A Very Brief History of Spirit Catholic Community

Spirit Catholic Community traces its roots to St. Stephen’s Catholic Church, located in the Whittier neighborhood of Minneapolis. This justice-seeking community, inspired by Vatican II and the peace movement of the 1960’s, worked for issues important to its neighbors and advocated and protested for nonviolence. 

St. Stephen’s was steeped in a tradition of lay leadership and celebration of its LGBTQIA+ members, all while striking a delicate balance of being connected to the larger Catholic Church. 

In 2008, new and stricter liturgical norms were mandated by the Archdiocese, returning to a more hierarchical format in anticipation of a new Archbishop as well as a newly assigned pastor. The community was directed to conform to the new norms or leave. Rather than surrender its 40-plus year experience and dedication to the priesthood of the laity, the people who had begun and sustained the parish's unique identity chose to go forward as an independent entity, Spirit of St. Stephen's Catholic Community.

In 2018 Spirit became part of New Branches, a unique three-church partnership in the Nokomis neighborhood of Minneapolis. This innovative collaboration shares space and community initiatives. The other two partner churches are Lake Nokomis Lutheran and Living Table United Church of Christ.