Your Great Catholic Minnesota Road Trip: Cathedral of St. Paul, No 1

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With the onset of August, ‘tis the season to stuff the cooler, pack the car and head off on the open road. Whether you’re heading north, east, west or south, it’s worth straying from the beaten path to check out these Minnesota sites with Catholic connections. Be it beautiful, historic or downright quirky, each one will get you and your road mates talking about the centuries-old relationship between the church and our state.

The Cathedral of St. Paul
239 Selby Ave., St. Paul

With its prominent place in the capital city — both on the skyline and in the guidebooks — you might think one could have enough of the Cathedral of St. Paul. Au contraire! This landmark is worth checking out, even if you’ve been here more times than you can count. Recently given the additional designation as the National Shrine of the Apostle Paul, the Cathedral has free 1 p.m. tours on Monday-Friday. Or, if you explore it on your own, keep an eye out for the Founder’s Chapel and baptistry’s stained glass windows with figures from Minnesota’s Catholic history, and don’t miss the stone in the St. Therese chapel from the tower at Rouen where St. Joan of Arc was held during her 1431 trial. Catholic Spirit