Column: Our ‘Blessed Heritage’ of Catholic Education

One of the great pleasures of serving as pastor here in St. Michael is deep tradition of Catholic education in this community. Our school is the biggest and most visible ministry of our parish, providing a faithfully Catholic education to more than 400 children every year!

For much of our community’s history, the Catholic school was the main school in St. Michael: Our first Catholic school building in St. Michael opened in 1876, with the School Sisters of Notre Dame living on the second floor and teaching on the first floor. A new, larger school was built in 1899, followed by a larger convent in 1904. The oldest part of our current building was finished in 1940—and as recently as 1968, the current community education building behind the historic church was a Catholic high school. Another new convent was completed in 1958; that building now serves as our school offices.

The history of Catholic education in St. Michael is a history of great hope and sacrificial giving: Local families built for the future, including in their school designs room for growth and community amenities like a bowling alley. It is a history of vocations, with nearly 40 local men becoming priests or religious brothers and nearly 100 women entering religious life. And it is a history of what one former principal called “frugal innovation”—making the most of our facilities and now limited space to accommodate the changing needs of record numbers of preK-8 students.

We should be proud of this blessed heritage, which has born such beautiful fruit in our community for generations.

Over the next school year, we will be celebrating 150 years of Catholic education in St. Michael, with faith-filled and fun events for alumni, current school families, and the entire parish. In preparation for this celebration, we are launching a St. Michael Catholic School newsletter called Heritage, featuring alumni profiles, historical articles, StMCS events and updates, and more. The first issue will come out in the next week or so and will be mailed to all of the alumni and current school families we have in our database.

Please check out this new publication online later this month, or, if you would like to be added to our Heritage mailing list, please contact Melissa Zachman ([email protected]) or Lisa Zipp ([email protected]) or call them at the school office: 763-497-3887.

I hope all of you will join us to celebrate Catholic education in St. Michael over the coming year and to pray for the future of our Catholic school. God willing, we will continue to grow and share our Catholic faith for another 150 years!

God bless you!
Father Brian Park
Pastor