St. Catherine University, an educational institution for women in St. Paul, Minnesota, received the donation of property in Minneapolis that has been owned by the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet for the past 130 years.
The order founded the St. Mary’s School of Nursing in 1887. It was renamed St. Mary’s Junior College and in 1986 merged with what is now St. Catherine University. The property has served as the site of the Minneapolis campus of the university. But until now the property continued to be owned by the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet. In 2000, the Sisters donated $20 million to the university.
In announcing the gift the university stated that “as with all gifts of property, there are many questions to answer about how we will best make use of this gifted resource within our strategic planning process. . . . Our goal in all decision making is to secure St. Catherine University’s financial health, offer effective and efficient programs, and always with outstanding academic excellence.”