About Lumen Christi Catholic Community · Saint Paul, Minnesota
Lumen Christi Catholic Community is a Roman Catholic parish of roughly 1,000 households in the Highland Park neighborhood of Saint Paul, Minnesota, within the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis. Formed in 2005–2006 by merging three earlier Highland Park parishes — St. Leo, St. Gregory the Great, and St. Therese — it now worships in the renovated former St. Leo church at 2055 Bohland Ave and shares a connected building with Highland Catholic School (preschool through 8th grade, 400+ students). The community lives out a vision summarized by its tagline 'We Are Called To Be The Light Of Christ In The World,' offering daily and Sunday Mass, Saturday reconciliation, Monday Eucharistic adoration, faith formation, and ministries of hospitality, service, and outreach.
- Established
- 2005
- Rector
- Rev. Paul Feela
- Diocese
- Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis
Why belong here
Lumen Christi is a mid-sized, walkable parish in the heart of Highland Park that takes its name — 'Light of Christ' — literally: parishioners are formed to take that light into daily life through prayer, lifelong faith formation, and direct service to neighbors in need. Daily Mass Monday through Friday, two Sunday Masses (with a Children's Liturgy of the Word at the 10:30 Mass during the school year), Monday Eucharistic adoration, and Saturday confession make the sacraments a steady rhythm of parish life. With a connected parochial school (Highland Catholic, preschool–8), active hospitality and funeral-luncheon ministries, and a downtown-school commitment to social justice, Lumen Christi is both a neighborhood Catholic community and a center of formation for families.
Mass times at Lumen Christi Catholic Community
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Saturdays, 3:30 PM – 4:00 PM
- Or by appointment
Adoration times
- Mondays, 8:30 AM – 12:00 PM (Noon)
Identity & Mission
Lumen Christi Catholic Community takes its name from the Latin for 'Light of Christ.' Its homepage tagline — 'We Are Called To Be The Light Of Christ In The World' — frames the parish's mission. According to its 'Community' page, the parish strives to live out a clear set of values: Welcoming Community, Respect for each individual, Service to the poor and vulnerable, Transparency through honest communication, Life-Long Faith Formation from Baptism through end of life, Compassionate Listening, Prayer centered on the Eucharist, and Gratitude for God's gifts. Located in the Highland Park neighborhood of St. Paul, the parish sees itself as a Christ-centered community that forms parishioners to carry their faith outward through charity and social justice.
- Tagline: 'We Are Called To Be The Light Of Christ In The World'
- Core values: Welcoming Community, Respect, Service, Transparency, Life-Long Faith Formation, Compassionate Listening, Prayer, Gratitude
- Mission: charity for immediate needs, social justice for human dignity
Parish History
Lumen Christi was born from three parishes and almost 120 years of Catholic life in Highland Park. Missionaries first came to Fort Snelling in 1888 to serve 30 families; that work led, through Fr. Edward Casey's 1920 assignment, to the 1926 Chapel of the Little Flower of Jesus, which became St. Therese by 1932. St. Leo was founded in 1945 and St. Gregory the Great in 1951. The three parishes began a formal clustering in 1994 under the name 'Highland Catholic Community.' A 1999 planning process led Archbishop Harry Flynn to direct the full merger; at his request the new parish was named 'Lumen Christi.' The St. Leo site was renovated and reopened as Lumen Christi on Holy Saturday 2005, St. Therese closed in February 2006, and the new Parish Center opened that February 11; Archbishop Flynn formally dedicated the parish on April 23, 2006.
- 1888 — Part-time missionaries sent to Fort Snelling (30 families)
- 1920 — Fr. Edward Casey assigned to Fort Snelling and surrounding area
- 1926 — Chapel of the Little Flower of Jesus opens
- 1932 — Chapel becomes Church of St. Therese
- 1945 — Church of St. Leo founded
- 1951 — Church of St. Gregory the Great founded
- 1994 — St. Leo, St. Therese, and St. Gregory cluster as 'Highland Catholic Community'
- 1999 — Planning process for full merger begins
- March 26, 2005 — St. Leo site reopens as Lumen Christi (Holy Saturday)
- May 15, 2005 — St. Gregory closes
- February 5, 2006 — St. Therese closes
- February 11, 2006 — Lumen Christi Parish Center opens
- April 23, 2006 — Archbishop Flynn formally dedicates Lumen Christi
Sacraments
Lumen Christi prepares parishioners for the seven sacraments in a formation that begins with baptism and continues through end-of-life care. The parish website highlights Reconciliation and First Communion preparation in Grade 2 and Confirmation preparation in Grade 8, working in close partnership with Highland Catholic School. Bereavement ministry extends through funeral liturgies and the parish's funeral-luncheon hospitality program.
- Baptism
- Reconciliation (Saturday 3:30–4:00 PM or by appointment)
- First Communion (Grade 2 preparation)
- Confirmation (Grade 8 preparation)
- Marriage
- Anointing of the Sick
- Funeral Liturgies and luncheon support
Highland Catholic School
Highland Catholic School is the parish school of Lumen Christi Catholic Community, serving more than 400 students from preschool through 8th grade on an urban campus at 2017 Bohland Avenue, directly connected to the church. The school, whose colors are blue, green, and red and whose teams are the Hornets, was formed when the St. Leo and St. Therese schools merged in 1971 and then absorbed the St. Gregory school in 1979, becoming the largest and oldest school in the Archdiocese. Its mission — 'a Christ-centered faith community, fostering spiritual growth, academic excellence and commitment to justice in the name of Jesus' — is lived out through required religious instruction, all-school monthly Masses celebrated at Lumen Christi (each grade plans one Mass per year), and required service projects such as May Day Baskets, food-shelf collections, and a giving tree.
- Preschool through Grade 8, 400+ students
- Principal: Jane Schmidt
- Colors: Blue, Green, Red — mascot: Hornets
- Connected to Lumen Christi church for monthly all-school Masses
- Sacramental prep in partnership with Lumen Christi parish staff
Hospitality & Pastoral Care Ministries
Lumen Christi's hospitality ministries keep the parish a welcoming, neighborly community. Volunteers bake, set up, serve, and clean up at Funeral Luncheons that comfort grieving families; the Hospitality Committee coordinates refreshments for major parish events like Easter Vigil, Confirmation luncheons, and Leadership Dinners; Coffee and Donuts are served the second weekend of each month from October through May; and the Parish Registration and Welcome ministry greets new parishioners after Mass on the second weekend of the month.
- Funeral Luncheons — contact Barb Meyer (651-698-9220, [email protected])
- Hospitality Committee — contact Sue Kaufenberg (651-699-6130, [email protected])
- Coffee and Donuts (2nd weekend, October–May)
- Parish Registration and Welcome — contact Max Huber (651-370-1608, [email protected])
Staff & Clergy
The Rev. Paul Feela, a priest of the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis, currently serves as pastor of Lumen Christi Catholic Community. Fr. Feela previously taught sacraments and worship at the Saint Paul Seminary School of Divinity at the University of St. Thomas. A [email protected] address on the website suggests Max Huber has a parish-staff role in registration and welcome. The Highland Catholic School principal is Jane Schmidt.
- Rev. Paul Feela — Pastor
- Jane Schmidt — Principal, Highland Catholic School
- Sue Kaufenberg — Hospitality Committee and Coffee & Donuts coordinator
- Barb Meyer — Funeral Luncheons coordinator
- Max Huber — Parish Registration and Welcome
Visit & Contact
Parishioners and visitors can reach Lumen Christi by phone at 651-698-5581 and find the church at 2055 Bohland Ave, Saint Paul, MN 55116-1911, in the Highland Park neighborhood. The 8:30 AM Sunday Mass is livestreamed through the parish website and on Facebook, and the parish directs visitors to additional nearby Mass times via its mass-times page.
- Address: 2055 Bohland Ave, Saint Paul, MN 55116-1911
- Phone: 651-698-5581
- Website: lumenchristicc.org
- Livestream: 8:30 AM Sunday Mass (website + Facebook)
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Fr. Edward Casey1920
Assigned in 1920 to minister to soldiers at Fort Snelling and the surrounding neighborhood; the area's early Catholic identity grew from his work and the 1926 Chapel of the Little Flower of Jesus (later St. Therese).