Lumen Christi Today

Lumen Christi Catholic Community has around 1000 households and is located in the Highland Park neighborhood of St. Paul.  We invite all to come check us out and hope you will find a home to grow in your faith.

New members can join the second weekend of every month at new parishioner registration. Coffee and donuts is offered at the same time for all parishioners.

The Liturgy is at the core of our faith. Parishioners are encouraged to participate in ministry areas such as greeters, ushers, servers, lectors, Eucharistic Ministers, and Children’s Liturgy of the Word leaders. There is an adult choir, a bell choir, a funeral choir and a junior choir. We offer Eucharistic Adoration, Advent Evening Prayer, and Advent and Lent retreats.

Lumen Christi has many educational opportunities for children through senior adults.  Faith Formation classes and Children’s Liturgy of the Word are offered for children, while theology speakers, retreats, senior wellness and mental health support programs are offered for adults. Strong sacramental prep programs are available for children and adults.  We strive to offer support and make connections with homebound parishioners.

An active Social Justice group works to educate the parish in the Gospel message of justice and charity in service to our parish, neighborhood and world community through speakers, meetings with local legislators, and  direct connections with those in need. Outreach programs include Loaves and Fishes, a monthly food shelf collection and Christmas gifts for those in need.

The Lumen Christi’s leadership structure offers six ministry councils: Discipleship & Parish Life, Faith Formation, Finance, Care, Support & Justice, School and Worship.  Each of these councils report to the Parish Council.  All councils meet the third Tuesday of every month with a communal meal followed by individual council meetings and then a representative member from each council meets with the Parish Council at the end of the evening.

Community building events like coffee and donuts, the fall parish / school Block Party, volunteer appreciation, and new parishioner welcome dinner offer opportunities to get to know each other.

Our parish school is Highland Catholic, with over 400 students from pre-school through 8th grade. Highland Catholic School strives to be a Christ-centered community fostering spiritual growth, academic excellence and commitment to justice in the name of Jesus.

Come to Lumen Christi and check us out. As you get to know the wonderful people, we hope you will be convinced that Lumen Christi is the place you can call “my parish.”

By 1970, all three parish schools had experienced significant drops in enrollment. In addition, the dwindling numbers of Sisters of St. Joseph forced them to announce that they could not staff all three of the parish schools in the Highland area the following school year. As a result, the schools at St. Therese and St. Leo’s were incorporated into a new school, Highland Catholic, which opened its doors in September 1971 to a total of 460 students: 287 from St. Leo, and 173 from St. Therese. Eight years later, in 1979, St. Gregory also joined Highland Catholic School..

The 1990’s brought major changes in the structure of all three parishes. In 1994, under the direction of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, the three parishes of St. Leo, St. Therese, and St. Gregory began a “clustering” process. Msgr. Terrance Berntson and Fr. Thomas Hunstiger were assigned as co-pastors of the newly formed Highland Catholic Community (HCC). In 1996, Fr. Jerry Grieman replaced Msgr. Berntson as one of the co-pastors. The Mass schedule changed so that there was no overlap among the three parishes. The HCC began using a common bulletin for the three parishes. Facilities were shared at all three sites.

In 1999, Fr. John Bauer was appointed pastor. A planning process began that eventually resulted in the full merger of the three parishes. At the request of Archbishop Flynn the parish name was changed to Lumen Christi. The St. Leo’s site was closed for renovation at the end of December 2004 and re-opened on Holy Saturday, March 26, 2005 under the new name of Lumen Christi. The Church of St. Gregory closed on May 15, 2005 and the Church of St. Therese closed on Sunday, February 5, 2006. The newly built Lumen Christi Parish Center opened February 11, 2006 for the first time. The parish was formally dedicated on April 23, 2006 by Archbishop Flynn.

The Church of St. Gregory the Great was founded on June 15, 1951 to meet the needs of a rapidly developing Highland Park. Archbishop John G. Murray appointed Reverend Thomas R. Jude as the first pastor of the parish. With no building available to celebrate Mass, it was decided that a tent could be used as a worship space until a permanent church was built. For $2,000, a 110-ft. tent was purchased in Mason City. Iowa. On June 23. 1951, a wood floor was laid and the tent was erected on parish property at the corner of Montreal and Davern. Chairs and a temporary altar were set up and on Sunday, June 24, 1951, two Masses were offered for a total of about 400 people.

At the invitation of Fr. Murray from St. Leo, Fr. Jude resided at the St. Leo rectory until November 1951 when, after much repair and reconstruction, the St. Gregory rectory was available. Construction of the church, however, was delayed until 1952, which posed the problem of where to worship during the winter months. Fr. Murray extended another invitation, this time for St. Gregory parishioners to celebrate Mass in the basement of St. Leo until the new church was built.

On May 12, 1952, ground was finally broken for the new church. The first Mass was offered on November 9, 1952, and although there were no pews, no tile on the floor, no Communion railing and only a temporary altar, it was home to St. Gregory parishioners. On June 7, 1953, Archbishop Murray dedicated the new church and school.

View more photos 

The Church of Saint Leo was founded June 14, 1945 by order of Archbishop John G. Murray in response to the rapid growth of the southwest portion of St. Paul. The first pastor. Reverend Bernard H. Murray, was appointed June 20.

The Highland Theater was offered to the new parish as an auditorium for Sunday Masses and became the home of the church for eighteen months. The first Mass was celebrated in the theater on June 24, 1945. A vacant store in the Highland Village served as a chapel for baptisms, penance and daily Mass through April 1946, when the chapel was moved to the new parish rectory until a permanent building was ready.

On December 4, 1945 ground was broken for construction of a combined church and school building. On Christmas Eve of 1946, St. Leo parishioners attended Midnight Mass in the basement of the newly constructed building, but the first Mass in the upper church was not celebrated until February 2, 1947. Archbishop Murray dedicated the new church on July 13, 1947 and St. Leo School was opened the following September.

Parish growth dictated the decision to build a permanent church and it was constructed on parish property at Cleveland and Bohland Avenues. The first Mass was celebrated in the new church on July 10, 1965. After more than twenty years, parishioners of St. Leo finally had a permanent home.

View more photos 

The history of the Church of St. Therese began at Fort Snelling in 1920, when Father Edward F. Casey, then principal of St. Thomas Academy, was assigned to care for the spiritual needs of the soldiers and civilians living on the government reservation. He also took under his spiritual guidance the thirty-some families living in what was then known as the Homecroft area.

In 1926, a chapel was built on the St. Paul side of the Mississippi River, opposite the Fort so that it could serve the inhabitants of the Fort as well as the surrounding area. The chapel was built at the corner of Prior and Norfolk, and the first Mass was celebrated on February 21, 1926. The Church of St. Therese was incorporated on June 21, 1926, with Fr. Casey as its pastor.

By 1933, the number of families in St. Therese Parish had grown to 275. In 1935, a rectory was built adjacent to the church to enable the pastor to devote his full time to the growing community of Homecroft and the hundreds of Catholic soldiers at Fort Snelling.

St. Mary’s Home was built across from the church the following year and was staffed by the Sisters of St. Francis of the Angels.

To accommodate the growing parish, the church was remodeled and somewhat enlarged in 1942.

By 1948, the Homecroft area had grown considerably, resulting in the need for a parochial school. Ground was broken on the Feast Day of the patroness of the parish, October 3, 1948. The cornerstone was laid on May 15, 1949, and classes opened in September with 153 children enrolled.

In just six years, the number of families in St. Therese Parish grew to 475, with 473 children attending the school. This rapid growth prompted plans for both a new church and an addition to the school. During the construction, the congregation worshiped in the parish hall in the school, and by 1955, the little chapel was torn down and replaced by a church with seating capacity for 600 people, and two new wings were added to the school. The new church was dedicated by Archbishop Murray on September 4, 1955.

In 1963, a parish convent was built on Mississippi River Boulevard, adjacent to the school. It housed the nine Sisters of St Joseph that were teaching at the school. This completed the building era of the parish of St. Therese.

View more photos