|  Pastors of Holy Rosary
1878-1881 T.L. Power, O.P.
1881-1884 J.D. Hoban, O.P.
1884-1886 J.A. Daly, O.P.
1886-1890 P.A. Dinahan, O.P.
1890-1895 R.M. Bloomer, O.P.
1895-1899 M.A. Sheehan, O.P.
| | 1870s Minneapolis' Population Increase | | Population of Minneapolis: |  | | 1870 (13,066)
1884 (106,739) | |
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In the decades following the Civil War, land and railroad expansion increases population growth west of the Mississippi and a large influx of first and second generation Europeans came to Minneapolis. Two-thirds were Scandinavian and the rest German and Irish. | | | | 1878 The Establishment of Holy Rosary Parish | | Toward the close of 1877, Bishop Thomas Grace, O.P., planned new parishes to meet demands in the metropolitan area. With the concurrence of his coadjutor, Bishop John Ireland, Bishop Grace invited the Dominicans to the diocese. Dominican Provincial, Fr. Stephen Byrne, O.P., accepted Bishop Grace's invitation and plans began for a Dominican parish in the extensive praire lands south of Minneapolis. | |  | | Holy Rosary's
First Altar Boy | |
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Fr. Thomas Power, O.P., arrived in Minneapolis in 1878 to establish Holy Rosary parish. His first baptism was John Richard McCoy who was the son of Charles McCoy and Elizabeth Cogan on May 12, 1878. James Farell and Catherine Keegan were the first couple married in the new parish. One of the parish's first altar boys (photo at left) is reported to be of the Marchessault family. Many of those who registered in the parish that first summer were Irish immigrants who were railroad workers and coopers, and a few Mexicans such as the Camarillo family. The new community of believers was the first Roman Catholic parish in south Minneapolis. | | | | 1878-1882 St. Elizabeth National Parish | | In 1878, a committee made up of German Catholics living in Minneapolis approached Fr. Power to persuade Bishop Grace to appoint a German speaking priest for them. In 1882, a National German parish, St. Elizabeth, was established. However, the history of these two neighboring churches of South Minneapolis evolved such that Holy Rosary become the dominant Irish parish and St. Elizabeth became known as the dominant German parish. | | | | 1878 Parish Purchases a Lutheran Church | | During the early years, finding a church large enough for the rapidly growing number of parishioners was an ongoing problem. Realizing this, perhaps, Fr. Power who was known for his business prowess as well as being a faithful pastor, purchased a piece of land at the corner of 19th Ave. and 5th Street. Rather than build a new church, he bought an already existing structure from a Lutheran Scandinavian congregation. Fr. Power celebrated his first Mass in the church for the laborers while it was still on one of the city's streets. The small frame building was still being moved inch by inch to its new home. However, by the next Sunday, it proved to be too small for its new congregation and plans were immediately made to build a new church. | | | | 1878 Parish Builds Its Own Church | | | | | "The Church, in which the Holy Mary is venerated is the church which has ever given martyrs to the truth of Jesus Christ; and continues to do so in all times."Father Stephen Byrne
Church Dedication |
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It took only three months to build a new church. The parish's second church on 19th Ave. and 5th St. was a neat frame structure, 125 feet in length by 50 in width, sufficient to accommodate all the Catholics then in South Minneapolis. Edward Kennedy and Matthew Walsh deserve special mention as being the first to make substantial contributions toward the building of the new church. The vacated church (the one purchased from the Lutherans) was then converted into a school by partitioning it into three rooms. | | | | 1879 Friars Move Out of Rented House into Convent | | Besides Fr. Power the first priests assigned to Minneapolis were Jeremiah Pius Turner, James Adphons Daly, John Silvester Collins, Edward Pius De Cantillon and Clement Augustine Splinter. All of these Dominicans were living in a rented house. This western band of preachers would travel from the British possessions (present day Canada) to the Gulf of Mexico, and from Ohio to the Pacific Coast. In each church where they preached a mission, they established Rosary and Holy Name Societies. With the increasing number of priests, it soon became necessary to have a larger residence for their accomodation. In less than one year after the erection of the new church, a new building for the priests began construction. The cornerstone was laid on Rosary Sunday, 1879, by Bishop Grace himself preaching the sermon.
| | | | 1879 Holy Name Society Organized | | In 1879, the Holy Name Society of Holy Rosary was organized and had its first meeting. Within ten years, the society had the only choir composed exclusively of males west of New York City. The director of the choir was John McLaughlin who had been a member of the famous quartette in Sheffield, England before coming to the United States. | | | | 1879 Arrival of the Sinsinawa Dominican Sisters | | In the summer of 1879, a temporary school was established on 6th St., staffed by six Dominican sisters from Sinsinawa, Wisconsin, with Sister M. Maurice, O.P. as superior and principal. The early classrooms included the church basement, nearby homes and the parish convent. The school grew so rapidly that the parish had to make preparations to build a larger building. Ground was purchased on 6th Street and the cornerstone placed in August 1884. However, construction stopped when it was determined that the parish was growing so rapidly that another new church, convent, and school would have to be built soon in a more central location. | | | | 1886 The Vicarate of Holy Rosary Becomes a Priory | | On March 9, 1886, the Vicarate of Holy Rosary was formally raised to the dignity of a Priory. The first prior was Fr. Peter Aloysius Dinahan, O.P. Shortly before he was elected, the brethren stopped the construction of the new school on 6th Street. Fr. Dinahan and others pushed for an even larger school and a new church at a more central location. This was not without opposition. The thought of laying completely new foundations and rebuilding everything daunted some. However, Fr. Dinahan fearlessly set himself to the task. He acquired property at 18th Ave. and 24th St., and work began on the present church and priory. However, a school would not be built initially at the new site. Fr. Dinahan decided that classes would be set up in the old Priory. | | | | 1888 Construction of the Present Day Church | | |  | | Laying the Cornerstone of the New Church on Pentecost Sunday, 1888 with retired Bishop Grace, O.P. present giving the blessing. |
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The architect for the construction project was Edward S. Stebbins, Minneapolis' first professionally trained architect. As one piece of stone was placed on top of another, it soon became apparent that the new church would be the finest and most magnificent structure in the area built to accomodate 1,800 people in the pews, with room for a total of 2,200, including the gallery. The walls were of Kettle River sandstone, well known for its durability and its fire proof qualities. Its stained glass windows depicted gems of beauty and geometrical design. The entire cost of the church and convent, including grounds, was $204,000.
The new church and priory were dedicated by Archbishop John Ireland in December 1888. It was at this dedication that John Ireland preached his first sermon as an Archbishop (St. Paul having been recently granted the status of an archdiocese.) Thousands of people visited the church on its day of liturgical and festive celebrations. The parish families of Holy Rosary had reason to be proud. | | | | 1891 A New Parish School | |  As school enrollment increased, it eventually became necessary to build a new school on 18th Avenue between 24th and 25th streets. Four thousand people were present for the blessing of the cornerstone by Archbishop Ireland. The four story brick and stone building was 135 feet in length by 128 in width and
opened in November 1891. The gymnasium was on the first floor, its classrooms were on the second and third floors, and the school/parish hall which had a seating capacity of 2,000 was on the fourth floor. When it was built, the school had the largest hall in connection with an educational institution in the Twin Cities. Sr. Samuel Coughlin, O.P., who taught at the school, in 1909 became the second Mother General of the Sinsinawa Dominicans. | | | | 1899-1900 Holy Rosary at the End of the Century | | At the end of the century, Holy Rosary appeared well established with the completion of parish facilities. The number of families increased steadily and parish debts were reduced through the generosity of parishioners. Parishioners participated in the four church societies proper to Dominican congregations, namely, the Holy Name Society (for men only), the Altar Society, the Young Ladies' Sodality (for unmarried women), and the St. Thomas Sodality (for boys and girls). The Sunday school boasted 800 children and a staff of 75 teachers. The parish had a surplussed choir of 100 altar boys and a children's choir of 300 voices. The salaried choir of 75 men and women had an unrivaled quartet among all musical organizations in the area. In 1900, a Holy Rosary Chapter of the Third Order of St. Dominic began when Ellen Halverson became a tertiary. Holy Rosary/Santo Rosario Catholic Church
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