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Our Pastor—Fr. John Sauer

I was ordained in 1985. My first assignment was as associate pastor at St. Stanislaus Parish in Winona and religion teacher at Cotter High School. I have since served as associate pastor at St. Francis in Rochester and St. John the Baptist in Mankato. I taught at Lourdes and Loyola High Schools. My first pastorate was at St. Edward’s in Austin and Our Lady of Loretto in Brownsdale. I then was asked by Bishop Vlazny to become rector of the Cathedral in Winona. During the last 12 years I have also been pastor of Immaculate Conception in Wilson and St. Casimir in Winona which were linked with the Cathedral at various times.

I love music and enjoy singing. I am part of a choir in the Twin Cities, Kantorei. We began as alumni of St. John’s and St. Ben’s but we now have singers from a variety of backgrounds. I also enjoy traveling and reading – I usually have two or three books going at any one time. I love to cook. In fact, I took a cooking class in Paris while I was on my sabbatical.

In the four months prior to my arrival in Owatonna and Litomysl I had the privilege of being on sabbatical. I spent time at the American College in Louvain, Belgium.

I feel blessed to be here at Sacred Heart and Holy Trinity. I look forward to meeting and working with you. May Jesus touch our hearts and make them like his own.

Father John can be reached by calling 507-451-1588 or through email.

Parish Staff

Rev. John Sauer

Associate Pastor—Fr. Andy Vogel

Bio coming soon!

Fr. Andy can be reached by calling 507-451-1588 or through email.

Pastoral Associate—Sr. Sarah Hennessey, FSPA

I grew up as a Quaker in North Carolina in a warm and faith-filled family. I met my first Catholic sister while I was studying Spanish in Mexico during college. After just a few days, she asked me, “Do you think God has a call on your life?” I was dumbfounded. What did that mean? But her words started a fire in my heart that wouldn’t go away through seven years of discernment and struggling with God. I taught in a Quaker school and contemplated her question by trying to discern the path that would respond to my desire to have Christ and the People of God at the center of my life. How could I be most “Sarah”? Gradually, I fell in love with the Eucharist and Our Blessed Mother Mary which resulted in a genuine conversion to Catholicism.

Within a few years I entered the order of that sister I had first met, the Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration in La Crosse. Now in temporary vows I have been in my community for seven years and I find that each day brings a new blessing and a new challenge in living that call on my life. I am excited to meet each of you as we journey together to be Church and to live out God’s call.

Sr. Sarah can be reached by calling 507-451-1588 or through email.