The European immigrants who moved into southwestern Minnesota in the mid-1800s brought their religious faiths with them. The founders of Immanuel Baptist Church in Westbrook (Cottonwood County) moved into the first church building erected in the village after the members of that original congregation moved on to other areas, leaving the building vacant.
Our Lady of Lourdes Parish School [undated] From: Weber, Nicholas A. A Short History of the French Catholic Congregation of East Minneapolis in Minnesota (1849–1949). Minneapolis: Lund Press, 1949.
Interior of Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church, 27 Prince Street, Minneapolis, March 1, 2015. Photograph by Wikimedia user Jonathunder. GNU Free Documentation License 1.2
Sculptures of the Virgin Mary (at left) and Saint Bernadette (Bernadette Soubirous, at right). Interior of Our Lady of Lourdes Church, 27 Prince Street, Minneapolis, 2017. Photograph by Courtney Gregar.
Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church in the St. Anthony Falls area of Minneapolis is the oldest continuously used church building in the city. It was a source of ethnic pride for immigrant families from France after its founding in 1877. In 2017, it is a restored and renovated country-Gothic (Gothic Revival and French Provincial) structure that looks like a medieval temple of faith.