St. Albert the Great focuses on meaningful celebrations

Annual St. Francis Day blessing of the animals is one of many ‘community expressions of love’

Article and photos by MARGIE O’LOUGHLIN

In the late afternoon on the first Sunday in October, a semicircle of chairs was arranged in front of the Catholic Church of St. Albert the Great. Parishioners and neighbors balanced cats, small dogs, stuffed animals and portraits of beloved pets on their laps.

Larger dogs hung toward the back, where they sat quietly in the afternoon sun.

Father Joe Gillespie led the congregation in an annual animal blessing, acknowledging the vital role pets play in people’s lives and their hearts. Each animal received an individual blessing, and several people shared stories about their pets. The service ended with a robust singing of “All God’s Critters got a Place in the Choir.”

St. Albert’s, and countless churches around the world, offers a special service like this every year to coincide with the Sunday closest to St. Francis Day.

St. Francis of Assisi was known as the patron saint of creation. St. Francis, who died in 1226, loved the whole animal kingdom. He is often depicted with a wild wolf he is said to have tamed, and is revered for being a lover of all creation.

St. Albert’s is celebrating 80 years together as a parish family this year. Since the middle of the Great Depression, they’ve been a caring Catholic community anchored at 2836 33rd Ave. S. Their spirit of caring runs deep—and is visible in the many ways they offer to explore a life of faith within the Catholic tradition. St. Albert’s states that,“Regardless of your age, gender, marital status, income, physical ability, ethnicity, sexual orientation, political persuasion or religious background, you are welcome here.”

They offer a whole lot of ways for people to engage with their faith and with one another. “Music is a great strength of our worship services,” said Father Joe. “We’re lifted up by the inspired singing of the choir, the excellent acoustics within the sanctuary and the beauty of our concert grand piano,” he said.

Beyond the joy of worship music, parishioners and community members alike took part this sum­mer in St. Albert’s fourth annual concert series. Called “She Swings,” it featured women jazz artists with some serious groove.“The performances averaged about 300 audience members each,” said Father Joe, “and we’ll be putting the series on again next year.”

Father Joe arrived at St. Albert’s in 2006, after serving the Basilica of St. Mary in downtown Minneapolis for years. He said, “Going from a congregation of 15,000 to several hundred was an adjustment, but I quickly grew to love it. It’s possible for me to know families and individuals deeply here, to enter into both their joy and their pain.”

Photo left: Father Joe Gillespie lead the animal blessing from the church’s front stairs.

The church has identified two significant ways of engaging with the community beyond their walls. One is through the work of their Peace and Justice Committee, which has chosen to focus on the endemic issue of racism in society. The Committee invites all interested parishioners to join them as they look at ways to educate themselves and the Parish on systematic racism. The group meets the third Wednesday of every month at 7pm.

St. Albert’s also has a poverty outreach program called, “We Care.” The program is run by volunteers and offers fellowship and financial assistance to persons in need. Applicants need not be residents of the parish or in any way associated with the church—though if they are, that’s fine too.

Church administrator Erin Sim explained, “Four times a month, we’re able to make $40 worth of MTC bus cards, CUB or Target gift cards available for up to 12 persons.

Anyone with a state or tribal ID card is eligible for services once in a three month period. If more than 12 people are present, we choose recipients in an informal lottery.”

Photo right: St. Albert the Great was a 13th century scholar and researcher of animals, birds, insects, plants and minerals. 

“It’s not a lot of help,” Sim continued, but it can make a difference in those times when there’s just more month than there is money.” To volunteer or to learn when “We Care” services will be offered next, call the church office at 612-722-9726.

Adjacent to the church office is a school one could easily assume was a parochial school. Since 2014, it’s been home to the Bdote Learning Center: a K-5 Dakota and Ojibwe immersion charter school that’s run by the Minneapolis Public School System.

The mission of the Bdote Learning Center is to develop culturally aware, successful students by providing them with an education that is academically rigorous, rooted in the language and tradition of indigenous people.

Father Joe emphasized the value of personal and spiritual growth St. Albert’s. He said, “For me, being part of this congregation has been an ongoing invitation to learn.”

“One of the things this church has learned to do very well is to organize meaningful celebrations in old-fashioned ways, with surprising twists,” Father Joe explained. Their six Lenten Fish Suppers fed more than 7,000 guests last year. In addition to fresh, tasty fish and fixing’s, two bands each night played music from jazz to bluegrass.

“Behind the scenes of this ‘well-oiled machine’,” Father Joe said, “are a network of church and neighborhood volunteers. That’s what it’s all about here—building community and connectedness through God’s work.”