Incarnation Church History

The engraved stone plaque outside the church cites a central passage from the Gospel of John about the incarnation of God in the person of Jesus: "The Word was made flesh and dwelt among us" (John 1:14).

The Church of the Incarnation was approved for establishment in 1907 by the Archbishop of Saint Paul, John Ireland, after a group of members from Saint Stephen's Church requested a new parish closer to their area. The archbishop was reluctant to approve the church because he worried that there were too few Catholic families in what were then considered to be the "southern outskirts of Minneapolis." Nevertheless, the first Mass in what was nicknamed the "Cathedral of the Cornfields" was conducted on October 3, 1909 by Father James Cleary. A second-generation Irish immigrant from Massachusetts, Cleary had been a Catholic priest for over 30 years when he founded Incarnation.¹

Nevertheless, the first Mass in what was nicknamed the "Cathedral of the Cornfields" was conducted on October 3, 1909 by Father James Cleary.

Father Cleary was a very important figure for the Church of the Incarnation, known as the "famous founder" and described as a man who devoted his life to God and the welfare of his parishioners. Father Cleary is credited with founding the church, the parish school, and establishing the current building, built in 1917. He is also remembered for his leadership in growing the church from 200 to 1500 families between 1909 and 1922.²

The church's location near several major streets and lakes on the south side of Minneapolis was a large factor in its early, rapid growth. After Father Cleary's death in 1933, church and school attendance continued to grow. Father Cleary was succeeded by Monsignor Humphrey Moynihan, who oversaw the construction of a new school building, completed in 1935 with a graduating class of 64 students.³ When Monsignor Moynihan died in 1943, his brother, Father James Moynihan, succeeded him.

By 1940, Minneapolis was the sixteenth largest city in the United States with 492,000 people.⁴ Under Father Moynihan's leadership, Incarnation's parish boundaries were made smaller to reduce school enrollment, which had grown to 984 students by 1948. In 1949, parish attendance was recorded as 1800 families.⁵

In 1959, following the death of Father James Moynihan, Father Donald Gormley (later Monsignor Gormley) became the fourth pastor of Incarnation. Like previous pastors, he was concerned with the size of the original school building and the growing student body. After much debate and study, construction of a new school building began in 1961 and was completed in 1963.⁶ Monsignor Gormley retired from ministry in 1970, recalling his time in leadership at Incarnation as one of a lot of change.

By 1970, Incarnation was considered to be in an "inner-city parish." Many young couples left the church and enrollment in the school steadily declined.⁷ Father Robert Monaghan was appointed pastor of Incarnation in 1978 and placed an emphasis on reaching out to poor residents of the surrounding Kingfield neighborhood; during this time, Incarnation began its food shelf program.⁸ Father Monaghan also facilitated the sale of several of Incarnation's buildings, including the former convent and one school building. Incarnation's school, along with five other Catholic schools, came together to form Risen Christ Catholic School in 1999.⁹

Under Father Monaghan's leadership, Incarnation incorporated Sagrado Corazón into the building in 2002. In 2009, Father Monaghan retired and Father Kevin McDonough was appointed senior pastor, the first person to be the senior pastor to both Incarnation and Sagrado Corazón.¹⁰