Dominicans in the Twin Cities: A Legacy of Faith, Flourishing in New Ways

Since the nineteenth century, with the arrival of the Dominican friars of St. Joseph Province at Holy Rosary Parish, followed by the Sinsinawa Dominican Sisters, the Twin Cities of St. Paul and Minneapolis have been Dominican territory. Half a century ago, the U.S. Catholic Directory reported that the area was served by two priories of the Chicago Province friars (the Chicago Province of St. Albert the Great/Central Province was formed from the St. Joseph Eastern Province in 1939), more than thirteen missions of the Sinsinawa Dominicans, and houses of the Dominican Sisters of the Sick Poor and the Hawthorne Dominicans. 

Chapters of the Dominican laity were also strong.  Collaboration has always been strong among Dominicans, and in the earlier years it often meant that the friars served the Sisters sacramentally, the Sisters operated the parochial schools in the parishes staffed by the friars (along with countless other parishes), and the health care Sisters might tend to the needs of the others in emergencies and respond to the needs of vulnerable parishioners in the Dominican parishes. The Dominican laity always supported the various works of the Religious generously.  

Today the picture is quite different. The number of local Sinsinawa Dominicans and their associates is a single-digit number. The Sick Poor and Hawthorne Dominicans have withdrawn. The friars are down to one priory with nine friars.  Yet, newcomers have arrived, some remain from earlier foundations, and by necessity, new ways of experiencing the community life of the Order have caught on. As a result, the Dominican family has taken on a new vibrancy. 

The population is modest, but steady. The friars of Chicago continue to serve the area through their St. Albert the Great Priory. From the priory, the friars minister at three parishes; are engaged in hospital ministry; grade, high school, university and seminary teaching; nursing home chaplaincy; and filling in where they can. The remaining Sinsinawa Sisters are principally in retirement, yet are encountered often within the community, advocating and providing guidance where they can.

But there are new faces. The Nashville Dominican Sisters now staff St. Croix Catholic School, a consolidated educational effort in nearby St. Croix, while the Ann Arbor Dominicans staff St. Agnes Catholic School, a parochial grade and high school complex in St. Paul. The Dominican laity are a strong chapter, and the Priestly Fraternity of St. Dominic (formerly Third Order diocesan priests), through chapter of seminarians and priests at St. Paul Seminary, is growing rapidly.  All are pleased when a single Adrian Dominican who lives at a distance can join family gatherings, and perhaps somewhat uniquely, several former friars and Sisters who are now married include their participation in local Dominican Family events as a means of keeping their association vibrant.

There is a sense that our interconnectedness strengthens our presence here. One group helps the others as well as they can. The friars are the confessors at St. Agnes Convent. 

One expression of the community life of the whole group is their celebration of the Feast of St. Catherine of Siena every year at St. Albert the Great Priory, where Vespers, Mass, recreation, and supper comprise the evening. This year, that event will be celebrated in conjunction with the Golden Jubilee of Fr. Gilbert Thesing, a priest of the Central Province and a native of Minnesota who is assigned to St. Albert’s. He spent fifty-two years ministering in Nigeria. Plans are currently falling into place for that festive Dominican family gathering.

Fr. Michael Monshau, OP

Promoter of Priestly Fraternities