Friends of St. Joseph Church, formerly in Lexington, will gather at 1:30 p.m. Aug. 18 to unveil a commemorative plaque honoring the now-closed church’s 110-year history.
The celebration will be held at the original site of the church, 21324 Steeple View Lane.
St. Joseph Church was built in 1902 and was served as a mission church of St. Scholastica in Heidelberg until the first resident pastor came in 1948.
The church was again a mission of St. Scholastica when it closed in 2009. All of its sacred items, such as the tabernacle, altar, relics, etc., were removed and taken to churches in the St. Wenceslaus community in New Prague or other Catholic churches. The St. Joseph church building was purchased by the Le Sueur County Pioneer Association in 2011 and was moved six miles to the Le Sueur County Pioneer Power Association show grounds. It now serves as the nondenominational Lexington Church on the show grounds.
The original site is currently managed by the Minnesota Territorial Pioneers of Minnesota. Future plans for the site include a museum to display some of the church’s historic treasures.
