Our History

In 1860, when Calvary Episcopal Church was established, Minnesota had been a state for just two years and Rochester was a village of just over 1,000 settlers. Among Calvary’s founders was George Head, who six years earlier had staked a claim to a crossroads and named it “Rochester” after his hometown in New York. The first rector, the Rev. Charles Woodward, designated “Calvary” as the name of the soon to be built chapel, after the church in New York City where he had served as deacon.

Land on Second Street Southwest was purchased with funds raised by the first parishioners as well as gifts from Minnesota’s Bishop Whipple and the parish of Trinity Church Wall Street in New York. Brick sourced from Rochester kilns and timber from local forests were used to build the sanctuary. Still in use today, Calvary’s sanctuary is Rochester’s oldest church building. The first service was held in 1863, before pews or windows were installed. A pipe organ and stained glass windows were added over time, including four windows made in the Tiffany studio in New York. In 1865, a rectory was built where the church office and meeting rooms now stand. By then, Calvary had 325 members, among them a physician named William Worrell Mayo and his wife, Louise.

The trajectory of Calvary and Rochester changed forever on August 1, 1883, when a tornado flattened one-third of the town. Miraculously, Calvary’s structure survived. Dr. Mayo and his sons, Drs. Will and Charlie Mayo, and the Sisters of St. Francis, led by Mother Alfred Moes, cared for the injured. Following the devastation, Mother Alfred proposed building a hospital with funds raised by the Sisters, to be staffed by Dr. Mayo, his sons, and other physicians they would soon recruit, many of whom became members of Calvary. Thus began a partnership between the Episcopalian Drs. Mayo and the Catholic Sisters of St. Francis that would become the world-renowned Mayo Clinic. Statues depicting this collaboration can be seen in Mayo’s Feith Family Statuary Park bordering Calvary’s north side.

Today, more than 150 years and 18 rectors later, Calvary continues to thrive in the heart of downtown Rochester, surrounded by the Mayo Clinic campus. Calvary’s own campus expanded over the years to include a parish hall, offices, meeting rooms, and Sunday School classrooms. In addition to serving its parishioners and those in need in the surrounding community, Calvary is a spiritual oasis for those seeking health care and those providing it. Local residents, visitors, and people new to town are welcome to attend our worship services and contemplative offerings, to sit in our sanctuary for quiet prayer and reflection, and to participate in all aspects of the vibrant parish life that you will find described on this website.

Copies of Calvary’s history, Frontier Chapel to Spiritual Oasis: 150 Years of Calvary Episcopal Church, are available in the church office.