The parish of Ascension had quite a lot of stability in its early years, as three

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1 Maren Enger & Storm Zhe Dr. Fitzharris Ascension Parish December 3, 2002 The parish of Ascension had quite a lot of stability in its early years, as three pastors each held their positions for over thirty years: Reverend Jeremiah Harrington, Monsignor John Dunphy, and Monsignor Patrick William Coates. Each man has definitive achievements by which their tenure is remembered and applauded for, and each greatly affected the path that Ascension took even after their departure. From the building of the parish school, to the establishment of the ascension club, to the construction of the Ascension gymnasium, the parish witnessed numerous changes and improvements to its church and community under the guidance of these men. Reverend Jeremiah Harrington was the first of the thirty-year priests. At the age of twelve, Harrington began at St. Michael s Listowel College and then continued his education at the Seminary of All-Hallows, Dublin (75 th Anniversary). On June 8, 1894 he was appointed to become the second priest at Ascension Parish and remained at Ascension until he died in When he arrived at the parish he found that the church was a bare frame building and the parish was struggling with only 150 families (The Catholic Bulletin 1924). Harrington was considered a Man of Action. He had many visions on how to make the parish better and he saw all of them through until they were complete. He wanted a better church, but his first concern was starting a school. However, the church did not have the money to build a school. So Harrington gathered parishioners who were as enthused about the school as he was. Together they began digging for the

2 basement of the school building. Harrington was right along with them swinging a pick (The Catholic Bulletin 1924). In 1897, just three years after he was appointed to Ascension, the school opened with three classrooms for 100 students. With the school completed and operating, Harrington moved his time to a new project a new church. In 1902, the current brick building replaced the original wood building. By 1916 Harrington was concerned with the parish school becoming overcrowded due to the constantly increasing number of families in his parish. He appealed to the parishioners to begin a fund raising campaign with an end goal of $100,000, which was a monumental amount of money in those early days. This money was to be used to build a building that Harrington envisioned in which would contain athletics and recreational facilities as well as eight additional classrooms for the school. The goal was reached and the construction began in Harrington was the kind of man that put his heart into everything he did. At Harrington s funeral Archbishop Dowling said, He never asked to be anything but priest of this parish. He loved you, his parishioners, and you loved him. Here was a priest most splendidly. He was the priest of this parish, and you always knew where to find him. His whole heart and soul were wrapped up in the people of this district (The Catholic Bulletin 1924). Harrington was characterized by one who chose to play a nobler part in a nobler way ( Father Dunphy is welcomed to new pastorate ). However, he could not have been successful without the people of the parish. As Monsignor Clearly stated, It is the splendid spirit of loyalty to Ascension Parish on the part of the people of the parish that made the work in Ascension church such a success ( Father Dunphy is welcomed to

3 new pastorate ). So although Harrington was a man of action and literally built the foundation of the parish, the success laid in the hands of the parishioners. Action seemed to be a common theme amongst the three thirty year pastors of Ascension, as this idea carried over to Harrington s successor, Father John Dunphy, who also could be described as a man of action. Monsignor John Dunphy was born on June 21 st, 1874 in Kilmacow, in County Kilkenny, Ireland. After graduating from the College of St. Kieran s in Ireland, Dunphy came to the United States in 1894, upon which he attended the College of St. Thomas and then entered the St. Paul seminary. On June 9, 1900 John Dunphy was ordained at the age of 26 by the Archbishop John Ireland. He started out as an assistant pastor at St. Luke s church in St. Paul, before returning to St. Thomas as prefect of discipline. Dunphy, known as the King on campus, was also the dean of studies, faculty director of athletics, and vice-rector during his tenure twenty-one year tenure at the College of St. Thomas. He had been known to wield the rung of a chair in his hand for those boys who made tardiness a habit, only strengthening the fact that, according to Monsignor Dunphy, his job at St. Thomas was to make boys into men. In 1925, Monsignor Dunphy arrived at Ascension, assigned by Archbishop Austin Dowling, as successor to the Reverend Jeremiah Harrington. A difficult task, as Harrington had been pastor for thirty years and was largely responsible for Ascension s growth and success as a parish. Yet Dunphy managed to carve his own niche in the history of Ascension, and brought with his reign as Pastor many successes of his own. The husky, freckle-faced and brown-eyed man that would be the second of three thirty year pillars that held the parish of Ascension together brought with him goals of a unified and socially responsive parish. Direct, blunt, forceful, but always willing to try and see

4 the other guy s side of the question were ways that Monsignor Dunphy was described as Pastor of Ascension. It was these qualities that helped him forge a parish focused on social work, and create a strong sense of community within Ascension. Monsignor Dunphy then started the monthly paper for his parishioners, The Ascension News, on May 8, 1932 as a means for the people of Ascension to become a closer, and tighter knit parish and improve the welfare within. He was a man that believed in keeping his parishioners aware and involved with all aspects of the church, and through that believed higher ambition awaited the people of Ascension. Monsignor Dunphy felt that the parish of Ascension could increase its involvement in the community by keeping its members strong in their link to the parish. Monsignor Dunphy s liking of sports, he himself an avid golfer and baseball fan, led to his desire to create a gymnasium for the parishioners. He could usually be found hovering around with suggestions and corrections, and always a word of encouragement for those in the gym. Not only did the gymnasium give parishioners opportunity, it also produced a healthy string of champions and winners for the Ascension parish. The athletic club always had a fine corps of boxers in the Golden Gloves tournaments, and Dunphy himself was a member of the advisory committee of that organization. Dunphy s keenness for sports not only produced results at Ascension, but also leaves him as the one credited for putting St. Thomas on the map in the world of sports during his tenure there. The gymnasium stands as a monument to Monsignor Dunphy, as it is he who is chiefly responsible for its construction. In addition to the gymnasium, Dunphy was also integral in the erection of the Sister s House, the living quarters for the teachers at the parish school.

5 Monsignor Dunphy was always active in social work. Whether it was as a member of Optimist s club, or as the chaplain of the Variety club of the Northwest, Dunphy was always involved in community and parish projects. He was also founder of the annual Holy Name Rally at the Minnesota State Fairgrounds, and was for many years state chaplain of the Knights of Columbus. Monsignor Dunphy s philosophy of life was simple and to the point, as illustrated in the North Minneapolis Post: Keep a sound mind in a sound body; be loyal to your church and your god, be loyal to your neighbor, be loyal to the highest ideals and to yourself, and life will have that glow that makes life worth living. Failing health forced him to step down as pastor after tenure in office longer than that of any man before him, thirty-one years. Monsignor John Dunphy left a legacy of social work and parish unity behind when he died at the age of 89 in 1963, at which time the reigns of Ascension Parish had already been handed to Patrick William Coates. Monsignor Patrick William Coates was the last of the thirty-year priests at Ascension Parish, and only the fourth pastor at Ascension since it was founded in Coates attended the College of St. Thomas and then continued his education at the St. Paul seminary. Following his ordination in 1940, Coates became the assistant pastor at Ascension Parish (Minneapolis Star 1957). During his time at Ascension, Coates continually made improvements to the church, school, club, convent and rectory, but is main focus was on the youth (75 th Anniversary). In 1941, just one year after becoming the assistant pastor at Ascension, Coates began a summer program for the youth of the north side of Minneapolis (100 th Anniversary). This allowed the kids to spend their summer vacations playing sports,

6 swimming, and touring the city. Monsignor Coates would include all the children in the area, not just those from the Ascension Parish, to get involved. Coates wanted to be so involved in the lives of youth, that he also directed the Catholic Action Club for high school students, the Young People s Sodality Club for high school graduates and the Knights of Columbus Youth Organization (Star Tribune 1991). However, he was most famous for his Monsignor and the Kids. Each year Coates would put on a song and dance act with the youth. They even took the show on the road to churches around the Twin Cities. Monsignor Coates love for the youth extended to the Ascension School. During his time at Ascension, Coates saw the school drop from 1,000 students to 190 students. His main concern was to make sure that the school had adequate funding in order to stay open. Coates was the founding director of the Fall Marathon for Non-public Education (Star Tribune 1991). This was a twelve-mile marathon to raise money for private schools. Each year Coates would ride his bike in the marathon and he personally raised $158,000 (Star Tribune 1991). As Coates explained, I ve grown to know and love the place. I ve seen it in its peak and I ve seen it go downhill. I m trying in my old age [71] to do what I can to keep it together ( Priest hams it up for marathon fund-raiser 1987). Coates not only helped the Ascension school, but he was also extremely involved in the community. He was appointed as a Domestic Prelate in That same year he was also appointed Monsignor. When Coates served as a navy chaplain, he showed such great leadership and devotion that they made him a captain (75 th Anniversary). Coates was also appointed dean of the Minneapolis deanery of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis. Besides these honorable recognitions, Coates served as a leader in a variety

7 of different ways including: chaplain to Minneapolis Fire Department, on board of directors of Phyliss Wheatley, moderator on St. Paul Diocese Council of Catholic Women, and on the speaking circuit accentuating the positive about teenagers (The Band of Broadway 1985). Monsignor Coates is the man responsible for making Ascension what it is today diverse. During his ministry at Ascension he saw dramatic changes in the surrounding neighborhood and opened the parish, school and club to everyone, not just those who were Irish Catholic. Coates was such an extraordinary man that he could have had any parish in the diocese, but he choose to stay at Ascension and meet the challenges of declining numbers of parishioners and students. Even after Coates retired, he remained the assistant pastor at Ascension. He continued raising money for the school and remained active in the parish. Coates explained his continuing involvement by saying, You get to be kind of a legend. I m supposed to be officially retired as of last year you do that, you get lazy. I m not that type got to keep my finger in everything ( Priest hams it up for marathon fund raiser 1987). The Ascension Parish owes much of what it became, and what it is remembered by now, to these three men who helped to shape and mold it. By their resiliency and desire, Ascension formed itself into a strong and unified parish by the guidance that these pastors helped give them.

8 Ascension s First Century Works Cited The Bard of Broadway. August 15, The Catholic Bulletin. Beloved Pastor of Minneapolis Church Succumbs to Illness. Nov. 15, Father Dunphy is Welcomed to New Pastorate. Page 14. Priest hams it up for marathon fund raiser th Anniversary. Booklet. Star Tribune. P.W. Coates, former Ascension pastor, dies. September 7, Ascension News May 8, 1932 North Minneapolis Post Vol. I #11 June 12, 1947 North Minneapolis Post August 27, 1953