About St. John the Evangalist · Union Hill, Minnesota
St. John the Evangelist is a historic Catholic church in the small hamlet of Union Hill in rural LeSueur County, Minnesota, about five miles west of New Prague. It is one of three campuses of the New Prague Area Catholic Community — officially known as St. Wenceslaus Parish — created in 2011 when the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis merged five country parishes (Saints Benedict, John the Evangelist, Joseph, Scholastica, and Wenceslaus) into one. Today the Union Hill church is called the "Western Catholic Community" of the parish, alongside St. Scholastica in Heidelberg. Mass is celebrated there on Sundays at 10:00 AM, Wednesday evenings at 5:30 PM, and Saturday evenings at 8:15 PM (anticipatory), with confessions heard before the Saturday evening Mass.
- Established
- 1867
- Patron
- St. John the Evangelist
- Rector
- Father Eugene Theisen (Pastor and Interim Principal of St. Wenceslaus Catholic School; also identified as Parochial Administrator of the merged parish)
- Diocese
- Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis
Why belong here
St. John the Evangelist offers a small, tightly-knit rural Catholic community in the heart of the Big Woods countryside, with Mass three times a week in Union Hill and the wider resources of the New Prague Area Catholic Community — including St. Wenceslaus Catholic School (preschool through grade 8, founded 1878) and faith formation programs. As one of the oldest German-Catholic parishes in Le Sueur County, it carries forward the faith and traditions of the Rhenish Prussian and Irish immigrants who founded it, and welcomes visitors for weekend and weekday Masses, confession, adoration, and parish fellowship.
Mass times at St. John the Evangalist
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Saturday 7:30 PM – 8:00 PM (St. John the Evangelist, Union Hill)
Adoration times
- Friday 8:30 AM – 6:00 PM at the St. Wenceslaus site (parish-wide)
- Overnight First-Friday adoration at the St. Wenceslaus site
Parish Identity & Merger into St. Wenceslaus
St. John the Evangelist in Union Hill is one of three campuses of the New Prague Area Catholic Community, formally known as St. Wenceslaus Parish. In 2011 the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis merged five rural parishes in and around New Prague — Saints Benedict, John the Evangelist, Joseph, Scholastica, and Wenceslaus — into a single parish. St. Joseph (closed November 2008) and St. Benedict (closed January 2011) ceased to function as churches; St. Benedict was demolished and St. Joseph was sold and moved to the Pioneer Power grounds in rural Le Sueur County. Today St. Wenceslaus Parish operates three active worship sites: St. Wenceslaus in New Prague, St. John the Evangelist in Union Hill, and St. Scholastica in Heidelberg (the latter two together called the Western Catholic Community). All sacramental records for the five former parishes are kept at the St. Wenceslaus site, and all correspondence and donations should be sent to 215 Main St E, New Prague, MN 56071.
- Merger effective 2011
- Part of the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis
- All sacramental records held at St. Wenceslaus, New Prague
History
The parish was founded by Irish and German Catholic families — most of them Rhenish Prussians from the Waxweiler–Trier area of western Germany near the Luxembourg border — who settled southeastern Belle Plaine Township, southwestern Helena Township (Scott County), and eastern Derrynane Township (Le Sueur County) after the 1851 Treaty of Traverse des Sioux opened the land to white settlement. Their first attempt at a log church around 1860–61, about two miles northeast of the present site, was refused consecration by Bishop Grace because of its proximity to St. Benedict's. A second log church built four miles southwest of the present location was closed after about a year by the priest as too small and too near Heidelberg. In 1865 Father Maly, pastor of St. Wenceslaus in New Prague, began recording separate church records for the St. John's families — the formal beginning of the parish.
- 44 founding families recorded in 1867 parish register
- First High Mass: July 15, 1867
- Original log church replaced by present brick church in 1883
- Centennial celebrated in 1967; 140th anniversary in 2006; 150th anniversary celebrated October 11, 2015
The 1883 Church & Setting
The brick church that stands today was built in 1883, replacing the original 1867 frame structure. It sits on the southeast corner of MN-19 and County Road 31 in Union Hill, directly across from the community baseball park — a layout that has made the church the literal center of the hamlet since the 1860s.
- 1883 brick church, still in use
- Site at intersection of MN-19 and CR-31
- Union Hill baseball park across the road
Sacraments & Records
All sacramental records for St. John the Evangelist, St. Scholastica, St. Joseph, St. Benedict, and St. Wenceslaus are kept on the St. Wenceslaus site and may be obtained there. The parish prepares couples for marriage, families for baptism, the faithful for reconciliation, and the sick for anointing through its Pastoral Care and Faith Formation offices.
- Baptism, Marriage, Reconciliation, Anointing of the Sick
- Sacramental records office: 215 Main St E, New Prague, MN 56071
- Phone: 952-758-3225
School, Faith Formation & Parish Life
The parish's Catholic school, St. Wenceslaus Catholic School, was founded in 1878 and continues the tradition of educating area children from preschool through eighth grade, with Father Eugene Theisen serving as Interim Principal. Faith Formation, First Communion, Confirmation, and adult faith programs are coordinated across the New Prague Area Catholic Community and are open to families from the St. John's campus. Pastoral Care and faith formation staff keep in regular contact with parishioners across all three campuses.
- St. Wenceslaus Catholic School (preschool–grade 8, founded 1878)
- Faith Formation and Sacramental Preparation programs
- Pastoral Care ministry
- Electronic giving options
150th Anniversary Commemorative Booklet
On October 11, 2015, the community gathered for a 150th anniversary Mass celebrating the parish's living-stone history — from the German and Irish immigrants who first organized in the late 1850s, to Father Maly's 1865 parish register, the 1867 blessing of the first church, the 1883 brick building still in use, and the 2011 merger into St. Wenceslaus Parish. The booklet, written from a scriptural and historical reflection that anchors the parish in the Greek koinonia / Latin communio meaning of "Church" as community, is available as a PDF document from the parish website under the St. John the Evangelist page.
- 150th Anniversary Mass: October 11, 2015
- Booklet available on npcatholic.org under St. John the Evangelist → Documents
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Father Maly1865–
Pastor of St. Wenceslaus in New Prague; assigned by Bishop Grace to care for the St. John's families and began recording separate parish records in 1865.
- Father Elgar1966–2006 (approx.)
Long-serving pastor of St. John's; celebrated his 90th birthday in 2006, marking 40 years as pastor at the parish's 140th anniversary.