Our Church History

Calvary Episcopal is Rochester's oldest church building, having been established in 1860 by the first Bishop of Minnesota, the Rt. Rev. Henry Benjamin Whipple. Back then, this corner of the world was on the frontier. The town had been founded only six years earlier, by emigrants from Rochester, NY. In those days Rochester was a hamlet serving the surrounding farmland; the Mayo Clinic, for which the city is best known nowadays, wouldn't exist for another 30-some years.

Early on, services were held in a local schoolroom, a civic hall, and on special occasions in the county's original courthouse. Calvary's first rector, the Rev. Charles Woodward, carried a "melodeon" from his home on the west edge of town to wherever the church had scheduled services for that week, so the congregation would have music.

Eventually, in 1863, a small "chapel" was built on land in the center of town that had been donated by city founder George Head, who later served on Calvary's first vestry. This original structure, built in the Gothic style with locally made bricks, is the core of the present-day church. It was substantially enlarged as early as 1868, and "Calvary Chapel" became "Calvary Church."

The turning point in Rochester's history was the great tornado of August 1883 that killed 30 and injured 100 people. Parish records indicate that Calvary was active in ministering to victims of the storm. Meanwhile, seeing the need for a hospital in Rochester, the Sisters of St. Francis sponsored construction of St. Mary's Hospital, which was completed in 1889. It was to be staffed by Dr. William Worrall Mayo and his two sons, Dr. William James Mayo and Dr. Charles Mayo.

Several of the doctors from the clinic's early years were staunch members of Calvary Episcopal. Some of the church's most beautiful interior features were given by these families. Most notable is the Tiffany stained-glass window above the altar, "Christ Blessing the Children," which was given by Charles Mayo's wife, Edith, and her brother in 1904 in memory of their mother and in honor of their father. The altar window was exhibited in New York for several weeks before its installation at Calvary, and is one of several Tiffany windows in the church.

The parish grew considerably in the early 1900s, broadening its ministry beyond visiting Rochester hospital patients to include sponsoring an orphan in France after World War I. The church grew physically as well; the current parish hall was built in 1917 in memory of Margaret Brackenridge, who had helped start Calvary's Sunday School back in 1867. Brackenridge Hall was designed by architect Harold H. Crawford, a Calvary parishioner who also designed several homes in the "Pill Hill" neighborhood in southwest Rochester.

By the 1950s, downtown Rochester was sprouting small "skyscrapers" as the Mayo Clinic grew up around Calvary. The arrival in 1956 of IBM, now the city's second-largest employer, accelerated Rochester's growth and fanned a debate at Calvary about whether the church should move to larger quarters outside downtown. In 1957, the clinic offered to buy the church and its land for $216,500; a parish meeting approved the sale by a fraction of 1 percent. Because opinion was so divided, the vestry reconsidered; and decided instead in 1958 to remain downtown and to help establish a second Episcopal church in northwest Rochester -- our sister parish, St. Luke's.

At the same time, Calvary continued expanding on its downtown site, building a new education wing in 1969. The enclosed ambulatory was added in 1982, and the Columbarium -- with a cross designed by and in memory of Harold Crawford -- was dedicated in 1984. Our current rector, the Rev. Nicklas Mezacapa, arrived in 1986 and has been instrumental in fostering our mission as a downtown church, serving clinic visitors as well as our parish family.

At Calvary Church, we treasure the heritage passed on to us by previous worshipers, and strive to build upon it. Thus the original Boy's Choir, started in 1889 with robes sewn by Dr. William Worrall Mayo's wife, has grown into three flourishing youth choirs. The Rev. Woodward's treks across Rochester clutching his melodeon were the genesis of Calvary's current music and arts program, which is highly regarded throughout the diocese and surrounding states. Hospital visitations have blossomed into the Episcopal Pastoral Services; our outreach efforts now include the sponsoring of several refugees from the Sudan. The Sunday school started by Mrs. Brackenridge, with three classes ("small children," "older boys," and "older girls") is now a thriving Christian Education program serving all ages. Calvary's World Famous Fruitcake, first baked in a parishioner's home kitchen in 1939, is still made every autumn with the same secret recipe and shipped around the world.

As a parish we seek to build upon our traditions and ever enhance the ministry emanating from our special corner of the world.