Our History and Patroness

History

Archbishop John R. Roach created the Church of Our Lady of Peace on July 1, 1991. The new parish was a merger of two parishes with a venerable tradition. The Church of the Resurrection was founded by Archbishop Austin Dowling on January 22, 1933, and was located on the west side of Lake Nokomis in Minneapolis. Archbishop John Gregory Murray founded the Church of St. Kevin, located at 28th Avenue and the Crosstown, on October 1, 1941. The Church of the Resurrection provided the buildings and land for the new parish. The school occupied the former Resurrection School building beginning in the fall of 1991. Our Lady of Peace was physically consolidated to the current site on July 1, 1994. The Church of St. Kevin, sold to Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport provided a sound financial base for the parish in the form of an endowment. 

In 2016, we celebrated twenty-five years of faith building at Our Lady of Peace. Join us and find a hidden treasure in our corner of south Minneapolis.

Our Patroness 

In the early part of the 17 ^th century, the Dukes of Joyeuse held in veneration a modest-sized statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary entitled Our Lady of Peace. The family agreed that the person among them showing the most sincere devotion to Our Lady should hold custody of the statue. When a member of the family joined the Order of Friars Minor, Capuchin (Franciscans), the statue was placed in the entryway niche of the Capuchin monastery of Paris. The year was 1630.    

The memoirs of the time indicate that for several years the statue was surrounded by brilliant light during the night. The statue attracted vast crowds, including pilgrimages to the statue and public prayers. Sick people are reported to have been miraculously cured there.

The original statue of Our Lady of Peace is about two feet in height. In her right hand, the Virgin holds a long and fruitful olive branch of peace. On her left arm, she holds her son. The child Jesus holds an orb - the blue planet - in his left hand and a little cross in his right. He gazes upon the cross in his right hand, which proclaims both his suffering and his triumph, even as he gazes beyond it toward the olive branch of peace in his mother's right hand.

The postures of Mother and Son are eloquent. They proclaim to us: if you want peace (the olive branch), then work for justice (the cross). If you want serenity and tranquility in God, then order your relationships rightly for the sake of building up the common good.

A shrine to Our Lady of Peace was erected in the parish church January 1, 2006, the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God, and the World Day of Peace. Standing at the church's main entry, placed on a purple granite base, surrounded by 32 vigil lights, Our Lady of Peace and her pedestal are eight feet tall. She is a memorial gift honoring the memory of founding trustee Harry C. Sweere (1934-2005).

The parish community celebrates the feast of Our Lady of Peace each July with a festival Eucharist followed by a fellowship event.