Guardian Angels Church (Chaska, Minnesota)
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Guardian Angels Catholic Church[1] is a historic church located in Chaska, Minnesota founded in 1858. A Roman Catholic church, Guardian Angels is part of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis.
Guardian Angels School[2] (School District 112), a pre-K to 8th grade private school, is affiliated with this church.
Parish leadership
In Summer of 2020, Father Tony VanderLoop, was assigned to Guardian Angels as its priest.[3]
Parish history
The parish’s history dates back to 1842 when the fur trader J.B. Faribault invited Father Augustine Ravoux to establish a mission among the Dakota people in what would become the town of Chaska.
Fr. Ravoux built a small log chapel and named the parish St. Francis Xavier, but dismantled the chapel three years later when the Native Americans saw the European immigration as a threat, and in turn threatened to burn the chapel down. The chapel was sold to German-American Catholics in Wabasha and floated down the river to its new home.[4][5]
In the 1850s the
Minnesota achieved statehood in 1858 and during that year the
Since the first log chapel in 1842, three churches were built. The first was built between the years of 1858 and 1860. It was a simple, small brick building with planks on wooded blocks that served as pews.
In the mid-to-late-19th century, immigrants from Germany were fleeing official persecution of Catholic Christians in historically Catholic parts of the
By 1864, rapid population growth in the area saw the need for a larger church and in 1868 work began on a second church. This church served the community's needs until 1885 when construction began on the present church. This church, designed by John Geiser was built in
On October 7, 1902 disaster struck when an early morning fire destroyed the church interior, toppling the steeple onto a neighboring house and destroying it. By 5 o'clock that afternoon all that remained were the four charred walls and the
Through the years, many changes took place inside the parish – the Benedictines were replaced by
In 2012, Father Conran Schneider, the last Franciscan to live in the friary at Guardian Angels, died of lung cancer and pneumonia.[6]
On February 18, 2021, it was announced that the school would permanently close at the end of the school year. The remaining students were disbursed to neighboring parish/public schools.[7]
References
- ^ Guardian Angels Parish
- ^ "Guardian Angels School". Archived from the original on November 11, 2012. Retrieved November 15, 2012.
- ^ "The Catholic Spirit - May 18, 2017 by the Catholic Spirit Publishing Co. - Issuu".
- ^ Coller, Julius A., II. The Shakopee Story. North Star Pictures, Inc., 1960, p. 13.
- ^ "St. Felix Catholic Church".
- ^ "Obituary for Fr Conran a Schneider, OFM at Bertas Funeral Home & Cremation Services".
- ^ Ruff, Joe (February 18, 2021). "Guardian Angels School in Chaska to close next year; regional school is discussed". The Catholic Spirit. Retrieved July 5, 2021.