About Our Lady of Peace · Minneapolis, Minnesota
Our Lady of Peace is a Roman Catholic parish and school in the Standish / Hale-Page-Diamond Lake neighborhood of South Minneapolis, Minnesota, serving the Lake Nokomis and Diamond Lake communities within the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis. The parish was created on July 1, 1991, by Archbishop John R. Roach through the merger of the Church of the Resurrection (founded 1933) and the Church of St. Kevin (founded 1941), and occupies the former Resurrection campus on 12th Avenue South. Worship is celebrated in a striking, diamond-shaped worship space completed in 1958, and the parish school enrolls roughly 200 students from preschool through eighth grade.
- Established
- 1991
- Patron
- Our Lady of Peace (the Blessed Virgin Mary)
- Rector
- Fr. Joah Ellis
- Diocese
- Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis
Why belong here
Our Lady of Peace is a neighborhood parish with a strong family and school identity in South Minneapolis — the parish school educates roughly 200 students from preschool through eighth grade, and the parish supports both school families and homeschool/public-school families through its Family Faith Formation program. Worship is centered on a striking diamond-shaped church built in 1958, with a robust music and liturgy program under a Director of Music & Liturgy, weekly confession, and First-Friday Eucharistic Adoration. Active outreach through Habitat for Humanity, Sharing and Caring Hands, and Meals on Wheels, plus a youth ministry for grades 5–12 and Confirmation preparation in eighth grade, make it a good fit for families looking for an engaged Catholic community on the south side of Minneapolis.
Mass times at Our Lady of Peace
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Wednesdays, 5:30–6:00 PM
- Saturdays, 3:00–4:00 PM
Adoration times
- First Friday of each month, 9:00 AM – 7:00 PM (sign-up to spend an hour)
Our Lady of Peace — Parish Overview
Our Lady of Peace Catholic Church and School is a neighborhood parish serving the Lake Nokomis and Diamond Lake communities of South Minneapolis within the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis. The parish's stated goal is to help every person become a saint by drawing closer to Jesus Christ through the example of the Blessed Virgin Mary, 'living a life of faith, hope, and love.' The parish combines traditional Catholic worship, a vibrant K–8 school, and an active calendar of formation, youth, and outreach ministries.
- Established July 1, 1991, by Archbishop John R. Roach
- Created from the merger of Church of the Resurrection (1933) and Church of St. Kevin (1941)
- Serves the Lake Nokomis and Diamond Lake communities of South Minneapolis
- Member parish of the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis
- Current pastor: Fr. Joah Ellis
Parish History
The parish traces its roots to two earlier South Minneapolis communities. The Church of the Resurrection, founded by Archbishop Austin Dowling on January 22, 1933, stood on the west side of Lake Nokomis and built the current diamond-shaped worship space in 1958. The Church of St. Kevin, founded by Archbishop John Gregory Murray on October 1, 1941, served the area near 28th Avenue and the Crosstown. In 1991 Archbishop John R. Roach merged the two into a single new parish — Our Lady of Peace — with the Resurrection buildings and land providing the campus and the St. Kevin property, sold to the Minneapolis–St. Paul International Airport, providing an endowment. The parish marked its silver jubilee in 2016.
- 1933 — Church of the Resurrection founded by Archbishop Austin Dowling
- 1941 — Church of St. Kevin founded by Archbishop John Gregory Murray
- 1958 — Current Resurrection/Our Lady of Peace church building completed with a diamond-shaped design
- 1991 — Merger creating Our Lady of Peace, effective July 1
- 1994 — Physical consolidation at the 12th Avenue South site completed July 1
- 2016 — 25th anniversary of the parish community
Parish Staff
The parish is led by a pastor and a team of lay staff who direct worship, faith formation, youth ministry, communications, business, and facilities.
- Fr. Joah Ellis — Pastor
- Elizabeth Pike — Director of Music & Liturgy
- Nicholas Cichowicz — Director of Faith Formation
- Jocelyn Johnson — Director of Youth Ministry
- James Pike — Director of Communications & Parish Life
- Renée Svard — Business Administrator
- Michael Manahan — Director of Facilities
Faith Formation & Religious Education
Family Faith Formation is designed to equip parents as 'the first and most important teachers of the faith' for children from Kindergarten through Grade 5. Families gather at the parish once a month from October through May for prayer, learning, and formation, with catechist-led children's sessions running in parallel with parent formation; take-home materials carry the learning into family life between sessions. The model was developed by St. Paul's Catholic Church in Ham Lake and is now used by parishes across the Twin Cities. School families participate free as part of tuition; public/homeschool families pay $105 per family for all materials.
- Sessions meet on the second Wednesday of each month, October–May, 6:15–7:45 PM
- Free for OLP school families (included in tuition)
- $105 per family for public/homeschool families
- Built on a home-centered model developed at St. Paul's, Ham Lake
Youth Ministry
Youth Ministry at Our Lady of Peace is built on 'belonging before anything else' and offers programming for students from 5th through 12th grade. Middle School ministry (Grades 6–8) provides weekly small groups, monthly retreat nights, and a Tuesday after-school Open Youth Room; a new '5th Grade First Mondays' gathering launched in October 2025. High School ministry (Grades 9–12) meets weekly on Wednesday nights for snacks, real talk, and prayer, plus monthly Lifeline worship nights with hundreds of other teens. Confirmation preparation typically takes place during 8th grade.
- 5th Grade First Mondays — first Monday of the month, 3:15–5:00 PM (new for 2025–26)
- Middle School Open Youth Room — Tuesdays after school
- Middle School Girls' and Boys' Small Groups
- Middle School monthly Retreat Nights
- High School weekly Wednesday Night Youth Group
- Monthly Lifeline Worship Nights
- Confirmation preparation in 8th grade
Our Lady of Peace Catholic School
Our Lady of Peace Catholic School serves approximately 200 students from preschool through eighth grade with small class sizes. Students in preschool onward work with academic specialists in Spanish, Technology, Music, Library, Physical Education, and Arts, while focusing on a core curriculum of Language Arts, Math, Science, Social Studies, and Religion. The school describes itself as a 'caring, collaborative community educating students to be critical thinkers and thoughtful leaders' and prepares students 'to respond to Christ's call to build peace at home, in school, in the community, and in the world.'
- Preschool through Grade 8 (~200 students)
- School day: 8:00 AM – 3:00 PM
- Extended Day / after-school programming available
- Optional hot lunch program with monthly menu
- Uniform dress code
- Specialists in Spanish, Technology, Music, Library, PE, and Arts
Music & Liturgy
Liturgy at Our Lady of Peace is supported by a dedicated Director of Music & Liturgy (Elizabeth Pike). The parish celebrates Mass in English, offers weekday and weekend services, and livestreams Masses online. Special liturgies include Holy Day Masses (8:15 AM and 6:15 PM except Christmas and the Solemnity of Mary), Tenebrae during Holy Week, and the Easter Vigil at 8:00 PM.
- Director of Music & Liturgy: Elizabeth Pike
- Livestreamed Masses available
- Anointing of the Sick celebrated periodically at weekend Masses
Community Outreach
Outreach is a longstanding part of parish life at Our Lady of Peace, with formal partnerships focused on housing, basic needs, and food security in the Twin Cities.
- Habitat for Humanity
- Sharing and Caring Hands
- Meals on Wheels
Parish Endowment & Stewardship
When the former Church of St. Kevin was sold to the Minneapolis–St. Paul International Airport in 1991, the proceeds gave Our Lady of Peace a financial safety net as it was being established. Decades later the parish placed those and additional funds into a permanent endowment with the Catholic Community Foundation, providing a stable annual source of revenue and a way for parish families to support the parish in perpetuity through estate gifts. The endowment helped sustain the parish and its school through the disruptions of the COVID-19 pandemic.
- St. Kevin sale proceeds formed the original parish endowment
- Permanent endowment established with the Catholic Community Foundation
- Supports school investments and parish families' estate giving
Visiting & Contact
Visitors and parishioners can reach the parish office at 612-824-3455 or in person at 5426 12th Avenue South, Minneapolis, MN 55417. The office entrance is at Door 1 in the 12th Avenue parking lot. Office hours are Monday–Thursday 8:30 AM – 4:00 PM and Friday 8:30 AM – 2:00 PM; visits outside these hours are by appointment.
- Address: 5426 12th Avenue South, Minneapolis, MN 55417
- Phone: 612-824-3455
- Office Hours: Mon–Thu 8:30 AM – 4:00 PM; Fri 8:30 AM – 2:00 PM
- Office entrance: Door 1, 12th Avenue parking lot
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Fr. Kevin Kenney1998–2004
Pastor of Our Lady of Peace, sent by Archbishop Harry Flynn to lead the parish after his ordination in 1994. Later served as pastor of Our Lady of Guadalupe in St. Paul (2004–2015) and was named Auxiliary Bishop of Saint Paul and Minneapolis, ordained October 28, 2024.
- Fr. Joah EllisPresent
Current pastor. Led the parish's pivot to livestreamed Masses and drive-through confession during the COVID-19 pandemic and oversaw the establishment of a permanent endowment through the Catholic Community Foundation.