THE HISTORY OF OUR PARISH 

Did you know that the title Queen of Peace is the third name of our parish since its founding one hundred and twenty-nine years ago? That the church is the fourth building used by the parish in the same number of years? And that the Catholics are the oldest organized congregation in Cloquet?

The Catholic community of Cloquet was first organized by Bishop Rupert Seidenbush, OSB of St. Cloud, MN, on October 1, 1881, under the name "The Church of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary." The first pastor was Father A. LeMay, who served until October 1, 1883. The first trustees of the new parish were Andrew Gowan and Dennis Harrigan. The latter was the grandfather of Harry Lillis Crosby, Jr., better known in later years as Bing Crosby.

The first church was built in the spring of 1882, a frame building 90 x 30 feet, for a cost of about $3,400 on Arch Street and Avenue D. The lot for the church, as well as the lumber, was given by the C. N. Nelson Company. Mass was held in homes until the building was completed. The second pastor was Fr. George Dugal, who served from March, 1884, to July 21,1889. Hewes succeeded by Father Charles Giraux, Father John Mevel, and Father John Walsh. Father Giraux served the parish twice, returning for his second pastorate from October 15, 1898,  to June 30, 1910. 

Father Giraux wanted to build a new church on a new site with a new name. In August, 1900, he purchased 12 lots in Block 67 between Fourth and Fifth streets, where the present church stands, for $600. The last Mass was celebrated in the West End on October 31, 1902. On March 2, 1904, Drs. Charles Harrington and W. G. Dolan bought the old church building and lot for $800 and remodeled it, making it into a hospital. In September, 1901, the church was incorporated under the new name of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart, keeping this title until July of 1990.

The contract for the stone foundation for the new church was given to Levi Conners for $1,665 on August 14, 1901. The next day Father Giraux broke ground, but the work stopped until May of 1902. The new building was completed in October of 1902. The first Mass was celebrated on All Saints Day, with no formal dedication taking place because of inclement weather. In the autumn of 1903, 64 children received their First Communion, and the first Confirmation class numbered 218 children. By 1907 there were about 450 families in the church or about 1,500 parishioners. On January 3, 1907, with the approval of Bishop McGolrick, Father Giraux bought a temporary pastoral residence on Fourth Street. The church was known as the "French Church" because Father Giraux and predecessors in Cloquet had given their sermons in French; however, some fifteen ethnic groups worshiped in the parish.

Then at 4 a.m. on September 18, 1908, a bolt of lightning struck the spire of the church, starting a fire that totally destroyed the church and its contents.  The destruction of the church was interpreted by some of the French-speaking parishioners as a sign of God’s anger at the growing insistence that English be used in saying the Mass.  The pastor and trustees decided to clear away the debris and to place a temporary roof over the basement so Mass could be held through the winter.

On August 23, 1909, Alban Fisher of St. Paul submitted a Gothic Style design for a new church which was accepted by Bishop McGolrick.  Since Father Giraux felt his health would not permit him to build this new church, Father E. Crosier,OMI, became the new pastor. In July,1911, he was succeeded by Father John Limmer, who worked on the new church and, for the first time, a parish school. The first Mass was offered in the new church on June 6, 1912. A new rectory was completed in February, 1913, and the Benedictine Sisters from St. Scholastica Priory in Duluth moved into their new convent on October 23, 1913. And then, disaster struck again. This time the church, school, rectory and convent were completely destroyed in the Cloquet Fire of 1918. Father Elias Lemire became the new pastor in 1919 and immediately began to rebuild the school, rectory, and convent. The present church was completed in 1926. And then another disaster, not lightning or fire this time, but the Great Depression, began in 1929. As a consequence, the parish debt was not paid off until 1943.

Since the early 1900's the Polish people of the area worshiped on Sundays in Scanlon and were served by temporary priests from around the area. When the Brooks-Scanlon Lumber Company closed, the little church building was moved to a site on 11th Street, about two blocks north of the present Queen of Peace Chapel.

The first priest assigned to the Polish people was Father Iciek, who served a little more than a year beginning on November 11, 1908. He was followed by Father Malecki, who, on January 20, 1910, incorporated the parish and named it St. Casimir's.           

St. Casimir's also burned in the fire of 1918, and was never rebuilt. For a short time after the fire, the Polish people attended the improvised "French" church, but very little fraternization took place between the two congregations. Some old timers felt the schism was due to the Polish people not being welcomed by the French parishioners following the fire.

At this time the decision was made to build a larger Polish church, and four lots were purchased on the corner of 10th Street and Carlton Avenue. Serving the parish during these years were Fathers Olszewski, Meger (who served twice) and Werbila. Finally, in late 1922 or early 1923, the first Mass was celebrated in the new St. Casimir's by Father Cheslewicz. In 1930, there were 80 Polish families in the parish. A person had to be Polish to become a member - a stipulation written into the original parish by-laws and not deleted until 1965. At first only Polish was spoken at Mass, and for those who didn't know the language well, Father Kralisz taught Polish in the rectory basement. English was introduced more and more, with Father Meger, who served from 1944 to 1958, discontinuing the Polish sermons. The last Polish speaking pastor was Father Felix Kuras who served from 1958 to 1967. By 1945, there were 110 families in the parish and by 1955, about 200 families.

By the 1980's, with the shortage of priests, a number of parishes consolidated in the diocese. In 1988, Bishop Brom called a joint parish meeting and asked the pastors and parishioners of both parishes to work together to consolidate resources wherever possible. By 1989, the consolidation had progressed to the point where both parishes gave up their names and chose the title Queen of Peace for the newly consolidated parish, with the larger building being called Queen of Peace Church and the smaller building called Queen of Peace Chapel. Father Jon Wild was the last pastor of St. Casimir's and Father Seamus Walsh, the last pastor of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart. At the time of the merger, St. Casimir's had 350 families, and Our Lady of Sacred Heart, 914 families. Final consolidation and legal incorporation of the new parish took place on July 17, 1990, with Father Walsh as the pastor for the new combined parish. In the spring of 1992, Queen of Peace had 1346 registered families.