Holy Cross

History of Holy Cross Parish, Dakota

Holy Cross traces its origins to the Catholic settlement of the Mississippi River bluffs in what is now Winona County. The earliest documented Catholic burials in the adjoining Holy Cross Catholic Cemetery date to 1885 (Katie Nagle), placing the parish's organization in the early 1880s, before the Diocese of Winona was created in 1889. For most of its life it functioned as a small rural mission served by priests based at larger parishes — most recently Crucifixion in La Crescent — and was listed in the diocesan directory under that parish.

Merger with Crucifixion, La Crescent (2022)

On December 1, 2022, Holy Cross was officially merged with the Church of the Crucifixion in La Crescent as part of the diocese-wide 'All Things New' parish realignment. The diocesan directory now marks Holy Cross with a 'Z-Closed' status and lists the merged parish website at crucifixionchurch.org. The same phone number — (507) 895-4720 — and the Crucifixion parish office at 423 South Second Street, La Crescent, became the point of contact for former Holy Cross parishioners.

The Holy Cross Catholic Cemetery

The Holy Cross Catholic Cemetery sits at Center Street (County Road 12) and Frontage Road in Dakota, on the bluffs above the Mississippi River. With more than 260 marked graves — the oldest dating to 1885 — it is among the oldest Catholic burial grounds in this stretch of Winona County. According to the Diocese of Winona-Rochester cemetery directory, it remains an active Catholic cemetery maintained by the diocese.

• Oldest marked grave: Katie Nagle (d. November 4, 1885)
• Coordinates: 43.91185, -91.36338
• Still listed as an active diocesan cemetery

The Holy Cross Bell and St. Thérèse at Crucifixion

When the Crucifixion bell tower (originally dedicated in 1964 by Bishop Edward Fitzgerald) was fully restored in 2024, four historically significant bells were placed within it. One of them — the bell from Holy Cross, Dakota — was installed as the fourth bell, named for St. Thérèse of Lisieux and signifying 'Unity.' A statue of St. Thérèse that had stood in a niche above the front doors of the old Holy Cross church, donated by Mike and Vickie Ott, was also moved to Crucifixion as a memorial to the faith of the people who worshipped at Holy Cross.

• Bell of Holy Cross, Dakota — 4th bell in Crucifixion tower, signifies 'Unity,' named for St. Thérèse of Lisieux
• Statue of St. Thérèse of Lisieux — originally above the front doors of Holy Cross, donated by Mike & Vickie Ott
• Tower restored and bells re-blessed in 2024

Diocese of Winona-Rochester

Holy Cross belonged to the Diocese of Winona, which was established on November 26, 1889, when 20 southern Minnesota counties were separated from the Archdiocese of St. Paul. The diocese was renamed the Diocese of Winona-Rochester by decree of the Congregation for Bishops on January 23, 2018, with the parish of St. John the Evangelist in Rochester raised to the dignity of a co-cathedral. The ninth and current bishop is Robert E. Barron, appointed by Pope Francis on June 2, 2022, and installed July 29, 2022. The diocese covers 13,000 square miles of the southern 20 counties of Minnesota.

Visiting Holy Cross Today

The former Holy Cross church at 180 Washington Street, Dakota, MN 55925, is no longer an active worship site. Former parishioners, genealogists, and visitors can still visit the Holy Cross Catholic Cemetery at Center Street and Frontage Road in Dakota, and can worship with the community that absorbed Holy Cross at the Church of the Crucifixion, 423 South 2nd Street, La Crescent, MN 55947 — where the Holy Cross bell and St. Thérèse statue continue the legacy of the Dakota parish.