Contributor: St. Benedict's Monastery / City or Township: St. Martin Township

Creator:: Saint John's Abbey (SJA), Collegeville, Minnesota
Date Created:: 1891
Description:: Schools in north-central Minnesota (1871-1909). This "cathedral on the prairie," like so many other churches dotting the landscape of Stearns County (sometimes referred to as "Little Germany") was reminiscent of the churches in the Old World. St. Martin's Parish first built the rectory (1875) and eleven years later built this church. They did not build a parochial school at this time, but, like most other German communities, invited the Benedictine sisters in 1877 to teach in the district school at St. Martin. The ensuing conflict so rocked the small Catholic community that the sisters chose to withdraw in 1891. After a sixty-year lapse of time, the parish built a parochial school for 212 pupils and the Benedictine sisters returned to teach there. It is most unusual that, despite the turmoil of the early history of St. Martin, fourty-four young women from St. Martin's Parish joined the Benedictine community in St. Joseph (Saint Benedict's Monastery Archives).
Contributing Institution:: Saint Benedict's Monastery
Type:: Still Image
Format:: Black-and-white photographs

Search