The historic Church of St. Joseph (now named Christ the King Catholic Church) is a church in Browerville, Minnesota, United States. It was built from 1908 to 1909 by a community of Polish immigrants that had established itself in the area from 1870 to 1900. The building was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

as Church of St. Joseph—Catholic in 1985 for its local significance in the themes of architecture, exploration/settlement, and religion. It was nominated for its unifying central role in an immigrant community.

Description

The exterior has a tower topped with a

drum The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel-Sachs classification system, it is a membranophone. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a ...

surrounded by eight columns, with an onion dome and cross on the very top. The tower has an emblem of an eagle, a Polish national symbol. It has a Gethsemane rock grotto designed by award-winning sculptor

Joseph Kiselewski Joseph A. Kiselewski (1901– February 26, 1988) was an American sculptor. Biography Kiselewski was born in Browerville, Minnesota and graduated from the Minneapolis School of Art. Along with many other artists of the time, Kiselewski moved to Ne ...

, and a

Black Madonna The term ''Black Madonna'' or ''Black Virgin'' tends to refer to statues or paintings in Western Christendom of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the Infant Jesus, where both figures are depicted with dark skin. The Black Madonna can be found both ...

, a traditional Polish cultural object.

History

Emigrants from the

Silesia Silesia (, also , ) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Silesia, Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately , and the population is estimated at around 8,000,000. S ...

region of western

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

began settling in the Browerville area in 1870, increasing in pace after a rail line was built through central Todd County in the early 1880s. An equal number of German immigrants were also settling the area, and the two groups united to establish a

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: * Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

parish in 1884. That year saw the construction of the first Church of St. Joseph, and in 1890 they added a parochial school. However a dispute over the financing of the school broke out between the two nationalities. This culminated in an 1895 split, with the Polish side retaining the original church and school while the Germans left to build their own religious facility at the opposite end of Browerville's Main Street. The St. Joseph's congregation grew to about 200 families by 1907, straining the capacity of the existing church. The parish decided to construct a new church, with each member contributing toward the estimated $25,000 to $30,000 cost. Victor Cordella, a Polish immigrant who was partner in the

Minneapolis Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origin ...

-based architectural firm of Boehme and Cordella, was selected to design the new church. St. Joseph's Reverend J.S. Guzdek, who had strong ideas against the boxy churches commonly built at the time, consulted closely with Cordella. Their concept was for a building "lit with a golden light" through amber

stained glass Stained glass is coloured glass as a material or works created from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant religious buildings. Although tradition ...

windows. The building contract went to the firm of Hirr and Zierton of St. Cloud, Minnesota. However members of the congregation provided labor to excavate the foundation and also furnished the bricks. The

cornerstone The cornerstone (or foundation stone or setting stone) is the first stone set in the construction of a masonry foundation. All other stones will be set in reference to this stone, thus determining the position of the entire structure. Over tim ...

was blessed in July 1908 and the church was completed for

Easter Easter,Traditional names for the feast in English are "Easter Day", as in the '' Book of Common Prayer''; "Easter Sunday", used by James Ussher''The Whole Works of the Most Rev. James Ussher, Volume 4'') and Samuel Pepys''The Diary of Samue ...

the following spring. The parish eventually merged back with the German parish in 1980, after declining membership. The combined parish was named Christ the King.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Church Of Saint Joseph (Browerville, Minnesota) 1908 establishments in Minnesota Baroque Revival architecture in the United States Buildings and structures in Todd County, Minnesota Churches in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Saint Cloud National Register of Historic Places in Todd County, Minnesota Polish-American culture in Minnesota Roman Catholic churches completed in 1909 Churches on the National Register of Historic Places in Minnesota 20th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in the United States

Description

History

See also

References

External links