Controversy over the doctrine of election (or predestination) rocked the Norwegian Synod in the 1880s. A group called the "Anti-Missourian Brotherhood" split off from the Synod and formed its own seminary in Northfield, Minn. The Norwegian Synod then moved its seminary, Luther Seminary, to Robbinsdale, Minn., in 1888. The seminary was housed in the building depicted here which was destroyed by fire in 1895. After the fire, Luther Seminary temporarily met nearby at the Hotel Georgia.
Schools in south-central Minnesota (1876-1909). In 1875, St. Joseph's parish, situated in the heart of Minneapolis, opened a small school for 50 pupils under the care of the Sisters of Charity. The following year, because of an expected increase in enrollment, the Benedictine Sisters from St. Joseph, MN, were asked to assume charge of the school. By 1882, a large new parish school was built. Within 30 years, the enrollment increased to 400 with 8 sisters teaching (Saint Benedict's Monastery Archives).