Our Lady of Lourdes Church

Our Lady of Lourdes is the oldest continuously used church in Minneapolis, consecrated in 1877 in a building that was originally constructed as a Universalist chapel in 1857. The church sits on the east bank of the Mississippi at the point where the St. Anthony neighborhood transitions to Northeast, offering river views from its bluff setting.

The church is open to visitors on weekdays and serves a French-Canadian heritage community that has maintained its identity through successive waves of neighbourhood change. The famous tourtière (French-Canadian meat pies) sold through the church's social enterprises is worth seeking out. The building exterior and setting, above the river gorge, are the primary draws for non-Catholic visitors.

things to do sight northeast
A story
The congregation that built the church in 1857 was French-Canadian, part of the wave of French-speaking Catholics who settled in Minnesota in the mid-19th century. The building is a simple Greek Revival structure — unusual for a Catholic church of the period — that has survived intact while the neighbourhood around it transformed from French-Canadian to Eastern European to arts district. The French meat pie (tourtière) sold at church events has become locally famous and is available at the adjacent Our Lady of Lourdes French Meat Pie shop.

Other places in Things to Do