St. Wendelin's Catholic School The first settlers to Luxemburg arrived around 1854 with the first Mass celebrated here on April 11, 1859. The name of the Parish “St. Wendelin” originated from the statue of St. Wendelin that currently is displayed in the back of church. As the Peter Maus family traveled to the area by way of an ocean voyage from Germany, they encountered a terrifying storm. The Maus family had brought the statue with them, pledging to build a shrine for the statue if they survived the storm.
In 1861, a public school (District School # 36) was established in the Luxemburg community. The school was a log structure consisting of one room which accommodated 16 students in grades one through eight with one teacher. The number of students grew quickly, resulting in the replacement of the log school with a larger frame school.
Even though the Luxemburg School was a public school, Catholic religious teachings were taught on a daily basis. Up until this time, lay people were hired as the teachers at the school, but in 1881 Benedictine sisters came to teach at the school. It was common at that time for religious sisters to teach in public schools.
In the early 1900’s, student numbers had again increased resulting in a new building being constructed. In 1925, the student population was 100 students with 2 teachers in two classrooms. A third classroom was added due to the expanding population. Over the next years, enrollment varied, but at one time reached its all-time high of 140 students.
Due to growing numbers of Catholic schools and the reduction in the number of available sister teachers for public schools, the Luxemburg parish purchased the school from the district and began to operate as a parochial school. With this change the sisters were able to remain as the teaching staff. The parish purchased the school and its contents for $1500.
As the parish continued to grow and a need for modern features within the school, a new facility was constructed at a cost of $129,842 and opened in February of 1964, this is the current structure today. St. Wendelin school was the first school in the St, Cloud diocese to have carpeted classrooms.
The 1967-1968 school year was the last year that St. Wendelin offered a seventh and eighth grade class. In the early 1970’s, Kindergarten classes were offered at St. Wendelin with the public school renting a classroom. In 1975, St. Wendelin School operated the half-day kindergarten as part of its regular offerings.
In 1999, the new parish Center, Mary Hall opened. As part of the Mary Hall project, portions of the school were remodeled or given a face-lift. With this construction the school now had a dedicated media center with library and computer lab, new restroom facilities, use of a modern kitchen, cafeteria space and gym. This facility was built with the good will and volunteerism of the parishioners with approx. $200,000 in donated labor, services and monetary donations to the project resulting in the total expense of the project being covered before the building was completed.
A preschool program for 3-5-year-olds was added in 1994 for two (2) days per week and an afterschool program was added in 2005 expanding the school’s program offerings.
In 2016, St. Wendelin School became part of Catholic Community Schools, a cooperative organizational structure involving 8 area Catholic schools. In 2018, St. Wendelin moved from a traditional educational plan of instruction to a Montessori approach. This move was made to develop a uniqueness for St. Wendelin School and encourage increased enrollment.
Around 2020, offering of 6th grade was discontinued to align with the Catholic Community school plans to move 6th grade to Cathedral.
In the spring of 2023, it was decided that it would be in the best interests of St. Wendelin School to return to operate as an independent parish school, with 6th grade being added back to the school offerings in the fall of 2024.
The school continues to have exceptional parish and community support. As of April of 2024, the school is anticipating increased enrollment for the 24-25 school year of over 20% and hopes to continue this growth into the future. St. Wendelin school continues its mission to teach in the catholic faith and love for Jesus, along with providing an exceptional academic foundation for all its students.