History

At the request of a number of early settlers who wished their daughters to receive a Visitation education, Bishop Thomas L. Grace asked the Sisters in St. Louis, Missouri, to make a foundation in St. Paul, Minnesota. Six Sisters were appointed to travel up the Mississippi to settle in a frame house established for them in the burgeoning city. School opened in September 1873 with fourteen pupils. Both school and monastery grew quickly, and by 1879, the Sisters had moved to a more expansive property on Robert Street. Further expansion of pupils and Sisters led to construction of a castle-like school and conversion of an existing frame house into the monastery building. Through all of this change, the Sisters maintained their contemplative focus and their educational standards.

In the best tradition of the time, the students learned the basics of reading, writing, arithmetic and the gracious manners of a Victorian hostess. About half the students were boarders and half day scholars. Changes in the neighborhood and a fire in the residence of the Sisters called for another move. Clara Hill, daughter of James J. Hill, who had attended Visitation, purchased land and arranged for construction of a new monastery and school at 720 Fairmount Avenue. This place was termed “a real school.” It boasted blackboards and desks instead of the cozy circles of five or six chairs, the classrooms of the previous site. Girls began to take part in sports. Excavation done some years after the completion of the building created a gymnasium unique with its four pillars. 

Curriculum and standards became more demanding, with some of the graduates going on to college. Educational regulations of the state required the Sisters to hold degrees; a challenge with strict cloister. In 1928 Saint Thomas College sent professors to teach the nuns within the Visitation classrooms and solved this issue. 

Both the religious community and the school continued to grow, and by the 1960s, a larger site was sought. This was found in the suburb of Mendota Heights. The Sisters moved in 1966. The new venue and changes allowed by Vatican II caused the Sisters to re-evaluate long standing traditions. The Sisters took a fresh look at leadership, clothing, cloister, and horarium, making a number of adaptations to achieve aggiornamento, an Italian term meaning “up-to-date.” In the same era, vocations to religious life began to decline, and more lay teachers were hired to ensure the sustainability of the school. 

The school continues to grow and thrive, even as the number of Sisters declined. In 2019, the three remaining Sisters withdrew from the monastery. Along with the school laity and a governance structure called Association of Christian Faithful, the beautiful legacy of the Sisters is being carried forward.

Additional Histories and Stories of Visitation School

The intimate vocation stories of several Minnesota Visitation Sisters are presented in Extraordinary Ordinary Lives: Vocation Stories of Minnesota Visitation Sisters by Elsa Thompson Hofmeister, published in 2009.

Mission Statement

Visitation School provides an excellent education within a Catholic environment permeated by Salesian spirituality and the living tradition of the Visitation Sisters.

Portrait of the Visitation Learner

The Portrait of a Visitation Learner describes the skills, qualities, attributes and virtues cultivated in each Visitation student. Underpinning this Portrait is the school’s mission to provide an excellent education in a Catholic community permeated by Salesian Spirituality. As educators, in partnership with parents, we work diligently to ensure that each student has the opportunity to develop each aspect of the Portrait to his or her fullest potential.

Through their experiences students will be described as:

SUSTAINED BY FAITH

• understand and articulate the beliefs of the Catholic faith.
• actively participate in the life of a faith community through worship, regular personal prayer and reflection, and meaningful service directed at creating a more just world.
• mature in an ability to make connections between knowledge of the faith and examples of faith-filled lives, particularly those of the Sisters of the Visitation of Holy Mary.
• recognize God’s ever-present grace and presence in the world, appreciating beauty in all its forms.
• infuse the principles of Catholic Social Teaching in their lives, fostering human rights and dignity for all people and creation.

ROOTED IN SALESIAN COMMUNITY

• experience the meaning of Salesian friendship and Salesian community by relating to others authentically, appropriately, confidently and honestly.
• develop strong, heart-to-heart relationships with others in the community, modeling the holy friendship between our founders, St. Francis de Sales and St. Jane de Chantal.
• strive, with guidance from the Visitation Diversity Statement, to reach their potential by developing and sharing their unique God-given gifts with the community and gratefully celebrating the God-given gifts of others.
• embody the Visitation Sisters’ motto “Live Jesus” and practical living of the Gospel.
• make life-giving choices through attentive decision-making and practiced skills of discernment.
• build authentic relationships with a human touch, even in a highly technical world.
• value their connection to and interdependence on the natural world, and possess habits that model those values.

INSPIRED TO LEARN

• seek their highest levels of disciplined achievement and learning, while maintaining high levels of personal health and well-being.
• are well-rounded and lifelong learners, fueled by an inquisitive and curious spirit non scholae, sed vitae.
• contribute to the learning community with continuous efforts toward clear and courageous communication.
• apply creativity, critical thinking and problem-solving to diverse and challenging issues and questions.
• are equipped to locate, organize, analyze and evaluate information of varied natures and through varied methods.
• communicate effectively and appropriately through diverse methods and with diverse company.

CULTURALLY AWARE

• continually seek understanding of their own culture and history to better understand their place in both local and global communities.
• genuinely value the myriad factors influencing the cultures of fellow humans, based on a strong sense of their own culture.
• respect and foster human rights and dignity.
• enthusiastically communicate and empathize across cultures through language, the arts, music and experience.

POISED TO LEAD

• practice careful listening, patience with the pace of others, and sincere humility in all efforts and in all team settings.
• possess an internal moral compass, allowing for courageous decision-making and discernment.
• possess a strong respect and sense of self by truly being who they are and being that perfectly well, understanding that perfection is never fully reached but rather sought through consistent awareness and growth.
• model confidence, ethical character, self-respect, teamwork, curiosity, determination, resilience, life- balance and persistence in all endeavors — especially those that prove most challenging.
• promote the common good through individual and collective actions.