Our Lady of Guadalupe parishioners, priest struggle with direction of historic St. Paul church
Over the past few months, some longtime parishioners at Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic Church say they are concerned changes made by the priest are erasing the traditions that have been the foundation of the 90-year-old church.
Our Lady of Guadalupe Church began as a Mexican mission in 1931 in the West Side Flats on Wabasha Street South, eventually moving to Concord Street. It was the first Mexican church in Minnesota.
Today, some of its members are third- or fourth-generation parishioners whose grandparents and great-grandparents founded the church.
In early December, Archbishop Bernard Hebda held a meeting to hear those concerns. Some longtime parishioners said they felt the church was no longer their own. But newer parishioners, many who are recent immigrants, voiced their support for the changes and the priest, Andrew Brinkman.
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That meeting revealed a division. Some parishioners have left the parish while others have simply stopped attending Mass altogether.
Lesly Gamez joined the parish about 15 years ago but stopped attending Mass nearly two years ago. She said she and her husband felt at home at Our Lady of Guadalupe. But that feeling was lost when the church leadership changed.
“For me, the bottom line is that the way Father Andrew is running the church is so out of sync with my own beliefs about what that space should be as a Chicano Latino church on the west side. It’s based on its history, based on why you go to church,” Gamez said.
The first Masses at Our Lady of Guadalupe, celebrated in Spanish and English, were held on Feb. 22, 1931. It was incorporated as a parish in 1939. In the early 1940s, a weekly novena was instituted, and the chapel became known for its shrine to the Virgen de Guadalupe.
Some concerns have included the use of Spanish, or lack of it, during meetings with parishioners, women being barred from the altar and girls not allowed as altar servers.
Just over a year ago, Brinkman stopped doing traditional quinceañera Masses. Quinceañeras are celebrated in Mexico and other Latin American countries to mark a girl's 15th birthday and her passage into adulthood. A large part of the event is a traditional Mass.
In a video posted on his YouTube channel a few months ago explaining why he made the change, Brinkman said he offers to give the girl a blessing during a regular Sunday or weekday Mass, instead of the large Saturday event.
“It's sad for me to do quinceañera and just never see the girl again, you know and she's coming from who knows where. I really want to be together and really want her to be part of this community, this faith community,” the priest said in the video.
Brinkman declined comment for this story.
Gamez’s husband, Guillermo Maldonado Perez, said the use of Spanish needs to be addressed. When he served on the parish council, he said he was surprised the meeting was only in English. When it was brought up, Brinkman did translate it to Spanish, but Maldonado Perez said it was only small portions. He thought people were not getting the full story.
When MPR News asked for an interview with church officials, the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis sent a statement. Rev. Michael Tix, vicar for clergy and parish services, said he was grateful to the people, staff and leadership — including Brinkman — at Our Lady of Guadalupe parish. He said conversations continued with the concerned groups, parish leadership and archdiocesan leadership the week after the Dec. 9 meeting at the church.
“The situation at Our Lady of Guadalupe is complicated, combining people of multiple cultures, generations, perspectives and expectations. It is only with our eyes focused on Christ, and nourished by the Eucharist, that we will be able to respect our differences and truly unite with our Lord. The Archdiocese is committed to continuing this walk with the faithful and leadership at Our Lady of Guadalupe to find common ground and means of moving forward together,” Tix said.
Cecilia Jackson was one of two members who attended the follow-up meeting. She said she is part of a small committee asked to represent around 250 parishioners who have concerns about the changes at Our Lady of Guadalupe.
She said Tix and the archdiocese’s chief operating officer also attended. Jackson said they wanted to know how they were feeling about the meeting held earlier in the month.
Jackson said she told them that they hadn’t seen anything to indicate that things had changed on Brinkman’s part.
The discussion included the capital campaign Brinkman started and the way the priest has put together his leadership team — including the parish council and financial council.
Jackson, who worked 25 years in the financial field and whose parents helped to build the Concord Street church, questions starting a capital campaign during a pandemic. The church itself is paid for and the current debt is a $65,000 loan taken for the roof, Jackson said.
“And he’s calling on our seniors to donate. That really riles me because that church was built one taco and one enchilada at a time,” Jackson said. “And we had connections to our community. And our parents and grandparents wanted us to stay in the community at that church.”
Jackson said the division is not between the English speakers and Spanish speakers.
“The division is between him and basically the congregation. He’s trying to pit us against each other, so he has his people and we’re slowly going to die off,” she said.
Krystell Theisen Escobar sees the division, and said she was thankful for the Dec. 9 meeting with archdiocese officials.
“I’m not in the camp that desires for his removal or anything like that. I think that the situation can be rectified. But I do think that he is definitely a big enough person to administer an apology that’s appropriate to many of the folks that have given so much,” Theisen Escobar said.
Vicki Adame covers Minnesota’s Latino communities for MPR News via Report for America, a national service program that places journalists into local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues and communities.