Kingfield Neighborhood

One of several signs welcoming visitors on the boundaries of Kingfield.

Kingfield is one of 39 Minneapolis neighborhoods to experience gentrification since 2000, whereby poorer areas see higher housing costs and new businesses as wealthier people move in, usually displacing current inhabitants.¹ Unmistakable indications of this process include a pricey independent coffee shop, several specialty boutiques, and a vintage record store, all within walking distance of the church. In 2019, about 80 percent of Kingfield's residents were white, just 7 percent were Hispanic, and 90 percent spoke English as their only language.² 

If not many come from Kingfield, then where do the Hispanic members of Sagrado Corazón live? The simplest answer is other parts of South Minneapolis, especially in neighborhoods to the northeast of Kingfield.³ 

According to Father Kevin McDonough, "the Spanish-speakers come from all over South Minneapolis. But the average Spanish-speaking member of the parish lives in multi-family dwellings which tend to be concentrated along freeways and major arteries. So my Spanish-speaking members are not just sprinkled around the neighborhood . . . we could look at a map and I could show you this block would have 150 Spanish-speaking people in it and this block would have zero. That's basically the type of housing available."⁴

"The Spanish-speakers come from all over South Minneapolis."
—Father Kevin McDonough

That means that many of the members of Sagrado Corazón drive or take the bus to Mass. In the past, this has caused tension with some Kingfield residents. "A lot of people in the neighborhood get annoyed with all the cars, especially on Sundays," says Mary Knudsen, a parishioner and secretary at Incarnation. "We get a lot of complaints."⁵ However, by the mid-2010s, tensions seemed to have eased as people adjusted to Sagrado Corazón’s presence and came to know more about its ministry.