Our Parish

Dear Parishioners and Friends:

You have either found or are still seeking a spiritual home.  Beyond a place to belong, beyond a registered membership, beyond sacramental initiation, is a glimpse and an experience of the eternal home for which we long.  It is a communion both received and achieved in a parish community.

At each Mass, the Holy Spirit elevates us above and beyond all that divides and differentiates us as individuals so that we may be formed into sisters and brothers in one family, a family of shared faith.

Through the person and real presence of Jesus Christ – in Word, Sacrament and the People gathered – the reception of the Most Holy Eucharist is to become, by grace, what we have received.  The Catholic Church as the Mystical Body of Christ on earth, is a far greater reality than all those who lead the Church and all those who belong to the Church.

This is the core identity, value and mission of the Church of St. Gerard Majella.  To make Jesus known and loved; to live our lives as witnesses to the Gospel of Jesus Christ; to receive the gifts of the Holy Spirit for our active participation in the mission of the Church.  As Church, we become the Body of Jesus Christ for the world.

To be a community of faith is to be a parish where sacramental celebrations, opportunities for catechesis and spiritual growth and active participation in the Apostolate of the Laity, we dedicate our labor and resources to support the ministries of the Church.

Through the era of the founding Redemptorist priests in 1971, the era of service by the Third Order Regular Franciscans and the current era of diocesan priests from the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, the character of St. Gerard’s parish has been formed under the intercession of St. Gerard Majella, St. Francis and St. Clare and the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Some of our founding families still live in the neighborhoods and communities around the parish.  Some have moved here from other parishes.  Some others are from other countries, especially Viet Nam, East and West Africa, comprising almost one third of our registered parishioners.  I hope and pray that this parish website is a “house tour” of the activities in our spiritual home where our faith is lived and where we find our true family.

 

With prayers and blessings in Christ Jesus,

Father Charlie Lachowitzer, Pastor

It all began in 1970, when a Redemptorist priest had a vision for a new parish, a parish that was truly Christ-centered, and made up of smaller Christ-centered communities, believers who nurture and support each other. The first pastor of our parish, Fr. Robert Oelerich, came from St. Alphonsus. He challenged the first parishioners to reach out to one another with love and acceptance, extending an invitation for involvement and participation, creating a sense of belonging. In reading about the history of St. Gerard, and the dream Fr. “O” had for this faith community, one is hard pressed to not feel the enthusiasm and dedication he had for a new kind of parish.

​On January 23, 1970, the Church of St. Gerard was decreed by official document at the Archdiocesan Chancery Office. More importantly, on February 14, 1970, the first Mass was celebrated at Riverview United Methodist Church, Brooklyn Park, where space was rented for two years, until we could build our own church. Fr. Robert Oelerich served as the pastor, and Fr. Earnest Larsen was associate pastor. In these early years of our Parish, there was a strong sense of community and togetherness. The people of St. Gerard shared a common vision of a faith-filled, Christ-centered parish, in which all were valued and treasured as a man or woman of God.

On February 6, 1972 the Methodist Congregation shared in our last prayer service in their facility. Together we formed a caravan and together we moved our belongings to our new church building in the final stages of construction. The Church of St. Gerard had a new permanent home in Brooklyn Park.

From 1970-1990, the Redemptorists served the parish of St. Gerard, tirelessly giving their time and devotion to the people of the parish. In June of 1990, the Franciscan Friars, T.O.R., began to staff the parish. During Franciscan leadership, we celebrated our first Mass in the current, beautiful Worship Space (built October 3, 1998.) From 2017-2019, the Redemptorists returned to serve the parish community of St. Gerard. And currently, we are blessed to have Archdiocesan Priests, Fr. John Klockeman and Fr. Joseph-Quốc Thiện Vương.

Some “Firsts” for St. Gerard’s:
1970 – Women’s Group (Altar Rosary Society) – First Parish Organization
1970 – February – Community Baptisms
1970 – May – First Communion
1970 – First Religious Education Program
1971 – August – Corn Fest Parish Picnic
1971 – Summer – Parish Campout
1972 – February – First Mass in our own Church Building
1973 – May – Confirmation
1979 – Spirituality Week
1982 – March – Loaves and Fishes
1993 – Participation in Habitat for Humanity
1998 – October – Mass in the new Worship Space
2004 – Pumpkin Fest
​2018 – Crawfish and Shrimp Boil
2020 – 50th Anniversary Celebration!