The St Scholastica Catholic church is the seat of St Scholastica Parish in Heidelberg MN. Services are held every Sunday at 0800 and 0915.
From the New Prague Area Catholic Community website: (
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"St. Scholastica is located in Heidelberg in rural LeSueur County. The parish merged with the Church of St. Wenceslaus in 2011. Sacramental Records may be obtained at Church of St. Wenceslaus.
Directions
From New Prague: Take MN-19 west/Main St W approximately 3 miles. Turn left or south on CR-30/181st Ave. Go south on CR-30/181st Ave approximately 3 miles until you are about to enter the small hub of Heidelberg. The church will be immediately on the left or east side of CR-30/181st Ave."
The community of Heidelberg is so small that there is limited information about the church or the community online. The best we were able to find is from Wikipedia: (
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"Heidelberg is a city in Le Sueur County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 122 at the 2010 census.[6]
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 0.53 square miles (1.37 km2), all of it land.
County Highway 28 serves as a main route in the community. Minnesota State Highway 13 is nearby.
History
Heidelberg was platted in 1878, and named by its original German settlers after Heidelberg, in Germany. A post office operated in the community from 1872 until 1903. Heidelberg was incorporated in 1894.
2010 census
As of the census of 2010, there were 122 people, 41 households, and 34 families residing in the city. . . . "
We did find a locally-published book about the parish history of the St Scholastica Parish of Heidelberg MN, but it seems to be only available for sale, and to be written in English and Czech language: (
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"History of the parish of St. Scholastica, Heidelberg, Minnesota.
Author: Amelia Francis Romportl; Liga c?esky´ch kne?z?i´ arcidiecese St. Paulske´.
Publisher: [Minnesota?] : [publisher not identified], [between 1980 and 1984]
Edition/Format: Print book : English
Database: WorldCat"
We did find a newspaper article about the merger of several area churches in 2011 that affected St Scholastica: (
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"Small area parish will say goodbye to church after Sunday Mass
Pat Minelli Jan 15, 2011
By David Schueller, Correspondent
A Catholic parish that formed 151 years ago is planning to celebrate its last Mass Sunday.
Members of St. Benedict Catholic Church in Helena Township south of Jordan were among 21 churches ordered to merge with other parishes as a result of changes in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis.
“It will be very difficult to go to a different church,” said longtime church member Terry Holzer. “We have come to the conclusion that we have accepted this. It’s going to be a loss.”
For members of the small, rural parish, the last Mass promises to be a difficult one. The Mass could resemble a funeral, said the Rev. Father Kevin Clinton, pastor at St. Wenceslaus Church in New Prague.
“You are going through the very difficult thing of grieving and letting go here,” said a visibly moved Clinton during the second-to-last mass at St. Benedict on Jan. 9.
In both relationships and history, the parish has deep roots.
It was formed in 1859, after Helena Township residents found it too difficult to attend Mass in Jordan because of very bad or nonexistent roads, according to a church history book.
The church building is the third for St. Benedict parish, and was built between 1885 and 1887. Tall cedar trees give the church the feeling of age, and are listed as being planted in 1899.
The parish had sponsored a baseball team, been the site of countless baptisms, weddings and funerals, and had been led by the same priest for 43 years — the Rev. Father Elgar Bockenfeld, who died at age 93.
In October, the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis announced its sweeping reorganization, affecting nearly 100 churches in some way, including 21 of them closing.
Clinton said he and Bockenfeld had known about changes that were coming to the rural parishes south and west of Jordan, resulting from too many masses, too few priests, and financial problems.
Bockenfeld had known, looking at the situation of several small churches in the area, that something would have to change, Clinton said.
“I remember when we came to St. Benedict, he clammed up. He didn’t want to talk about it, very understandably,” Clinton said. “He said, ‘They’re going to do what they’re going to do.’”
Area churches are shifting schedules to accommodate the changes, including the addition of an 8 a.m. Mass at St. Scholastica Catholic Church in Heidelberg to accommodate early-rising members of St. Benedict, whose Mass time was 7:30 a.m.
Although many of the local details resulting from the changes in the archdiocese remain uncertain, some are known.
The Stations of the Cross artwork made in the late 1890s, imported from Germany, and restored by Jordan artist Gwen Sides between 2000 and 2001 will be going to St. John at Union Hill.
The statue of St. Benedict will go to St. Scholastica.
“The reason for that is St. Benedict and St. Scholastica were brother and sister,” Holzer said.
Deacon Bob Wagner said he’s investigating getting the St. Benedict building put on the National Register of Historic Places, but funding the building’s upkeep could be difficult.
“There’s a history to this building that needs to be preserved. But how do you do it in this economic climate?”
For instance, one of the leaks in the roof is above a statue of the Virgin Mary.
“When the statue’s crying, it’s not miraculous,” Wagner said.
Other possibilities are a sale, or a demolition — Wagner said the archdiocese will not let the building fall into ruin.
Church members will also be figuring out what’s next.
“We expect it’s going to take time for people to get settled and find their spiritual home,” Wagner said.
Terry Holzer and her husband, Lanny, said they’ll head to Jordan to attend mass.
Lanny said the loss of the church follows the loss of Bockenfeld, who others have said was like a grandfather to many.
“In one year, to lose a priest after 40 years and also lose a church,” Lanny said.
Still, Lanny said they’ll have to adjust.
“We’ll have to get used to it. It’s not something that’s that earth-shattering,” Lanny said.
They described trustees and church members who gave time and energy to keeping the church going for so many years — wonderful people, Terry said. “We were a family.”
David Schueller can be reached at dschueller@swpub.com."
Regarding the book "LITTLE MINNESOTA":
Since 1973, all incorporated towns were declared officially to be ‘cities’ by an act of the Minnesota Legislature. Ever wonder about those ‘little cities’? This series of 100 waymarks will take you to all corners of the great state of Minnesota to visit the 100 smallest of the incorporated cities in the state. All have a great story to tell.
This is the 35th of 100 of the cities described in the book LITTLE MINNESOTA. Founded in the 1850s by two German immigrant farmers, Frank Heil & Fredrick Ihrig. The story is told that Frank Heil & his two younger brothers were smuggled to the United States hiding on wine barrels. Such was their desire to make a new life for themselves in the young nation.
Incorporated in 1894, Heidelberg currently has a population of 122 persons and is the home of what is regarded as one of the best meat markets in Minnesota Czech country, Odenthal Meats. The meat products offered at this establishment use locally raised beef, chicken & pork.
Heidelberg is the Euchre Capital of the entire world. Following the bicentennial flag presentation ceremony, at which Lt. Governor Rudy Perpich did the honors, a game of euchre began and continued non-stop for 200 hours, one hour for each year of the United States.
This series of waymarks is tuned to getting people to visit these wonderful small communities before they disappear completely. To validate your ‘find’, please post a photo of you with your GPS at the coordinates and please relate a little tidbit about what you learned about the town and its people that is not in this narrative or the book. You can learn more about ‘LITTLE MINNESOTA’ by logging on to (
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