www.byzcath.org Forums Faith & Christian Life Prayer Msgr. Richard J. Schuler - Requiescat in pace!

Richard Joseph Schuler was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, December 30, 1920. His parents, Otto H. Schuler and Wilhelmine M. Hauk, were American-born children of immigrants from Tirol in Austria and the Black Forest of southern Germany. He was baptized in the Ascension Church and attended the parochial school, DeLaSalle High School and the College of Saint Thomas before entering the Saint Paul Seminary. He was ordained a priest on August 18, 1945, by Archbishop Murray at the Saint Paul Cathedral, and he celebrated his first solemn Mass the following day at the Ascension Church. He was assigned to Nazareth Hall Preparatory Seminary to teach Latin and music. He earned the M.A. degree from the Eastman School of Music of the University of Rochester, N. Y., in 1950, and in 1954 he spent a year of study of renaissance music manuscripts at the Vatican Library on a Fulbright scholarship from the United States government. On return from Europe he was assigned to the College of Saint Thomas where he taught music and theology for fifteen years. He earned the Ph.D. degree from the University of Minnesota in musicology in 1963, and in 1969 he succeeded Monsignor Bandas as pastor of Saint Agnes. He was appointed an honorary prelate of the Holy Father on September 15, 1970. He is president of the Church Music Association of America, editor of the quarterly journal, Sacred Music, and for ten years was vice president of the international papal sacred music federation, the Consociatio Internationalis Musicae Sacrae. He founded the Twin Cities Catholic Chorale which has sung orchestral Masses of the Viennese school at Saint Agnes for nearly fifteen years.

Two months after the death of Monsignor Bandas, the announcement of the new pastor was eagerly anticipated. Father Richard J. Schuler, who had been serving as week-end assistant at Saint Agnes for some time, announced to the people from the pulpit that a new pastor had been named by the archbishop, and he was that priest. He took up his duties as the eighth pastor of Saint Agnes on August 26, 1969, coming from the College of Saint Thomas where he had taught for the previous fifteen years.

In the bulletin of August 31, Father Schuler told the parishioners that "all of us stand upon the shoulders of those who have gone before us, and I only hope that all of us, working together, can carry forward the great work established by the sacrifices of our forebearers at Saint Agnes." He added: "The chief duty of a priest is to teach the Word of God and to be a channel of God's saving grace through the Mass and the sacraments. It will be the prime concern of my pastorate that I work to strengthen within you the Faith of our Fathers, and through that Faith to be a means for your growing in grace, God's divine life within us."

Starting immediately, the new pastor and his two assistants, Father Siebenaler and Father Meyer, began a door to door census survey of the parish with the intention of meeting the people and bringing the parish records up to date. On November 30, the first Sunday of Advent, the Leaflet Missal was introduced to help participation in the Mass through responses to the prayers and the singing of hymns. The cooperation of the Ushers' Club made distribution of the booklets at each Mass possible.

Work on the new high school addition, slowed by financial problems and the death of Monsignor Bandas, began again in the early Fall. Father Schuler asked the parishioners to make loans of $1,000 or more to the parish at 6% interest. Further financing was obtained through loans from other parishes, particularly through the kindness of Monsignor Joseph Ettel of New Ulm, and the work of finishing the building continued. Many essential items that had been eliminated to cut costs were restored, and the building was ready for the second semester. Father Schuler announced that the new structure would be called Bandas Hall and the existing building would be known as Gruden Hall, both named after the pastors who supervised their construction. Bandas Hall was solemnly dedicated by Archbishop Leo C. Byrne on Sunday, January 25, 1970. A bronze crucifix was erected in the foyer on Mackubin Street and plaques with the names of significant donors to the project were placed in position a little later. Nearly sixty priests attended the blessing and the open house that followed.

During Lent of 1970, Father Joseph Pohl, CSsR, preached a parish mission, and on Wednesday evening of Holy Week, the Twin Cities Catholic Chorale with an orchestra of thirty-five instrumentalists presented Antonin Dvorak's Stabat Mater under the direction of Father Schuler in the church. The ceremonies of Holy Week were carried out in great detail according to the newly introduced reforms following the Vatican Council, and Corpus Christi was observed in the spring with an outdoor procession of the Blessed Sacrament. From the very beginning of his pastorate, Father Schuler was concerned to celebrate the liturgy with all the splendor and care that had long been the tradition of Saint Agnes. The first anniversary of Monsignor Bandas' death was observed with pontifical Mass celebrated by Archbishop James J. Byrne of Dubuque, Iowa, as part of the annual Wanderer Forum, a national meeting sponsored by the Wanderer. Bishop Peter Bartholome of Saint Cloud and Bishop Albert L. Fletcher of Little Rock, Arkansas, were present.

With the close of the Second Vatican Council the work of implementing the decrees that it issued began around the world. In many places forces were at work to promote ideas as coming from the council that were indeed totally contrary to what the council ordered. Monsignor Bandas, who had attended all the sessions of the council, had been quick to note these dangers. They appeared at first in the liturgy and then in the areas of Catholic schools and catechetical instruction. The virus spread through the religious communities and into the parochial schools. Much of the promotion of these false ideas came from the central bureaucracy of the American bishops in Washington. Monsignor Bandas had stood against these dangerous innovations, and Father Schuler continued the policy of guarding against the errors of the heresy called Modernism which threatened Saint Agnes schools, indeed all parochial schools. An effort to implement an experimental program in the archdiocese according to a plan given in a book entitled Voice of the Community, the Board Movement in Catholic Education, published by the National Catholic Education Association in 1967, proposed to remove the parochial schools from the direct control of the pastor and the people of the parish and transfer authority to a board and a diocesan bureaucracy. It was called the "total plan" and attempted to move from local control of parochial schools to central administration of a diocesan system, taking responsibility and authority away from the local pastor. A group of priests of the archdiocese met at Saint Agnes to oppose this policy and published their determination to "strengthen the role of the archbishop and the pastors in preserving sound Catholic teaching in the schools." Several laymen calling themselves Laymen for Parish Rights also organized in June of 1970 to support the efforts of the pastors. A meeting in the new Bandas Hall gym of people from all parts of the Twin Cities filled the hall. The action received national notice in the Catholic press, and was successful in preserving the role of the pastor as teacher and spiritual leader of the parochial school. But many battles were yet on the horizon before the forces of Modernism would be defeated at Saint Agnes.

An unexpected event occurred at the end of June 1970 that began a long process of improvements on the church. From high up on the tower, a stone fell to the ground on the corner of Thomas and Kent. No one was injured, but the police cordoned off the area, and inspection of the stonework in the tower indicated that freezing and thawing had loosened the fabric and repair was necessary. The tower was cleaned and tuckpointed, and over the next four years the entire church was also sandblasted, removing the soot and grime that sixty years of city pollution and railroad smoke had deposited on the white limestone. Once again the church was bright and clean.

On Sunday, September 20, 1970, Father Schuler celebrated the twenty-fifth anniversary of his ordination to the priesthood with a solemn Mass at three o'clock in the afternoon at which Bishop Alphonse J. Schladweiler gave the sermon. The Twin Cities Catholic Chorale, joined by the Dallas Catholic Choir of Dallas, Texas, made a choir of eighty singers under the direction of Father Ralph S. March, singing Anton Bruckner's Mass in E Minor: At the Mass, Bishop Schladweiler announced that the Holy Father had named Father Schuler an honorary prelate with the title of monsignor. A reception was held in Bandas Hall after the Mass. A special blessing from the Holy Father was brought to Saint Paul by Monsignor Johannes Overath of Cologne, Germany, president of the papal international church music federation. The text read: "The Holy Father sends to the jubilarian on the occasion of his silver jubilee, to his relatives and friends and to all the people of Saint Agnes Parish, the Apostolic Blessing." It was signed by Cardinal Villot, papal secretary of state.

Many visitors from all parts of the world found their way to Saint Agnes, and celebrated solemn Masses for special occasions. Father George Eischens, a native son of the parish and pastor of Saint Francis de Sales parish, sang the Requiem Mass for All Souls' Day and preached the sermon. Dr. Jean-Pierre Schmit of Luxemburg, internationally known as a church musician, celebrated the Mass for the feast of Christ the King, and the choir sang a Mass composed by him. Monsignor Johannes Overath of Cologne celebrated Mass and preached in German. On the occasion of the annual Wanderer Forum many bishops came to Saint Agnes. Cardinal O'Boyle of Washington, D. C., was the first prince of the Church to visit the parish, when he assisted at a pontifical Mass celebrated by Bishop Peter Bartholome of Saint Cloud on June 19, 1971. Archbishop Robert Dwyer of Portland, Oregon, and Bishop Hilary B. Hacker of Bismarck, North Dakota, were guests of the Forum for solemn Mass on June 30, 1973, and on June 15, 1974, Bishop David M. Maloney of Wichita, Kansas, came to Saint Agnes. In May of 1975, three bishops were at the parish: Bishop Armando Trinidade of Lahore, Pakistan, came for an appeal for his missionary diocese; Archbishop Dwyer was in Saint Paul for the Wanderer Forum; and Bishop Schladweiler celebrated the Feast of Corpus Christi with pontifical Mass and procession. Cardinal Carberry, Archbishop of Saint Louis, Missouri, preached at the Wanderer Mass in 1976, and Bishop Joseph Sullivan of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, celebrated Corpus Christi. Bishop Paul Dudley, Monsignor Athanasius d'Cruz of Bombay, India, Monsignor Ralph A. Aschoff of Saint Cloud, Abbot John A. Eidenschink of Saint John's Abbey and Archbishop John R. Roach were among the prelates of the Church who visited the parish and celebrated Mass.

A simplification of the Sunday envelope system was inaugurated with 1971. The Sunday envelope became the all-important means of parish support, and all extra collections were eliminated. The old seat offering was discontinued. Only the collection for fuel, light and water and a monthly "debt reduction" envelope were continued. The increase in donations was quickly noted and the bookkeeping process made considerably easier. With the closing and sale of Nazareth Hall Preparatory Seminary in May of 1971, Saint Agnes acquired some new furniture for the sanctuary, new chairs and kneeling benches, as well as several sets of very beautiful vestments for solemn Mass. Carved wood crucifixes made in Italy were placed in many classrooms in the high school. A new lectern in the same wood as the new furniture was given by an anonymous friend. Other vestments came in gifts from parishes that mistakenly thought that new styles prompted by the liturgical changes had made such vestments outdated. In an article on the ecclesiastical art treasures in Saint Paul, published in the Saint Paul Dispatch, Saint Agnes was mentioned for its sacred vestments.

Students in the high school, in addition to their academic work and their athletic victories, continued to bring fame to the school with its musical productions. During the 1970's they staged these musicals: Brigadoor, (1971); Hello Dolly (1972); Sound of Music (1974); Carousel (1975); Music Man (1976); Gondoliers (1977). In 1979, the grade school students gave Snow White and Hansel ard Gretel.

But all was not harmonious in Saint Agnes schools in the early years of the 1970's. The enrollment was high in 1973: 658 students in the high school, and 640 in the grade school, but problems, particularly in the teaching of religion, were causing friction between the pastor on the one hand and the archdiocesan educational bureau on the other. Most of the teaching Sisters agreed with the pastor in his concern for maintaining Catholic truth, but the administration of the School Sisters of Notre Dame in Mankato sided against the pastor and with the bureau. The basic issue of conflict involved four areas: the textbooks promoted by the diocesan bureau; workshops arranged by the diocesan bureau of education for teachers; retreats recommended for high school students; and certain teaching methods urged for use in religion classes in all schools. Monsignor Schuler pointed out that the pastor of a parish is strictly responsible for the teaching of religion in the parochial schools, and is further bound by an oath taken upon becoming pastor to oppose vigorously all errors, particularly those identified by the name of Modernism, a heresy condemned by Pope Pius X. A booklet, issued by the Catholic Education Center of the archdiocese, entitled The Five P's, contained the lists of books, reference texts, resource persons, programs, films and other publications expected to be used in the high schools of the archdiocese in the teaching of religion. In rejecting it, Monsignor Schuler found himself in opposition to the Catholic Educational Center, which in turn used two levers to enforce its program: the assignment of the teaching Sisters and the distribution of diocesan funds for support of the schools through tuition grants to the students. The danger of withdrawal of the Sisters and withholding of the grants were clearly a threat to the continuation of the school.

Already in 1972, a retreat for the students was the occasion for an attempt to introduce various unacceptable liturgical innovations into the parish, and Monsignor Schuler terminated the retreat early. The Viet Nam war had caused unrest among university students across the land, and much of that spirit had found its way into high school life also. A strike of the student body was short-lived, but in addressing the students and faculty, Monsignor Schuler insisted that the policies of Saint Agnes High School were clear and the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church were fundamental to it. Those among faculty or student body who did not intend to observe them could leave. No one accepted the offer, and the unrest and ferment continued. During the early months of 1973, the problem surfaced again in the high school. A new principal had been appointed by the superiors in Mankato to replace Sister Assumpta Bachman, with the mission of bringing the school into line with the demands of the archdiocesan education office. Three or four faculty members were active in promoting opposition to the pastor's position, especially in the liturgy and in the religion classes, and they had complained both to the education office and to the superiors in Mankato.

Discussions with the diocesan authorities, including Bishop Raymond Lucker, Father John Gilbert, who was diocesan superintendent of schools, and Archbishop Leo C. Byrne, continued. Other consultations were made with the provincial team of the School Sisters of Notre Dame in Mankato. On March 10, 1973, the Board of Trustees of Saint Agnes directed a memorandum to the Archbishop, requesting the removal of Sister Jean Marie as principal of Saint Agnes High School, "because of her disruptive influence in the parish and in the school." They asked for a layman to succeed her whose "ideas and ideals would be conformative to the policies of the administration of the parish." It was clear that the pressure of the Catholic Education Center was being brought to bear on Saint Agnes through the provincial authorities of the School Sisters of Notre Dame by way of the principal of the high school. With her removal, the circuit would be broken and the pressure from the education office eliminated.

On March 21, 1973, Sister M. Eunice Silkey, provincial coordinator of the Sisters, wrote to Monsignor Schuler in support of Sister Jean Marie. She stated that "we cannot continue to be party to an educational operation in which the chief administrator stands in opposition to the philosophy and pyschology of education inherent in the organizational structures provided by the diocese as an aid to our educational institutions as well as inherent in the constitution and directories of our community." She ordered the continuation of Sister Jean Marie as principal and permitted the withdrawal of those Sisters who wished to leave Saint Agnes.

On April 4, 1973, Monsignor Schuler summarized the situation in a letter to Archbishop Leo C. Byrne, pointing out that he had no conflict with the School Sisters of Notre Dame, but that the problem was based in theological concepts that had to do with the teaching of religion. The letter gave a detailed analysis of the books, workshops and programs listed in the booklet, The Five P's, including questions about the nature of Jesus Christ, pre-marital sexual morality, abortion, the purpose of marriage, and various teaching techniques based in sensitivity methods and a relativism that denies the absolute truth of Christian revelation. Monsignor Schuler presented his case to the Archbishop, and questioned how the Catholic Education Center could be of any service to a pastor and his schools if such theories and errors constituted the recommended materials to be used. He pointed out that if the Catholic Education Center was truly a service organization, as it claimed to be, then its services could be accepted or rejected by the parish schools without pressure coming from a threat of removal of the teaching Sisters.

On June 8, 1973, the Sairct Paul Dispatch carried a headline: "Principal loses Saint Agnes post over dispute." The Catholic Bulletin of the same date read: "St. Agnes nuns end high school commitment," and the Minneapolis Star of June 9, 1973, said, "Philosophy dispute prompts nuns to break ties with school." No previous notice had been given to the administration at Saint Agnes of this development before it was released to the press. Bishop Lucker stated in the Catholic Bulletin article that the problem was a complex set of factors involving "Monsignor Schuler's objections to the philosophy and psychology of the bureau of education." He said that the dispute "is very much related to the question of the 'new theology' and the teaching of religion." He summarized the situation using a syllogism: "As pastor, Monsignor Schuler feels a strong responsibility to fight Modernism; but he believes the Catholic Education Center has been affected by this Modernism; therefore, he cannot accept or work with the Catholic Education Center." He said further that he disagreed with that position and felt that the bureau and its staff were "doing a great job."

The Wanderer forJune 28, 1973, published an interview with Monsignor Schuler prepared by the editor, Alphonse J. Matt, Jr. In it, Monsignor Schuler said that the policy he was following at Saint Agnes was not his alone, but what had been the direction of the school for many years, supported by the Board of Trustees, the majority of the Sisters and the parents of the students. He said he had made an effort not to carry the controversy into the public forum, but with the publication in the Catholic Bulletin of a decision made by the provincial administration of the Sisters of Notre Dame, the matter became public. He said further that the charges that he had made against the Catholic Education Center had never been answered either publicly or in a private response to his letter to the Archbishop. He said that he was not creating controversy for its own sake; but rather he was trying to protect the faith of the people entrusted to his care and save the schools at Saint Agnes.

In the Fall of 1973, William Peper became the first lay principal of Saint Agnes High School. Most of the Sisters remained as faculty members, although three or four chose to leave. The air had been cleared, and a period of peace and progress began for the high school. The conflict had never concerned the grade school, although efforts of the Catholic Education Center to assume control had been made earlier, particularly by evaluations of the policies of the school, the religion curriculum and the cooperation of the pastor. It had been announced that assignment of teaching Sisters would be determined by the rating given by the evaluation teams from the Catholic Education Center. With the decision about the high school, further pressure ceased on the grade school as well.

In April, 1972, after seven years at Saint Agnes, Father Martin Siebenaler was assigned as pastor in Loretto, Minnesota, and in August, Father Frederick Meyer was transferred to Saint Anne's in Minneapolis. With the increasing shortage of priests in the archdiocese, Saint Agnes was reduced to one assistant. Father A. Michael Sauber came in August, 1972, and a year later Father Cecilio Baraibar of the Diocese of San Cristobal de las Casas in Mexico took up residence at Saint Agnes for two years while he was a student at the College of Saint Thomas. In November, 1973, Monsignor Joseph A. Ettel, a native son of the parish, retired from the rectorship of Holy Trinity Cathedral in New Ulm, and lived at Saint Agnes until his sudden death on March 12, 1974. Monsignor Vincent Strelevics was another familiar figure. Formerly vicar general of the Diocese of Riva in Latvia, he had fled the communist takeover of his country, and served the Latvian community in Saint Paul which met in the chapel of Saint Agnes. On May 26, 1974, Archbishop Leo C. Byrne came to Saint Agnes to install Monsignor Strelevics as a pronotary apostolic on the occasion of his sixtieth jubilee of ordination. He lived until 1983 and the age of 94.

Many famous personages found their way to Saint Agnes. Among them was Otto von Habsburg, son of the last reigning Austrian emperor, Karl VI. He visited the parish during a lecture tour to the College of Saint Thomas, on March 8, 1974. Had not the events following the First World War led to the abdication of the Austrian monarch, Otto would today be ruler of the various sections of eastern Europe from which the early pioneers to Frogtown had come. On December 27, 1973, many church musicians from the United States and Europe gathered at Saint Agnes to mark the one hundredth anniversary of the founding of the American Society of Saint Cecilia. Archbishop Leo Binz celebrated pontifical Mass at which the Twin Cities Catholic Chorale sang. Monsignor Johannes Overath of Cologne, Germany, represented the Federated Caecilian Societies of the German-speaking countries, and presented Monsignor Schuler with the gold Lassus medal for his work in church music. The following summer, the Twin Cities Catholic Chorale travelled to Europe on a musical pilgrimage, singing for Mass each day in the abbeys, cathedrals and churches from Cologne, Germany, along the Rhein to Austria and Italy. They sang in Rome and at the Sixth International Church Music Congress in Salzburg. Bishop Alphonse J. Schladweiler accompanied the choir and their friends, the group numbering 180 people. On return, the Chorale began to sing orchestral, Viennese Masses with the cooperation of members of the Minnesota Orchestra on Sundays at Saint Agnes.

The careful celebration of the liturgical rites is an old tradition at Saint Agnes. The beauty and spaciousness of the church, the concern of the various pastors, the presence of many well-trained altar boys, had all been the cause of a fine liturgical tradition. Monsignor Schuler enhanced this, bringing the reputation of the liturgy at Saint Agnes to national recognition. In December, 1973, the National Catholic Reporter of Kansas City, Missouri, published an article on Saint Agnes solemn liturgy. On March 15, 1985, Archbishop Binz formally erected the Archconfraternity of Saint Stephen for Altar Servers, affiliating it with the first confraternity at Westminister Cathedral in London. Broadcast of the Sunday Masses on Minnesota Public Radio, Station KSJN-FM, began in 1976 and continued for several years. Several articles appeared in the Saint Paul Dispatch by Gary Hiebert lauding the liturgy and music at Saint Agnes. In October, a new organist, David Bevan, came to serve the parish from London and remained for four years.

Improvements in the church enhanced the beauty of the ceremonies. The red rug was removed from the sanctuary in 1976 after eighteen years of service and the original floor was partially restored. New lighting was installed in 1975 in the main church, and the historic chandeliers were refurbished and equipt with ornamental candles, adding to the baroque elegance of the building. 1974 was a holy year by order of the Holy Father. Saint Agnes observed the event with exposition of the Blessed Sacrament in the chapel on each First Friday, a practice that still continues. In 1975, exposition of the Blessed Sacrament each Saturday afternoon before the anticipated Sunday Mass was begun, giving many people an opportunity for a holy hour in preparation for Mass. The same year saw the introduction of Sunday Vespers in accord with the decrees of the Second Vatican Council. From ten to fifteen young men continue to sing the official afternoon prayer of the Church, and have kept the practice without exception for over twelve years. Under the direction of Paul W. LeVoir they also constitute the choir for the liturgical hours of Holy Week, including the ancient office at Ternebrae.

Devotion to the Blessed Virgin has always been a part of the Catholic life of the parish. In July 15, 1975, special devotion to Our Lady of Fatima was inaugurated with visits of the pilgrim statue to the homes of the parish. Under the care of the Ushers' Club, an honor guard of twelve men carried the statue on Saturday morning from one home to the next host. The rosary was recited in each place, and the home was dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. James Lachowitzer and Andrew Licha organized and carried out the pilgrimages each week for a period of five years. Every year, on the feast of the Assumption, the statue was returned to the church for a week of special devotions. In May 1975, the Legion of Mary was erected in the parish with a praesidium named for Our Lady of Martyrs. Mary Bresnahan was the first president with Lucille Schneider as secretary.

Father Sauber was transferred to Saint Joseph's Church in West Saint Paul in June of 1976, and the Archbishop assigned Father Michael W. Ince to Saint Agnes. He came from Holy Spirit Parish, but he had formerly served also in Columbia Heights and in Bloomington. A native of Shakopee, he has been particularly active in work with young adults, being archdiocesan director of the Dominic Clubs. Many people came to know Father Ince through his commentaries at the school Masses broadcast on Station WWTC for several years.

The parish societies continued to function despite the difficulties brought on by a changing world, television programs and the shrinking of the world through air and automotive travel. The Rosary Society is dedicated to prayer and service of the parish through a variety of activities. The Rosary Auxiliary is made of senior ladies who meet monthly for prayer and social activity. The Men's Club celebrated its fiftieth jubilee in 1985. The Saint Anthony and the Maria Hilf Societies are affiliates of the Catholic Aid Association, serving the parish with many fraternal activities. The high school parents are organized in the Home and School Association, and the grade school parents have their Parent Faculty Organization. The St. Vincent de Paul Conference carries out the temporal works of mercy for the needy of the parish, and the Legion of Mary is dedicated to the spiritual works of mercy. The Ushers' Club provides for the care of the worshippers in church and hospitality for visitors. Graduates of the high school, the commercial school and the grade school are members of the Saint Agnes Alumni Association. The Saint Agnes Boosters promote the athletic programs in the schools. Boy and girl scout groups and numerous athletic teams for both boys and girls function daily. The altar boys are organized into the Archconfraternity of Saint Stephen for Altar Servers under the direction of Deacon Harold Hughesdon and Sister Joanette. A schola of young men sings for vespers and the Gregorian chant Masses under the direction of Paul LeVoir.

In 1977, Sister Nicolette Welter retired as principal of the grade school after having spent nearly thirty years at Saint Agnes. She was replaced by Robert Ercolani, the first layman to serve as grade school principal, a post he held for eight years when he was replaced by John Boone. As in all schools, both public and private, the enrollment continued to decline for several reasons, including the changes in the neighborhood surrounding Saint Agnes and the propaganda against large families unleashed by such groups as Planned Parenthood. The immoral decision of the United States Supreme Court allowing for abortion and a contraceptive mentality that was widely accepted even among Catholics likewise contributed to the closing of many elementary schools in the city. Pro life activities were carried out by the parish societies and prayers for the victims of abortion were offered frequently in church. Statewide notice was taken of an open letter from Monsignor Schuler to Peggy Byrne, representative from the district in the Minnesota House of Representatives, published in the parish bulletin for April 1, 1979. The pastor criticized a speech made by Miss Byrne in which she advocated the distribution of contraceptives to teenagers as means of preventing abortions. He pointed out that one evil cannot be promoted to avoid another evil; both actions are contrary to God's law and the dignity of man. The most important moral issue as well as a civil rights problem continues to be the respect for human life in every phase of its existence, and even within the Church and within the religious orders some have not followed the clear position of the Magisterium of the Holy Father and the bishops.

1978 was the "year of the three popes." Pope Paul VI died in August, and Pope John Paul I in September. Saint Agnes prayed for both Holy Fathers with a solemn Mass of Requiem on the occasion of each death, with the Twin Cities Catholic Chorale singing Mozart's famous Requiem Mass. On October 22, after vespers, a Te Deum was sung at the election of Pope John Paul II. Another jubilee was observed in 1978, as the Catholic Aid Association celebrated its one hundredth anniversary at the Saint Paul Cathedral with the Twin Cities Catholic Chorale singing Mozart's Coronation Mass along with congregational singing in both English and German. Monsignor Schuler is spiritual director for the Catholic Aid, and Saint Agnes continues to play an important role in the society.

The war in Viet Nam brought tragedy to that nation and its effects reached Saint Paul as many refugee families came into the community. Saint Agnes had long known the Vietnamese people through Father Vincent Lu who had served as assistant while studying at the University of Minnesota. With his help, the parish sponsored a refugee family of ten, providing them with a house on St. Albans Street and other needs to establish themselves. A considerable community of Vietnamese people used Saint Agnes chapel for their worship until they established their own parochial organization with a priest assigned to them. Later, an even larger influx of Laotian people, called the Hmong, came into Ramsey County, and many of them settled near Saint Agnes where classes in Catholic teachings were arranged for them until they received their own priest. The sorrows of these refugees touched the heart of the parishioners who offered charity and remembered that three generations ago their ancestors were also fleeing persecution and hardship in eastern Europe.

Monsignor Schuler continued his determination that Saint Agnes church not be violated by unnecessary and inartistic renovation which for so many churches had simply become a destruction of the architectural beauty of the building. The marble altar continued to be used, and the statues and shrines remained intact. The confessionals at the front of the church, beautifully ornate with carved wood, were remodeled into niches for the statues of the Sacred Heart and Saint Anthony in 1981. In the chapel, through the kind gift of the Sisters of the Cross, new wood-carvings of the Sacred Heart and the Blessed Virgin Mary were installed on either side of the altar. The statues were made in M�nster in Germany in 1946, and when the Sisters left their convent on Blair Street for a new home on Hodgson Road they found the statues too large for their new chapel and offered them to Saint Agnes. Later, Mrs. Mary Kluck gave the parish the wood carvings of the meeting of Jesus and His Mother on the way to Calvary which hang on the rear wall of the chapel. The liturgical reforms of the Second Vatican Council in no way were intended to promote the destruction of art, and at Saint Agnes, through a careful implementation of the decrees of the council and the orders from Rome that followed on the council, the liturgy was made to conform to the laws of the Church. The building, the ceremonies, the music and the atmosphere in general were both sacred and artistic. Notice was taken of Saint Agnes in the national press with a report by the Associated Press on the Sunday ten o'clock high Mass which appeared in 1978 and was printed throughout the Middle West.

Visitors to Saint Agnes in 1979 included the abbot of Saint John's, Father John A. Eidenschink, and Bishop Schladweiler who celebrated the fiftieth anniversary of his ordination with pontifical high Mass on Pentecost Sunday. A booklet, entitled A Minnesota Shepherd, was prepared by Father Richard M. Hogan on the bishop's life, including his years at Saint Agnes. Bishop Joseph Sullivan of Baton Rouge visited Saint Agnes during the Wanderer Forum, and the same Fall many Saint Agnes people traveled to DesMoines, Iowa, to see Pope John Paul II who visited the United States from October 1- 7.

On Easter Sunday, 1979, Monsignor Schuler announced the establishment of a "centennial fund," intended to improve the church in preparation for the observance of the one hundredth anniversary of the parish in 1987. Included in the projects to be undertaken with the money collected would be a new heating system, a new ceramic tile floor, rebuilding of the front steps and the east stairway, both of which were deteriorating, an elevator to bring people up the twenty-seven steps that were proving so difficult for so many parishioners, and finally the decoration of the interior of the church. The new heating system with area thermometers and the rebuilding of the front steps were accomplished in 1980, and the new tile floor was in place' by the end of the summer of 1981. Further work was done on the platform at the main entrance and the roof and gutters were refurbished. The old iron pipes under the pews were removed and were taken by the Knights of Columbus to Fort St. Charles on the Northwest Angle to mark the site of the early fort established there by the French traders, now in charge of the Knights. Improvements in the school buildings were also undertaken in 1980 with a grant from the federal government and the State of Minnesota of $67,610, which was used to provide new windows and other means of preserving energy. Rebuilding of the east stairway and the installation of the elevator began in November of 1985 and the project was completed by October 1986 at the cost of $500,000, bringing the total spent on the church in the past fifteen years to nearly a million dollars.

Despite a great decline across the country in the number of vocations to the priesthood and the religious life, Saint Agnes continued to celebrate almost yearly ordinations of its young men. The prayer for vocations, said each Sunday at every Mass for the past thirty years, is undoubtedly a factor in this grace of God. On May 30, 1981, Father John M. LeVoir and Father Richard M. Hogan were ordained at the Cathedral. Father Hogan celebrated his First Solemn Mass at Saint Agnes on May 31, and Father LeVoir on June 7. On July 12, Father Jeffrey Wood, who lived in Roseville and studied in Rome for the Norbertine Order, came to Saint Agnes to celebrate a solemn Mass. In 1982, Bishop Schladweiler ordained Father John M. Burns at Saint Agnes on June 26, the first time that sacrament was given in our parish church. Father Thomas W. Dufner was ordained on May 28,1983, and celebrated his First Solemn Mass on May 29. He was followed by Father Jeffrey Zwack on May 6, 1984. Father Paul Sirba was ordained on May 31,1986, with his First Mass June 1, the feast of Corpus Christi. Two men from the parish have been ordained permanent deacons, Jerome Bilderon June 9, 1979, and Harold Hughesdon on September 26, 1981; both were assigned to serve Saint Agnes parish.

A big event, widely welcomed and filled with great preparatory efforts, was the reunion of all alumni of Saint Agnes Schools. Scheduled for July 9, 1983, it brought together men and women from nearly every class. Mass, visits to the school buildings, dinner and dance at the Prom ballroom on University Avenue near Lexington, and various exhibits of photos and memorabilia occupied the weekend. Mrs. James Lachowitzer coordinated the entire program which gave new life to the alumni organization and marked the beginning of the Aggie Archives, a quarterly newsletter for all the alumni. The annual giving campaign, sponsored by the schools to provide for the overgrowing needs of maintaining first class instruction, originated in the reunion of 1983.

Present for the reunion were many of the School Sisters of Notre Dame who over the past years taught at Saint Agnes. Among those who celebrated various jubilees at Saint Agnes were Sister Nicolette Welter, Sister Adelia Breimhorst, Sister Pacifica Bauler, Sister Rosalie Siebenaler, Sister Celine Koktan, Sister Alcantara Franke, Sister Dora Kuhn, Sister Leona Betzen, Sister Sheila McCall, Sister Leanore Stanton, Sister Felicitas Blaeser, Sister Albina Olheiser and Sister Alma Soler.

Pope John Paul II declared 1983 to be a holy year to mark the anniversary of the Redemption wrought by the Passion, Death and Resurrection of Christ. Celebration of the event in the archdiocese was marked by visits to assigned churches. Saint Agnes and the other parishes of the Como district organized a pilgrimage to the Saint Paul Cathedral on Sunday afternoon, August 14. Over 1500 people marched from the State Capitol to the Cathedral, reciting the Rosary. In the great church, the organ sounded the hymns and all sang. Father Richard M. Hogan preached, and Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament followed the recitation of the prayers of the Holy Year. It was the largest single parish observance of the Holy Year in the archdiocese. To keep the entire year by some special observances, the parishioners were asked to fill out a form indicating how they would observe the Holy Father's request for prayer and penance, beginning March 25, 1983, and ending with Easter Sunday, 1984. The form used at Saint Agnes was published in the Wanderer for use in other parishes.

Visitors to Saint Agnes in 1983 included Bishop Fremiot Torres of Ponce, Puerto Rico, and Bishop Lucilo Quiambao of the Philippine Islands, and Father Paul Marx, international leader in the pro-life movement. Bishop Robert J. Carlson, newly appointed auxiliary bishop of Saint Paul and Minneapolis, celebrated pontifical Mass on Saint Agnes Day in 1984, shortly after his consecration as bishop, just as Bishop Richard Ham had celebrated the patronal feast day shortly after he came to the diocese in 1980. In October, 1984, the solemn Mass from Saint Agnes was broadcast over 160 public radio stations across the country. Station WFMT of Chicago arranged the program which included an interview with Monsignor Schuler on the subject of church music, along with the Twin Cities Catholic Chorale and members of the Minnesota Orchestra singing Beethoven's Mass in C.

The autumn of 1984 also saw the departure of Father Vincent Lu, O.P., who had become a familiar figure around Saint Agnes as well as on the lakes of the area where his reputation as a fisherman was hailed. He accepted the position of superior of the Vietnamese Dominican Fathers with headquarters in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. He was at Saint Agnes for nine years while he made studies at the University of Minnesota.

The technology of 1985 arrived at Saint Agnes with the installation of an IBM computer which provided for the parish records, records of income and all accounts payable. The unit had terminals in the high school, the development office, the parish house and the commercial department of the high school. Thomas Kemp, a deacon, programmed the system and instructed the personnel in its use. Simplification of distribution of collection envelopes, mailings, billings and records provided great saving of time and increased efficiency in the administration of the parish as well as in preparing the students in the commercial department of the high school with the most modern equipment available.

Mrs. John Kampa, appointed parish secretary by Monsignor Bandas in 1965, continued in that position, keeping the parish records, publishing the weekly bulletin and keeping the financial accounts and payroll which in the decade of the nineteen-eighties had reached a million and half dollars annually. Her pleasant voice as telephone receptionist became identified with Saint Agnes in the minds of the hundreds of callers. The smooth running of the rectory office rested largely on her.

Monsignor Schuler celebrated the fortieth anniversary of his ordination to the Holy Priesthood with a solemn Mass on Sunday September 15, 1985, followed by a reception in the church hall. The Twin Cities Catholic Chorale sang Joseph Haydn's Pauken Mass, and Father Richard M. Hogan, a nephew of Monsignor Schuler, preached the sermon. A purse of nearly $25,000 was presented to the jubilarian which he turned over to the fund being collected to enclose the east stairway of the church and install an elevator. Father Ince supervised the arrangements which brought friends from all parts of the state to attend the event. Later in the spring, the Minnesota Chapter of the Catholic League presented Monsignor Schuler with its award as Minnesota Catholic of 1985. The priests of the archdiocese voted him an award for having encouraged so many young men toward the priesthood. In November, Monsignor Schuler travelled to Rome to attend the VIII International Church Music Congress as well as the ceremonies of the beatification of Mother Theresa Gerhardinger, foundress of the School Sisters of Notre Dame. The event took place in the Basilica of Saint Peter with Pope John Paul II presiding. The parish observed the great privilege given to the Sisters with a solemn Mass on December 8, 1985.

Work on the rebuilding of the east stairway to the church, which began in November of 1985, was completed in October of 1986. MacDonald and Mack of Minneapolis were architects, and Joseph Johnson was engaged as general contractor. Beside resetting the stone stairway which had pulled away from the building, it was decided to enclose the stairway which was long a problem because of the thawing and freezing in the winter and also to install an elevator to afford access to the upper church as well as the chapel for those for whom the twenty-seven steps to the upper church were too much. The cost of the project was $500,000. Every effort was made to harmonize the new addition with the architecture of the church, and the matching of the stone and the tile was very successful. As early as 1914, the difficulty with snow and ice on the east stairway was noted in the minutes of the trustees' meetings, but the problem was only solved seventy years later with the enclosing of the stairs.

In January 1986, Bishop Hilary B. Hacker of Bismarck, North Dakota, celebrated the patronal feast with Pontifical Mass and preached. The same week Bishop William Bullock, auxiliary bishop of Saint Paul and Minneapolis, confirmed a class of 82, and Bishop Alphonse J. Schladweiler, retired bishop of New Ulm, visited the parish during the same period.

In September 1986, the parish arranged to borrow a half-million dollars from the Catholic Aid Association to cover the improvement of the parking lots on Thomas and on Lafond Avenues, to purchase new IBM computers for the commercial department of the high school costing over $50,000, and to decorate the church in preparation for the centenary of the parish.

The original stone foundation of Kettle River limestone put in place in 1897 as foundation for a church planned by Bishop Trobec came to light when excavations for the elevator were made. The rock had to be removed at considerable effort and expense. When plans for building the present church were made, the old foundation had been abandoned and forgotten, only to be re-discovered in 1986. The rock that was removed from the foundation was used to build a wall around the rectory garden.

The Catholic Aid Association held its annual convention in Saint Paul in September 1986 with the opening Mass at Saint Agnes with Bishop Paul Dudley of Sioux Falls, South Dakota, as celebrant and homilist. The Twin Cities Catholic Chorale and members of the Minnesota Orchestra performed Haydn's Pauken Messe. At a banquet following at the Prom Ballroom, the association honored Monsignor Schuler, who is their spiritual director, on his forty years of priesthood.

Preparations for the one hundredth anniersary of the founding of the parish continued throughout 1986. The Rosary Society arranged for a commemorative plate depicting the spire of the church. A pictorial directory of all the parishioners was prepared during the summer months when everyone came to have his picture taken at studios set up in the church basement. The firm of Olan Mills worked under the direction of Mrs. Frances Wistrcill who organized the program. The Twin Cities Catholic Chorale made three cassette tapes, recording the solemn Masses of Christmas, Easter and Pentecost. Entitled "Saint Agnes, Sunday Morning," all the Gregorian chant, the orchestral and choral music, the readings, sermons, organ music and the ringing of the church bells are preserved for a record of how the liturgy was celebrated at Saint Agnes. The project was financed and organized by the Leaflet Missal Co.

A committee made up of the officers of all the parish societies together with the administration of both the high school and the grade school and the School Sisters of Notre Dame met under the chairmanship of Lawrence Manthe. Plans for solemn Masses, a pilgrimage to Calvary Cemetery, a banquet, a dance and many other activities were discussed to mark the hundredth anniversary of the parish during 1987- 88.

Decoration of the church interior was begun in the Spring of 1987. It was thirty years since it had last been painted, and candle smoke and incense had left soot and grime on the walls. Cracks in the plaster caused by shifting of the structure were in need of repair. Plans were drawn to emphasize the baroque character of the building and utilize the decorative style found in south German churches. Installation of marble on the pillars added to the richness of the interior. Marblization of the columns restored them to the original painting as done seventy years before.

The Conrad Schmidt Studios of New Berlin, Wisconsin, undertook the project which cost in excess of half a million dollars. Decorative plaster work on the ceiling and a sunburst over the main altar made the interior as elaborate as the exterior and very much in the style of the baroque churches of Austria and south Germany. The work was completed by the opening of the centennial year of the founding of the parish in October 1987.

For thirty years the parish has been praying for religious vocations. 1987 witnessed three first solemn Masses by newly ordained priests on three successive Sundays. Father Frank Poncelet celebrated Mass on May 31; Father David Belland on June 7; and Father Joseph Sirba on June 14. Since 1981, there have been eleven men ordained from Saint Agnes. Despite the scaffolding filling the church, the occasions were very festive, followed by receptions arranged by the Rosary Society in the church hall.

May his memory be eternal. Lord have mercy on your priest, Father Richard!