Old school and convent no longer part of Church of St. Mary’s landscape

New Ulm, MN - In late fall of 2004, the landscape changed at the Church of St. Mary’s in New Ulm. During the past six years that Fr. Douglas Grams has been pastor of St. Mary’s, the issue of the future viability of the old school and convent has required the commitment of time and energy on the part of many dedicated parishioners. It was not without sadness that the decision was made to demolish the vacant buildings where St. Mary’s elementary school and convent once stood.

It all began in 1923 when six religious sisters from the Order of the Sisters of Christian Charity arrived at St. Mary’s to teach in the school, starting with 225 students in six classrooms. In 1964-65, the student numbers rose to 376 children in 10 classrooms. There were four years where the former public school building, Washington School, which sat where the current St. Mary’s Church is located now, was used for extra classroom space. This gave way in 1969 to the demolition of that building and construction of the new church, providing more space for learning in the former sanctuary located in the elementary school. These buildings experienced four parishes consolidating their grade schools in 1969 to form the New Ulm Central Catholic School System. This consolidation enabled a sharing of resources which meant the complexion of St. Mary’s elementary school changed. Its students now were only through fourth grade. In 1987, the Sisters of Christian Charity departed. By 1999, St. Mary’s saw the last of its students traverse to the new St. Anthony Elementary School building in New Ulm on the same campus with its companion grades.

Even though people have been worshiping God in the current stone structure for thirty-four years, the older buildings served as a touchstone with the past for many.

Although now gone, St. Mary’s school and convent will live on in the memories of those who walked through the doors. The statue of Mary, which stood in an alcove near the top of the school building and the cross (both pictured above), have been saved for future use. Also salvaged was the school’s 1922 cornerstone and the school bell, which at one time rang the Angelus at noon and also marked the end of the school day.

Other pieces of the school and convent’s past will be transformed into tops of door frames, hooks from cloak rooms to be made into craft items placed in foyers or bathrooms; grills will transform into tabletops; windows from the convent will become part of a three-season porch; molding will be part of the construction of a Victorian home; blackboard slate will be crushed, laid on a base and grouted to become a slate shower base; panel doors will be made into a hall bench or a coat tree, while others will become dining room wainscoting. The hardwood floors in most of the rooms were salvaged.

For those whose roots go deep into the parish’s past, their lives have been the richer for having been blessed with the St. Mary’s experience. It has taught us that life as it ever changes, is always enriching; that it offers much to those who but learn from the moment; that, in gratitude, we build from the richness of the past, enabling us to embrace the future.

Courtesy of St. Mary’s Parish “Magnificat”; contributing writers Fr. Douglas Grams and Mary Ellen Domeier.