Just below the story headlined “FDR Has Not Answered the Question Why He Should Have Third Term” was found the first public announcement that a new Catholic parish was emerging in the heart of the city. The October 30, 1940 issue of the Minneapolis Star Journal states “The opening masses for Saint Olaf parish, newly created in downtown Minneapolis, will be held at Seton Guild, 207 S. Ninth Street. The new pastor, Reverend James Coleman, will say mass on Sunday at 10:30 and 11:30 am.” The site of the first sacred functions in parish history stands as the current office of the League of Catholic Women.
The Church of the Immaculate Conception on the corner of Third Street and Third Avenue North was razed some twenty years earlier because, being in the center of a commercial district, it was deemed a poor location for a Catholic Church. However, the need for a Catholic presence specifically serving downtown residents and workers continued to manifest itself. Archbishop John Gregory Murray’s decision to reestablish a downtown presence may have developed as he noted the growing attendance of workers at the occasional weekday Mass offered at Seton Guild. Fr. Coleman presided at most of these liturgies. Fr. Coleman had a passion for making converts and conceived of the idea of naming a new parish ‘St. Olaf’ to reclaim a Catholic saint from the Lutherans. The post-Vatican II spin on the choice of parish patron focuses more on the common devotion Catholics and Lutherans share for the Saint. As the priest most directly involved at Seton Guild, Fr. Coleman was the logical choice to serve as pastor of the new parish.
Weeks after the announcement of Fr. Coleman as pastor, however, developing health problems prevented him from leading the fledgling parish through its first years. Fr. William Murphy assumed the assignment in January of 1941.
Rumors were wafting that the Universalist congregation was seriously considering a change of venue. The size of their assembly had been on the wane for years and it was hoped that a change of location would remedy the situation. Though the location of the Church of the Redeemer on the corner of 8th Street and 2nd Avenue was clearly the best and only serious option, a realtor made a most curious proposal in November of 1940. He suggested that a four story building on Central Avenue and 4th Street SE, formally used as a Masonic Temple, and at the time operating as an insurance agency be considered. Suffice it to say he did not have the vision. This building currently serves as the Aveda Institute.
On January 29, 1941, the Archdiocese’s offer to purchase the Church of the Redeemer for $112,500 was accepted by the Universalist congregation. The newly acquired church possessed a distinctive beauty yet, from a Catholic perspective, was clearly “other.” The interior was finished in black hand-carved walnut and gently bathed in light from the Tiffany windows, the most striking of which was the rose window in the rear of the Church. A large pipe organ and a screen of almost life-sized choir figures graced the anterior of the Church. The pews were semi-circular in design with cushions upholstered in damask. In short, it was not the typical Catholic aesthetic or design.
In the months that followed, the Church was renovated with an altar, communion rail, and tabernacle that brought it to Catholic standards and helped the charter members of the parish become more comfortable with their new spiritual home. On June 1, 1941, Archbishop Murray dedicated St. Olaf Downtown Catholic Church to the service of the Archdiocese.