{"id":28310,"date":"2026-05-31T22:52:12","date_gmt":"2026-05-31T22:52:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/28310\/"},"modified":"2026-05-31T22:52:12","modified_gmt":"2026-05-31T22:52:12","slug":"st-paul-marist-order-leaving-church-of-st-louis-king-of-france","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/28310\/","title":{"rendered":"St. Paul: Marist order leaving Church of St. Louis King of France"},"content":{"rendered":"

At almost 80 years old, the Rev. Joseph Hurtuk is the youngest of three Marist priests staffing the St. Louis, King of France Catholic church in downtown St. Paul.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith these ages, you just don\u2019t know and can\u2019t plan that it\u2019s going to work out for 10 more years,\u201d Hurtuk said matter-of-factly. He has accepted the decision made a year ago by his superiors in Washington, D.C. (where the Marist headquarters are located) and Archbishop of St. Paul and Minneapolis Bernard Hebda: next Sunday, Hurtuk and his fellow priests will leave the church to retire.<\/p>\n

Their transition marks more than just the end of Hurtuk\u2019s personal relationship with the parish. Due to a lack of vocation of young Marists priests, it will also be the first time in 140 years that the \u201cLittle French Church\u201d will not be staffed by the Order of Mary. Instead, it will be returned to the care of the archdiocese. Diocesan priest the Rev. Kyle Etzel, 34, is set to take over.<\/p>\n

In the past few years, Marist-run churches around the country have experienced similar withdraws. Churches in Atlanta<\/a> and Maui, Hawaii,<\/a> both cited the declining and aging population of their priests and congregations as an explanation of their order\u2019s departures.<\/p>\n

With the invitation of Archbishop John Ireland of St. Paul, who was educated by Marists in France and took a liking to their ministry, and the blessing of Pope Leo XIII, the order was entrusted with the care of the church in 1886. St. Louis had been founded 18 years prior to serve the French-speaking citizens of St. Paul \u2014 the same reason Marists had started to migrate to the United States in the 1860s, after the order sprouted in France following the French Revolution in 1816.<\/p>\n

\"AFather Joseph Hurtuk leads daily Mass at the Church of St. Louis, King of France in St. Paul on Thursday, May 28, 2026. (John Autey \/ Pioneer Press)<\/p>\n

According to longtime parishioner Mary Bakewell, 79, who says the church \u201cfeels like home,\u201d the Marists\u2019 sudden departure, which was announced to the community in January, was, at first, a \u201creal disappointment.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hurtuk recalled the parishioners\u2019 initial reaction as, \u201cA little bit sad, but understanding.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMore than a little bit sad, frankly,\u201d he added after a beat. \u201cIt still is.\u201d<\/p>\n

Early reports of the relationship between the Marists and the parish canonize it as a perfect match. In a December 1889 Pioneer Press article<\/a>, written a few years after the Marists arrived at the church, the priests are described as \u201cmuch pleased with the St. Louis congregation, which numbers about 600 families.\u201d<\/p>\n

But the decades have whittled down the vibrant community of the past. Though the church appears modern and well kept, with its elaborate stained-glass windows, blue wooden detailing and grand organ, attendance at the daily Mass peaks at a few dozen. Still, the congregants, who mirror their priests in age and devotion, cherish the comfortable space, leading each other in the praying of the rosary before the start of Mass.<\/p>\n

\"PeopleParishioners pray during daily Mass at the Church of St. Louis, King of France in St. Paul on Thursday, May 28, 2026. (John Autey \/ Pioneer Press)<\/p>\n

Having had time to digest the change, some parishioners, like Kyle Woodworth, 43, and Bakewell, have hope that it might revive the church and attract more families. \u201cThere needs to be a renewal in the church,\u201d Woodworth said. \u201cMore than anything an interior renewal. It begins there.\u201d<\/p>\n

But for one final week, Hurtuk\u2019s schedule will resume as programmed. This means a daily morning and midday Mass, on top of Sunday services, 13 confession times a week, and a treasured personal life on the third floor of the rectory, which has been his home for two decades.<\/p>\n

Farewell Mass<\/p>\n

The week will close with a Marist Mass of Thanksgiving, on Saturday, June 6, as a farewell to the priests. The celebratory Mass will have a catered reception with 200 attendees expected, and include several special guests, such as Archbishop Hebda, who will join together to celebrate the historic service of the order.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Marists have generously served the Archdiocese, sacrificing to remain faithful as long as they could to the commitment that they made to Archbishop Ireland, more than 100 years ago,\u201d wrote Hebda in a statement to the Pioneer Press. \u201cThey will long be particularly remembered for their preaching and their ministry in the confessional, making sure that generations of Catholics have had the opportunity to encounter the compassion of Jesus Christ.\u201d<\/p>\n

As he reflects on his relationship with his parish, Hurtuk describes it as \u201cvery gentle\u201d in nature. It\u2019s a sacred space that has been good to him, with people who are nice to work with. Soon he will leave his St. Paul home to live in community with other retired Marist priests in Wheeling, W.Va. Looking around the space he built, a sense of melancholy washes over him as he thinks about all the things he will have to move, including his dark gray cat, Mr. Cuddles, whose only home has been the church.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis was probably a good time rather than waiting until priests are too old to function here,\u201d Hurtuk said. \u201cI feel sad, to be honest. I really do. But I\u2019ve loved it here and I understand what\u2019s going on.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"At almost 80 years old, the Rev. Joseph Hurtuk is the youngest of three Marist priests staffing the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":28311,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[20626,20627,5,1063,20629,20630,1265,20628],"class_list":["post-28310","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-france","tag-catholic-archdiocese","tag-downtown-st-paul","tag-france","tag-local-news","tag-minnesota","tag-ramsey-county","tag-religion","tag-st-paul"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28310","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=28310"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28310\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/28311"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28310"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=28310"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=28310"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}