy and his unusual organizational ability. During his brief stay of scarcely a year, he worked with the men of the parish to completely redecorate the church. Part of that project was the installation of the present altar and Communion rail. Father Exley was then determined to direct his energies toward improv­ing the school. The work had just gotten underway when Archbishop Murray asked him to leave his many new friends at St. Vincent's in order to become pastor of St. Peter's Parish in Canby, Minnesota.

 

The Reverend Charles H. Morgan, appointed pastor of St. Vincent's in 1952, proved himself to be very capable of carrying on the work begun by Father Exley. He and a group of hard working, dedicated men of the parish completely redecorated the school. He also managed to find the means to install glass-brick win­dows and to provide modern plastic-top desks in all the classrooms. The exterior of the church also required considerable renovation. Father Morgan, after having consulted with architects, labored over plans for the new church-front exterior entrance, and vestibule. That day in 1958 when his plans came to fruition was a day of jubilation not only for him but also for his people.

 

From the beginning St. Vincent's had been a parish of working people. Funds were never abundant. After years of patiently saving a bit here and a bit here, Father Morgan was also able to fulfill his dream of replacing the stations in St. Vincent's Church with a beautifully hand-carved set. He invited a former member of the parish, Monsignor George E. Ryan, then rector of the St. Paul Cathedral, to erect the new stations on December 22, 1957.

Father Morgan is remembered for his kind, soft-spoken manner and for his obvious enjoyment of the companionship of his people. They looked forward to reading his fine phrases in each Sunday's parish bul­letin, for they knew these words expressed his com­plete sincerity.

 

A critical illness, soon to cause his death, gradually incapacitated Father Morgan, The 75th an­niversary of the founding of St. Vincent's Parish passed by with little notice. No one had any desire to celebrate the diamond jubilee when the pastor was so seriously ill.

After Father Morgan's death in September of 1963, Archbishop Binz requested Reverend Michael P. Foy, then pastor of St. Thomas Parish near LeCentre, Minnesota, to assume the pastorate of St. Vincent's. As a young seminarian, Father Foy had come to the United States from County Mayo, Ireland. Thus in the rapidly changing world of the '60's, he came to con­tinue the tradition of St. Vincent's Irish pastors, begun back in 1888 by Father Laurence Cosgrove, first resident pastor of the parish.

 

While Father Foy was pastor. Father Lea White, an Assistant at the time, was asked to direct and super­vise the painting of the exterior trim of the church. This was done by men of the parish themselves even in­cluding the cross high on the steeple of the church using a boom truck. This work was competed in 1973.

 

Father William Gamber, who served in the U. S. Navy, and afterwards entered the priesthood, was ap­pointed pastor in 1975. The interior of the rectory was repainted under his direction, again with the help of men from the parish. Minor roof repairs to the church were also done during his pastorate.

In June of 1979, the long tradition of Irish pas­tors was broken with the appointment of Reverend Ber­nard C. Klein as pastor. He is the son of an Austrian-born German father and an American-born German-Bohemian mother!

 

The history of this parish continues in an itemized list of parish building im­provements during the past 10 years found at the end of this 100 anniversary memorial publication. It is highlighted by the total redecoration of the interior of the church to its present appearance in which some slight modifications were made; namely the re-location of the main altar (eliminating the need for a 2nd portable altar) and the construction of a reconcilia­tion room using one of the existing confessionals.

 

 

THE 100TH ANNIVERSARY COMMITTEE

 

*      Mae Moylan, Historian Larry & Loretta Bisch

*      Patricia Kile Eileen Laundervilie

*      Dolores Schumi Audrey Vennemann Don & Val Weber

*      Board of Trustees

Rev. Bernard C. Klein, President Donald Huberty, Treasurer

*      Val Weber, Secretary

 

 

 

SOME HISTORCAL FACTS VOCATIONS TO THE PRIESTHOOD FROM THIS PARISH:

 

*      Msgr. Edward Beraghty, Deceased

*      Reverend Leonard Kaschinsky, Deceased

*      Reverend John McLaughlin, Deceased

*      Reverend George Riley, Deceased

*      Msgr. George Ryan, Deceased

*      Reverend John Ryan, Deceased

*      Reverend Michael Ryan, Deceased

*      Reverend Thomas Tracy, Deceased

*      Msgr. Paul Colbert, Deceased

*      Reverend Emmnanuel Kelsch, O.S.B. (St. John's Abbey)

*      Reverend Clarence Steiner, Assoc. Pastor of Nativity

*      Msgr. Terrence Murphy, President, St. Thomas College

*      Reverend Ronald Groschen, of the La Salette Fathers

*      Chaplain of Austin State College, Nacogdoches, Texas

 

WOMEN RELIGIOUS OF THE PARISH

 

*      Sister Anselm McLaughlin C. S. J.

*      Sister Rose Catherine, C. S. J.

*      Sister Elizabeth Marie Martens, C. S. J.

*      Sister Mary Coleman, C. S. J.

*      Sister Stella Kelly, C. S. J.

*      Sister John Baptist Dean, D. S. J.

*      Sister Anne Eugene Auer, C. S. J.

*      Sister Ruth Marie Connelly, C. S. J.

*      Sister Vincentia Forbes, C. S. J.

*      Sister Mary Margaret Langteau, C. S. J.

*      Sister Agnes Foley,  C. S. J.

*      Sister Mary Schabert, C. S. J.

*      Sister Clarann (Gerry) Wagner, S.S. N. D.

*      Sister Anthony Jude (Beverly) Letourneau, 0. Carm. Deceased

 

 

NAMES FROM THE PAST

 

*      Fr. James MacCormac, Assistant at St. Vincent's, wholeheartedly served the people of this parish for 12 years, from 19E5 to 1939.

*      Sister Francis Regis served as Principal of St. Vincent's School for 12 memorable years, from Septem­ber 1925 to June of 1937.

*      Mrs. Emmett Moldenhauer served as church or­ganist for 46 years. She died Aug. 5, 1977.

*      Mr. Alois Brunner served as custodian for 26 years. He died Nov. 25, 1969.

*      Mrs. Clara Studiner served for 14 years as cook at St. Vincent School and then as cook at the rectory. She died Jan. 3, 1985.

*      P. V. Dwyer was the principal contributor to the first Chapel of St. Vincent De Paul (cost $275.00 without plastering)

*      Catherine McNeeley was the first infant baptized in St. Vincent's Parish on Dec. 9, 1888.

*      Mrs. John J. Kohler was the First President of St. Vincent's Rosary and Altar Society which was or­ganized in August of 1889.

*      Peter B. Foley was the first altar boy in the parish.

*      Sara Cloonan and William Haubrick were the first marriage in St. Vincent's. It took place Apr. 30, 1889.

*      John McNeeley donated the cornerstone for the church.

*      Sister Francis Carmel Treacy was the beloved Principal of St. Vincent's School for 13 years...from Sept. 1946 to June 1959.

*      Matthew O'Rourke was a janitor at St. Vincent's for 30 years.

 

 

WE REMEMBER

 

*      Fr. James MacCormac, who collected all kinds of old toys and repaired them, making them even more at­tractive than new ones. Then on Christinas Eve he dis­tributed them to the needy children of the area. Fr. MacCormac was also the first priest of St. Vincent's to serve as Catholic chaplain at Bethesda Hospital, a service rendered by the priest of this parish since 1932.

*      Ruth Dindorf and Louise Firnett Blair, who were organist at St. Vincent's for many years.

*      Mr. Zalesky of the Blue Ribbon Bakery at Blair and Western. Every day he donated day-old bread for the needy families of the parish.

*      Carl Reitter, Carl Kircher, and Frank Lewis, Sr. who were Boy Scout leaders at St. Vincent's back in the '<tOs.

*      John McDonough, a former Mayor of St. Paul.

*      Linus Hammond, who became U. S. District Attor­ney.

*      LeRoy Neiman, the famous "jet-set" artist.

 

ST. VINCENT HAD ITS ATHLETES

 

St. Vincent's School teams, especially in baseball and basketball, had an illustrious history through the years. Numerous trophies witness to many years of glory. Many players went on to become famous in local baseball history.

The late Jim McCarter made history in BELIEVE IT OR NOT by Ripley, when in 1931 he struck out all 27 batters for St. Vincent's in a game against St. Andrew's. The names of others frequently appearing in the sports pages for their athletic accomplishments were: Larry Rosenthat, who played for the St. Paul Saints and the Chicago White Sox; Paul Firnett, Jr. Dan Murray, Bill Smith, Howard Schouse, Ed Killen, George Murray, Herb Wormman, Ed Major, Ray Harrington, Ray Joyce, Clarence Krenn, John Lackner and brothers, F. Foley, Pete Kelsch, C. O'Donnell, Jim Lawler, Neal Kelsch, Alf Ashton, Joe Nash, Jim Keating, Clarence Coleman, Gerald Sullivan, Pat Sullivan, Milo Fuller, Marty Ludden and the Ludden brothers, Billy Daniels, the Cavens, Urmans and numerous others.

Nor were baseball and basketball St. Vincent's only sports. Mike and Tommy Gibbons, internationally known boxers, immediately come to mind. St. Vincent's boys continually received recognition for their achievements in football, hockey, and other sports.

 

 

PARISH ORGANIZATIONS

 

In 1968 when the parish celebrated its 80th an­niversary the following organizations were functioning: Legion of Mary, Rosary and Altar Society; League of the Sacred Heart; Home and School Association; Mission Sewing Club and Our lady of Good Counsel Home. The Legion and the Rosary Society still exist.

 

In the annals of two previous publications deal­ing with the history of St. Vincent's parish.....one on June 19, 1907 with the title A POPULAR HISTORY OF ST. VINCENT'S PARISH written by Father Laurence Cosgrove, Pastor; and the other on Nov. EO, 1938 with the title GOLDEN JUBILEE -CHURCH OF ST. VINCENT....we find a rich wealth of parish history. Much of it was the source of the material found above. The Golden Jubilee publication was done by Fr. Griffin.

 

 

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