# Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis *Roman Catholic diocese in Minnesota* The Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis is a Catholic see based in [[Minnesota]]. Its mother church is the Cathedral of Saint Paul in Saint Paul, and its co-cathedral is the Basilica of Saint Mary in [[Minneapolis]].[^1] It is the metropolitan see of a province that also takes in five other Minnesota dioceses and four in North and South Dakota.[^2] Bernard Hebda has led it as archbishop since 2016.[^3] The archdiocese publishes its own list of clergy against whom it considers a claim of abusing a minor substantiated. The project's Dakota County claims matrix records that list at 72 names.[^4] The project's Ramsey County dossier records three further facts. In June 2015 the [[Ramsey County Attorney]] charged the archdiocese as a corporate defendant with failing to protect children. The civil complaint settled that December. The criminal charges were later dropped after the archdiocese admitted wrongdoing. The court filings for that case are not among this article's sources. ## Who Three bishops of Saint Paul led the see before it became an archdiocese: - Joseph Crétin (1850–1857) - Thomas Langdon Grace (1859–1884) - John Ireland, bishop from 1884 after serving as coadjutor from 1875 Ireland became the first archbishop when the diocese was elevated in 1888, and he held the office until 1918.[^3] Leo Binz became archbishop in 1961. He kept the office when the see took its present title in 1966 and served until 1975. His successors were John Robert Roach (1975–1995), Harry Joseph Flynn (1995–2008), John Clayton Nienstedt (2008–2015) and Bernard Hebda (2016–present).[^3] The current auxiliary bishops are Michael Izen, since 2023, and Kevin Kenney, since 2024. The list of the archdiocese's bishops counts 42 of its priests who have themselves become bishops.[^3] ## What The archdiocese runs two seminaries, both on the campus of the University of St. Thomas: - Saint John Vianney College Seminary, listed as the largest college seminary in the country - Saint Paul Seminary It also ran a high school seminary, Nazareth Hall Preparatory Seminary, from 1923 to 1971. Most of its seminarians are formed at these two institutions. Some instead attend Immaculate Heart of Mary Seminary in Winona or the Pontifical North American College in Rome.[^5] As metropolitan see, the archdiocese heads a province with these suffragan dioceses: - Minnesota: Crookston, Duluth, New Ulm, Saint Cloud and Winona–Rochester - North Dakota: Bismarck and Fargo - South Dakota: Rapid City and Sioux Falls[^2] Among its parishes: - The Church of Saint Peter in [[Mendota]] is listed as the first Catholic parish in Minnesota. - The Basilica of Saint Mary is listed as the first basilica in the United States. - Our Lady of Lourdes is the oldest church building in continuous use in Minneapolis. - Our Lady of Guadalupe in Saint Paul was established in 2019 as the archdiocese's only diocesan shrine.[^6] ## When The recorded Catholic presence in present-day Minnesota begins in 1680. In that year the Franciscan Recollect explorer [[Louis Hennepin]] came upon a waterfall on the upper [[Mississippi River]] and named it for Anthony of Padua; it is now known as St. Anthony Falls.[^7] France claimed the region formally in 1689. In 1727 the Jesuit Michel Guignas and the officer René Boucher de La Perrière built Fort Beauharnois on [[Lake Pepin]]. There they founded St. Michael the Archangel, counted as the first Catholic chapel in Minnesota. When the French and Indian War ended in 1763, Spain took over the territory.[^7] The Louisiana Purchase of 1803 brought the area under United States control. In 1826 Pope Leo XII erected the Diocese of Saint Louis, whose jurisdiction reached Minnesota. The first European Catholic settlers to arrive as a group were Swiss families from Fort Garry, in present-day Manitoba. They founded the village of Saint Pierre near [[Fort Snelling]].[^7] In 1833 the bishops at the Seventh Provincial Council of Baltimore asked the Vatican for a northwestern diocese seated at St. Paul, and the Vatican refused. It erected the Diocese of Dubuque in 1837.[^7] Crétin's term as the first bishop of Saint Paul began in 1850.[^3] ## How many As of 2026 the archdiocesan Catholic schools numbered 78 elementary schools and 16 high schools, enrolling about 31,000 students.[^8] The high schools include Cretin-Derham Hall in Saint Paul, Unity Catholic High School in [[Burnsville]] and Holy Spirit Academy in [[Monticello]].[^8] The archdiocese's clergy-disclosures list stood at 72 names as of the project matrix dated September 2, 2026.[^4] ## In the at-issue record The archdiocese maintains a clergy-disclosures page on its own website.[^4] The project's validated Dakota County claims matrix classifies the page as an institutional self-publication listing 72 names. The matrix's at-issue entry describes those named as individuals "against whom there is a substantiated claim of abusing a minor," and notes that both the list and its substantiation standard are the archdiocese's own.[^4] Among those with Dakota County assignments, the same entry lists Rev. [[Clarence Vavra]], identified as an associate pastor at [[Guardian Angels]] in [[Hastings]]. The project has not graded the disclosures page as confirmed. The project's validated Ramsey County dossier gives the details of the 2015 case. On June 5, 2015, the [[Ramsey County Attorney]]'s office charged the archdiocese as a corporate defendant with failing to protect children. John J. Choi had held that office since January 2011. The dossier records that the civil complaint was settled in December 2015 and that the criminal charges were later dropped after the archdiocese admitted wrongdoing. It records no conviction. The dossier's own source note for these entries is not reproduced in the pack, and no court filing is cited here. The bishops' list dates John Clayton Nienstedt's tenure to 2008–2015; the sources here do not establish any connection between that date and the case.[^3] ## Notes [^1]: Wikipedia, *Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis*, lead section (revid 1378463004, retrieved 2026-10-27) — diocese description; cathedral and co-cathedral. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archdiocese_of_Saint_Paul_and_Minneapolis [^2]: Wikipedia, *Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis*, section *Ecclesiastical Province of Saint Paul and Minneapolis* (revid 1378463004, retrieved 2026-10-27) — metropolitan see and suffragan dioceses. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archdiocese_of_Saint_Paul_and_Minneapolis [^3]: Wikipedia, *Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis*, section *Bishops* (revid 1378463004, retrieved 2026-10-27) — bishops and archbishops with dates; auxiliary bishops; count of 42 priests who became bishops. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archdiocese_of_Saint_Paul_and_Minneapolis [^4]: Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis, *Clergy disclosures* (institutional self-publication; recorded in the project's Dakota County Claims Exposure Matrix, row D25, 2026-09-02, as listing 72 names; project grade "?") — the archdiocese's own published list. https://www.archspm.org/clergy-disclosures/ [^5]: Wikipedia, *Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis*, section *Seminaries* (revid 1378463004, retrieved 2026-10-27) — seminaries, Nazareth Hall dates, other seminaries attended. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archdiocese_of_Saint_Paul_and_Minneapolis [^6]: Wikipedia, *Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis*, section *Notable parishes* (revid 1378463004, retrieved 2026-10-27) — parish firsts and the 2019 shrine. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archdiocese_of_Saint_Paul_and_Minneapolis [^7]: Wikipedia, *Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis*, section *History* (revid 1378463004, retrieved 2026-10-27) — events from 1680 through 1837. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archdiocese_of_Saint_Paul_and_Minneapolis [^8]: Wikipedia, *Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis*, section *Education* (revid 1378463004, retrieved 2026-10-27) — 2026 school counts and enrollment; high schools by city. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archdiocese_of_Saint_Paul_and_Minneapolis