About St. Albert the Great · Minneapolis, Minnesota
Church of St. Albert the Great is a Roman Catholic parish in Minneapolis' Greater Longfellow neighborhood, part of the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis, and continuously pastored by Dominican priests since its founding. The parish was established on February 10, 1935, and today serves roughly 600 registered households with Sunday and weekday Masses, Eucharistic Adoration on Thursdays, and Reconciliation on Saturday afternoons. Beyond worship, St. Albert's runs a Faith Formation program, a twice-monthly Sandwich Ministry for a neighborhood women's shelter, and is a founding parish of the regional Risen Christ Catholic School. The community describes itself as 'a welcoming, caring Catholic Community of Faith' and emphasizes welcoming participation regardless of background.
- Established
- 1935
- Patron
- St. Albert the Great (Albertus Magnus)
- Rector
- Fr. Joe Gillespie, O.P. (Parochial Administrator)
- Diocese
- Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis
Why belong here
St. Albert the Great is one of the few parishes in the country that has been continuously pastored by Dominican priests since its founding, giving the community a distinctive preacherly and teaching identity. A parish of about 600 households in the heart of the Greater Longfellow neighborhood, it offers a full weekly schedule — two Sunday Masses, four weekday Masses, Saturday Reconciliation, and a Thursday evening hour of Eucharistic Adoration. Active lay ministries include a Faith Formation program for children and Confirmation candidates and a long-running Sandwich Ministry that feeds women at The Valiance shelter. As a founding parish of Risen Christ Catholic School, St. Albert's also maintains a strong connection to bilingual Catholic education in south Minneapolis. The parish welcomes participation regardless of age, marital status, income, ability, race, or background, and its building is fully accessible by elevator and ramp.
Mass times at St. Albert the Great
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Saturday 4:15 PM – 4:40 PM
Adoration times
- Thursday 7:00 PM – 8:00 PM (Non-Perpetual Eucharistic Adoration)
Parish History
Founded February 10, 1935, and named for St. Albert the Great — canonized just four years earlier — St. Albert's was carved out of the eastern portion of Holy Rosary Parish. Its first Mass was offered April 7, 1935, in the chapel of the McDivitt Funeral Home at Lake Street and 29th Ave. S. The parish then built a combination school-and-worship building, where classes began in September 1935 with 167 Dominican-taught students. The community worshipped there for 14 years before the current church and rectory were constructed and dedicated in 1949. A new altar was installed in 1957, a pipe organ in 1978, and a major renovation in 1991 produced the present worship-space configuration.
Dominican Identity
From the very beginning, Dominican priests have pastored St. Albert the Great, and the rectory that adjoins the church to the north continues to serve as a residence for many of the region's Dominican priests. The adjoining yellow houses — once the convent of the Sinsinawa Dominican sisters who staffed the school — now house the Parish Center and Meeting House, a quiet institutional link to the parish's teaching order's heritage.
School and the Legacy of Risen Christ
After years of difficult deliberation, St. Albert's closed its parish school in 1993 and joined four other south Minneapolis parishes — Holy Name, Holy Rosary, Incarnation, and St. Stephen's — to form the regional Risen Christ Catholic School. Risen Christ today serves about 300 K-8 students and is the only Catholic dual-immersion school in Minnesota. The parish's old school building, meanwhile, was leased to Minneapolis Public Schools for special education until June 2002, and since August 2002 has been home to Minnesota Transitions, a public charter elementary school in the Longfellow community.
- Risen Christ Catholic School founded 1993 as a five-parish consolidation
- Old parish school building now leased to Minnesota Transitions charter school
Who We Are
The parish describes itself as 'a Christian community that works to be a community of faith, a parish family and a caring people.' Roughly 600 households are registered, the vast majority from Minneapolis' Greater Longfellow Community. The parish explicitly welcomes broad participation in ministry and decision-making regardless of age, sex, marital status, income, physical abilities, racial makeup, sexual orientation, political persuasion, or religious background.
- About 600 registered households
- Majority drawn from the Greater Longfellow neighborhood
- Member of the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis
- Pastor belongs to the Dominican Order — as have every pastor in the parish's history
Clergy and Staff
The parish is currently led by a Parochial Administrator from the Dominican Order, assisted by an Assistant Pastor, also a Dominican. A small lay staff runs the business office, faith formation, liturgy and music, communications, events, and maintenance. Parish offices are open Tuesday through Thursday, 9:00 AM to 3:30 PM, in the Parish Center.
- Fr. Joe Gillespie, O.P. — Parochial Administrator (ext. 104)
- Fr. Thomas Saucier, O.P. — Assistant Pastor (ext. 113)
- Tami Bauers — Business Administrator (ext. 107)
- Edward Burke — Faith Formation (ext. 103)
- Erin Sim — Bulletin/Promotion (ext. 101)
- Paula Lindgren — Events/Social Hall (ext. 108)
- Tom Fidiam — Liturgy/Music (ext. 105)
- Jim Curran — Maintenance (ext. 111)
- Jessica Hamburge — Housekeeping
Worship Schedule
Mass is celebrated in English every day except Wednesday and Saturday morning. Two Sunday Masses (9:30 AM and Noon) serve the wider community, while four short weekday Masses (8:15 AM Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday) anchor the daily prayer life of the parish. Saturday afternoon offers Reconciliation, and Thursday evening brings an hour of Eucharistic Adoration.
- Saturday Vigil: 5:00 PM
- Sunday: 9:30 AM and 12:00 PM
- Weekday Mass: 8:15 AM Mon, Tue, Thu, Fri
- Reconciliation: Saturday 4:15–4:40 PM
- Eucharistic Adoration: Thursday 7:00–8:00 PM
Sacraments and Devotions
Alongside daily Mass, the parish maintains the traditional devotions of a Dominican parish — frequent Reconciliation and a weekly hour of Eucharistic Adoration — providing the spiritual rhythm that has shaped the community since 1935.
Faith Formation and Religious Education
The parish runs a Faith Formation program for children from pre-K through 8th grade, with classes meeting on Sundays at 10:45 AM. Confirmation preparation is scheduled individually with families after registration. (Adult registration remains open even after the start of the program.) The parish is also a founding sponsor of Risen Christ Catholic School, supporting Catholic education in the Longfellow area.
- Pre-K through 8th-grade faith formation — Sundays at 10:45 AM
- Confirmation preparation by arrangement
- Founding parish of Risen Christ Catholic School (K-8, bilingual/dual immersion)
Outreach and Social Justice
St. Albert's signature lay outreach is its Sandwich Ministry, which twice a month prepares bag lunches for the women served by The Valiance, a neighborhood women's shelter operated by Agate Housing + Services. Volunteers gather in the parish social hall on the second Thursday of each month at 11:00 AM and on the last Saturday at 3:30 PM.
- Sandwich Ministry — second Thursday (11:00 AM) and last Saturday (3:30 PM) of each month
- Recipient: The Valiance women's shelter, run by Agate Housing + Services
- Volunteer sign-up available online
Campus, Accessibility, and Visiting
The campus centers on the 1949 church and includes an adjoining rectory to the north (home to the Dominican community), the former school building now leased to Minnesota Transitions, and two adjoining yellow houses that once housed the Sinsinawa Dominican sisters and now serve as the Parish Center and Meeting House. The church building is fully accessible by elevators and ramps, and the parish office is open Tuesday through Thursday, 9:00 AM to 3:30 PM.
- Address: 2836 33rd Ave S, Minneapolis, MN 55406
- Phone: (612) 724-3643
- Fax: (612) 722-9726
- Parish Center offices open Tue–Thu, 9:00 AM–3:30 PM
- Wheelchair-accessible via elevator and ramps