About St. Cloud Hospital Chapel · Saint Cloud, Minnesota
St. Cloud Hospital Chapel is the Catholic chapel inside CentraCare – St. Cloud Hospital at 1406 6th Avenue N in Saint Cloud, Minnesota, within the Diocese of Saint Cloud. It was built in 1926 as part of the hospital founded by the Benedictine sisters of St. Benedict's Monastery in St. Joseph, and remains the spiritual heart of a Catholic, regional hospital whose mission is to continue the healing mission of Jesus. The chapel is always open to the public and offers daily Catholic Mass (Sunday through Friday at 10:30 a.m. and Saturday at 4:00 p.m.), distribution of Holy Communion to Catholic patients, and a chaplaincy that serves patients, families and staff of every faith tradition.
- Established
- 1926
- Rector
- Father Mark Stang
- Diocese
- Diocese of Saint Cloud
Why belong here
St. Cloud Hospital Chapel is a quiet, always-open sanctuary in the middle of a busy regional hospital where anyone — patient, visitor, staff member or neighbor — is welcome to sit in prayer. It offers daily Catholic Mass in a beautifully restored chapel with historic Sacred Heart mosaic art, daily distribution of Holy Communion to Catholic patients by trained Eucharistic Ministry volunteers, and a chaplaincy available around the clock for spiritual and emotional support through emergencies, surgery, grief, and end-of-life care. Volunteers in the No One Dies Alone and Eucharistic Ministry programs carry the Benedictine mission of welcoming all people as Christ into the hallways and bedsides of the hospital every day.
Mass times at St. Cloud Hospital Chapel
Weekly Mass schedule
About St. Cloud Hospital Chapel
St. Cloud Hospital Chapel is the Catholic chapel inside CentraCare – St. Cloud Hospital and the spiritual heart of a Catholic, regional hospital rooted in the Benedictine healing tradition. It is open 24 hours a day to all — patients, families, staff and visitors — and offers daily Mass, bedside distribution of Holy Communion, anointing of the sick, and an around-the-clock chaplaincy for people of every faith tradition. The chapel is part of the Diocese of Saint Cloud and serves as a place of welcome and prayer at the center of the largest hospital in Central Minnesota.
- Located on the first floor between the Center and Lakes entrances
- Always open to the public
- A separate Prayer and Meditation Room is also available on the first floor near the Lakes entrance
Catholic Mass and Liturgy
Catholic Mass is celebrated in the chapel every day of the week and is open to the public. The hospital asks visitors to refrain from coming to Mass when they have cold or flu symptoms or recent respiratory exposure, in order to protect patients and staff. The current liturgy schedule, restored after the 2017 enhancement project, is centered on the altar, ambo and presider's chair, with additional lighting that highlights the tabernacle and Sacred Heart Mosaic outside of liturgy.
- Sunday Mass: 10:30 a.m.
- Monday–Friday Mass: 10:30 a.m.
- Saturday Mass: 4:00 p.m.
- Weekday Mass is celebrated in the chapel; during the 2017 renovation weekend liturgies were temporarily held in Hoppe Auditorium and weekday liturgies in the St. Benedict conference room
History of the Chapel
The chapel was designed and built in 1926 as part of the new St. Cloud Hospital, constructed by the Benedictine sisters of St. Benedict's Monastery in St. Joseph, Minnesota. The sisters' original correspondence with the Chicago architects shows that they placed the chapel so that patients could look out toward the Mississippi River — a river they recognized as a place of healing, as the Ojibwe people who lived along it had long understood. The hospital was formally dedicated on February 9, 1928.
- 1886 — Sisters of the Order of St. Benedict found St. Benedict's Hospital in St. Cloud
- 1926 — Ground broken for the new hospital, designed to hold 200 patients; chapel built simultaneously
- 1928 — St. Cloud Hospital formally dedicated
- 1962 — Sisters transfer ownership to a not-for-profit corporation
- 1975 — Diocese of St. Cloud joins to maintain the Catholic character of the hospital
- 1995 — St. Cloud Hospital and St. Cloud Clinic of Internal Medicine form CentraCare Health System
- July 2015 — Initial planning meetings for the chapel enhancement project begin
- September 2016 — Hospital hires national liturgical designer John Buscemi
- Jan. 23, 2017 — Renovation work begins in the chapel
- April 7, 2017 — Project completed in time for Palm Sunday
- May 31, 2017 — Bishop Donald Kettler presides at a celebration honoring the chapel's legacy
Architecture and Sacred Art
The chapel was designed by Schmidt, Garden & Erikson, a Chicago firm mentored by Louis Sullivan (who also mentored Frank Lloyd Wright). Built in the "jewel box" tradition of muscular brick walls, detailed pilasters and a single graceful arch, the building is a small but textbook example of Chicago School religious architecture. Original elements — restored or highlighted in the 2017 project — include the Sacred Heart Mosaic, the Kasota stone floor from Mankato, and the coffered poured-concrete ceiling.
- Great Arch — the only curved structure in the original 1926 design
- Sacred Heart Mosaic — designed and crafted by German artists in 1926, shipped to Minnesota complete for $600; depicts the Sacred Heart of Jesus surrounded by the four evangelist symbols
- Statue of St. Cloud — placed on the central peak of the high altar directly in front of the mosaic (the original chalice planned for the mosaic was removed because two chalices would have been inappropriate)
- Kasota stone floors quarried near Mankato, used for the altar stone, pillars, tabernacle column and sanctuary floor
- Terrazzo flooring under the pews made from limestone fragments quarried in the Winona area
The 2017 Enhancement Project
The 2017 enhancement project ("new creation" in the words of the planners) was designed to restore the chapel's original 1926 design while making the space more welcoming to people of every faith and culture. Chris Reicher — who also works in Music and Liturgy Ministry at the hospital — served as liaison between the Chapel Project Planning Group and the contractors, drawing on deep archival research, including the original letters between the Benedictine sisters and the Chicago architects.
- Estimated cost: $565,000 (fire safety and lighting funded by the hospital; liturgical enhancements funded by private donations through the CentraCare Health Foundation)
- Coffered ceiling lowered by 8 inches to conceal pipes, sprinkler heads and LED fixtures
- Original Kasota stone floors and terrazzo flooring restored
- Bronze tabernacle from the 1920s — on long-term loan from the Benedictine sisters — repositioned under the Great Arch on a stone column with a simple canopy
- Sacred Heart Mosaic extended down the wall to serve as the tabernacle's backdrop
- Holy oils placed in the ambry on the side wall of the sanctuary
- Lighting focused on altar, ambo and presider's chair during liturgy; tabernacle and mosaic lit outside liturgy
New Sacred Elements
The 2017 project added several elements intended to make the chapel a place of welcome for people of every faith and culture. The committee recognized that "Creation" — trees, flowers, fields, lakes, rivers, rocks, sky, clouds and sun in Minnesota — is seen as sacred by all peoples.
- Creation Window — hand-painted by local artist R.C. McCoy, depicting a pastoral scene of flowing water, trees, crops, sky and sun
- Ezekiel inscription on a nearby stone pillar: "I saw water flow from the temple, bringing its life to the world…"
- Panorama of the Mississippi River on the corridor wall facing the chapel
- Ambry — designed and crafted by Bruce Egerman from original material of the 1926 high altar (which had been incorporated into the 1990 tabernacle enclosure)
- Medallion — designed directly from the original 1926 plaster bas-relief on the face of each balcony, with cross, circle, four directions and the Holy Spirit symbol
Chaplaincy and Spiritual Care
Spiritual Care Services at St. Cloud Hospital is staffed by chaplains, priests and Protestant clergy who provide spiritual and emotional support to patients, families and staff. Peter Bauck serves as Director of Spiritual Care for CentraCare, and Rebecca Calderone serves as Director of Catholic Mission. A chaplain is available weekdays during the day, and local religious leaders provide support for emergencies after hours and on the weekends. To request a visit from a chaplain, priest, pastor or one's own faith leader, patients can ask their nurse to contact the Spiritual Care department or dial "0" from any hospital phone.
- Spiritual and emotional support during emergencies or stressful times
- Support facing difficult decisions or anticipating surgery
- Religious and spiritual resources and assistance with rituals
- Pastoral support coping with long-term illness, anxiety or depression
- Spiritual care around the birth of a child
- Support dealing with loss, grief or a death
Volunteer Ministries
Spiritual Care at St. Cloud Hospital depends heavily on volunteers. The two flagship programs, both led by Director of Spiritual Care Peter Bauck, are Eucharistic Ministry and No One Dies Alone; both resumed after being paused during the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Eucharistic Ministry — volunteers bring Holy Communion to Catholic patients at the bedside on predictable weekday or weekend schedules; Protestant Communion can also be requested by patients or family
- No One Dies Alone — trained volunteers provide a healing presence at the bedside of dying patients whose family members cannot be present; volunteers are on call, do not need to belong to any religious group, and may offer appropriate readings or prayers according to each patient's spirituality
- Application: through Volunteer Services at https://www.centracare.com/volunteer/st-cloud, then Explore Volunteer Opportunities → Spiritual Care
Communion and Holy Oils
Daily Holy Communion for Catholic patients is central to the hospital's Catholic identity and is carried out primarily by trained Eucharistic Ministry volunteers. The holy oils used to anoint patients are kept in the ambry on the side wall of the sanctuary of the chapel, which was crafted from pieces of the original 1926 high altar — a visible link between the original Benedictine mission of the hospital and the sacramental care offered to patients today.
- Catholic patients: Holy Communion distributed daily, typically by Eucharistic Ministry volunteers
- Protestant patients: Holy Communion brought by a Protestant chaplain upon request
- Anointing of the Sick: holy oils drawn from the chapel ambry and used every day for hospital patients
Grief and Bereavement Services
CentraCare's Grief and Bereavement Services are rooted in the Spiritual Care department at St. Cloud Hospital and offer ongoing support to families after the death of a loved one. A dedicated bereavement line routes callers to a Spiritual Care team member, and CentraCare Hospice has its own bereavement coordinator as well.
- St. Cloud Hospital Bereavement Line: 320-251-2700, ext. 54621 (leave a message and a Spiritual Care team member will return your call)
- CentraCare Hospice Bereavement Coordinator: 320-259-9375 or 800-835-6610