A dedication Mass was held Friday to re-inter the church’s founding pastors, Rt. Rev. Mons. Joseph Raith (1875-1960) and Rt. Rev. J.W. Hogan (1894-1959) in the newly renovated church. The Mass was celebrated by the Bismarck Catholic Diocese Bishop David Kagan. It was also attended by former St. Leo’s pastor Austin Vetter, who was recently named the Bishop of Helena, Mont.

Rev. Justin Waltz, the current pastor at St. Leo’s, said last week that a capital campaign raised $7 million in private donations for the renovation.

First the exterior of the historic church was completed. Then there were years of planning for an interior renovation, fundraising and years of renovation.

Waltz said his inspiration for the design of the church came from the Catholic churches he has seen during his travels in Europe, mainly in Italy. There are special touches throughout, such as flashes of purple at different places in the church where Jesus Christ is believed to be present. Medallions surrounding the baptismal font include insets of the flooring from each of the four major papal basilicas in Rome – St. John Lateran, St. Paul’s Outside the Walls, St. Mary Major, and St. Peter’s Basilica. Waltz said that Vetter was in Rome years ago when work was being done on the basilicas and asked for samples of the flooring. Vetter later made a gift of the samples to Waltz, who incorporated them into the design. The floor design takes the shape of a key pointing the way to Jesus and Christianity and eternal life.

An exterior view of St. Leo the Great Catholic Church is pictured.

During the years that work on the interior of the church was being done, Masses were frequently held in the basement. Waltz said the ongoing renovation was a challenging time for the parishioners at St. Leo’s.

But when they saw the completed renovation, some of the elders in the parish were moved to tears because it is so beautiful, said Waltz.

Waltz said this completed project is an example of the beauty that Catholics can create when they are at their best.

He said the historic St. Leo’s was considered a particularly beautiful church when it was dedicated in 1908.

“I would argue that it is once again,” he said, and now stands ready to serve the needs of Catholics in Minot for another 100 years.

Father Justin Waltz poses at the altar at the newly renovated St. Leo the Great Catholic Church.

A statue of the Virgin Mary stands in St. Leo the Great Catholic Church.

Tiny pieces of the flooring from the four major papal basilicas in Rome are inset into the floor under the baptismal font at the newly renovated St. Leo the Great Catholic Church. This is a piece of the flooring from St. Peter’s Basilica.

Father Justin Waltz shows the baptismal font at the newly renovated St. Leo the Great Catholic Church.