The Church of the Assumption Catholic Church was dedicated in 1874 and is the oldest existing church in

Saint Paul Paul, also named Saul of Tarsus, commonly known as Paul the Apostle and Saint Paul, was a Christian apostle ( AD) who spread the teachings of Jesus in the first-century world. For his contributions towards the New Testament, he is generally ...

. It is located at 51 West Seventh Street, in downtown Saint Paul. The building is listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

. The parish was founded in 1856 by Bishop

Joseph Crétin Joseph Crétin (December 19, 1799 – February 22, 1857) was an American Catholic prelate who was the first Roman Catholic Bishop of Saint Paul, Minnesota. Cretin Avenue in St. Paul, Cretin-Derham Hall High School, and Cretin Hall at the Univer ...

. At that time, immigrants from

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

were arriving, and the single Catholic parish in St. Paul mainly served French and Irish settlers, with services in Latin and sermons in their own languages. The first building was a plain stone structure with a wooden

steeple In architecture, a steeple is a tall tower on a building, topped by a spire and often incorporating a belfry and other components. Steeples are very common on Christian churches and cathedrals and the use of the term generally connotes a relig ...

on West Ninth Street. The founding pastor was Father George Keller. After Fr. Keller was transferred to

Faribault, Minnesota Faribault ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Rice County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 24,453 at the 2020 census. Faribault is approximately south of Minneapolis–Saint Paul. Interstate 35 and Minnesota State Highwa ...

in 1858, staffing of the parish was met by

priests A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particular, ...

and brothers from St. John's Abbey ( Order of St. Benedict) in

Collegeville, Minnesota Collegeville is an unincorporated community in St. Wendel Township, Stearns County, Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitob ...

. By 1869 the parish had outgrown the small chapel and a new building was urgently needed. The church's construction was ordered by then-

Archbishop In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdi ...

John Ireland, who wanted the city's growing Catholic

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

immigrant population to have a parish of their own. It was built in a plain Romanesque style of

Lake Superior Lake Superior is the largest freshwater lake in the world by surface areaThe Caspian Sea is the largest lake, but is saline, not freshwater. Lake Michigan–Huron has a larger combined surface area than Superior, but is normally considered tw ...

limestone Limestone is a type of carbonate rock, carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material Lime (material), lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different Polymorphism (materials science) ...

Catholics The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

, and is said to have been modeled after the Ludwigskirche in

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

. The architect, Joseph Reidel, was a court architect for the

Wittelsbach The House of Wittelsbach () is a former Bavarian dynasty, with branches that have ruled over territories including the Electorate of Bavaria, the Electoral Palatinate, the Electorate of Cologne, County of Holland, Holland, County of Zeeland, ...

family in

Bavaria Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...

, Germany. It was built, according to the plans of the Bavarian Joseph Reidel, by the Germans in 1869–1874 in a neo-Romanesque, stone-washed style of Lake Superior. The interior design of the church has remained substantially unchanged since the late 19th century. The statue of the

Blessed Virgin Mary Mary was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Joseph and the mother of Jesus. She is an important figure of Christianity, venerated under titles of Mary, mother of Jesus, various titles such as Perpetual virginity ...

in the

high altar An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religion, religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, Church (building), churches, and other places of worship. They are use ...

came from the first church. There are shrines to

Thérèse of Lisieux Thérèse of Lisieux (born Marie Françoise-Thérèse Martin; 2 January 1873 – 30 September 1897), religious name, in religion Therese of the Child Jesus and the Holy Face, was a French Discalced Carmelites, Discalced Carmelite who is widely v ...

and Maria-Hilf; altars for the Blessed Mother and

Saint John the Baptist John the Baptist ( – ) was a Jewish preacher active in the area of the Jordan River in the early first century AD. He is also known as Saint John the Forerunner in Eastern Orthodoxy and Oriental Orthodoxy, John the Immerser in some Baptist ...

Saint Joseph According to the canonical Gospels, Joseph (; ) was a 1st-century Jewish man of Nazareth who was married to Mary, the mother of Jesus, and was the legal father of Jesus. Joseph is venerated as Saint Joseph in the Catholic Church, Eastern O ...

, and

Saint Lawrence Saint Lawrence or Laurence (; 31 December 225 – 10 August 258) was one of the seven deacons of the city of Rome under Pope Sixtus II who were martyred in the Persecution of Christians, persecution of the Christians that the Roman Empire, Rom ...

;

tapestries Tapestry is a form of textile art which was traditionally woven by hand on a loom. Normally it is used to create images rather than patterns. Tapestry is relatively fragile, and difficult to make, so most historical pieces are intended to han ...

of the

Good Samaritan In most contexts, the concept of good denotes the conduct that should be preferred when posed with a choice between possible actions. Good is generally considered to be the opposite of evil. The specific meaning and etymology of the term and its ...

and the Sts. Peter and Clemens Society; and other works of art. As the parish grew, five daughter churches were spun off: Sacred Heart, St. Francis de Sales, St. Matthew's, Church of St. Agnes and Church of St. Bernard.

Staff

Pastor A pastor (abbreviated to "Ps","Pr", "Pstr.", "Ptr." or "Psa" (both singular), or "Ps" (plural)) is the leader of a Christianity, Christian congregation who also gives advice and counsel to people from the community or congregation. In Lutherani ...

: Father Paul Treacy

References

External links

Church of the Assumption
{{DEFAULTSORT:Church Of The Assumption (Saint Paul, Minnesota) 19th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in the United States Roman Catholic churches in Saint Paul, Minnesota French-American culture in Minnesota German-American culture in Minneapolis–Saint Paul Irish-American culture in Minnesota Limestone churches in the United States National Register of Historic Places in Saint Paul, Minnesota Churches on the National Register of Historic Places in Minnesota Roman Catholic churches completed in 1870 Romanesque Revival church buildings in Minnesota Stone churches in Minnesota