The parish was founded on Feb. 2, 1878. It now has 1,635 families and 4,615 members. This information was provided by the St. Boniface Pastoral Leadership Team, including Andrea Heinen, administrative assistant.
Q: What is the most interesting facet of your church building?
St. Boniface Church in Cold Spring, MN stained glass window.
A: The design of stained glass in the south steeple window, pictured above right, shows our life in Christ Jesus as the tree of life. Starting from the top, the elements in the box represent God’s kingdom throne room. The three white circles represent the triune God and the block represents God’s throne. The “river of life” starts at the throne.
The tree of life has biblical and local meanings. It was in the Garden of Eden and so big that it straddles the river in heaven. The local connection is because we live in Minnesota. Agates are located at the tree roots; their symbolism is that if we don’t praise the Lord the rocks will cry out his praises and his truths!
The seven white circles with purple in the middle represent gifts of the Holy Spirit — wisdom, understanding, right judgment, courage, knowledge, piety and fear. The three yellow banners that wrap their way throughout the window represent how God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit work through our lives every day.
At the bottom are Hebrew symbols for God’s name — the great I AM, Yahweh.
Q: What is the most popular initiative at your parish?
A: St. Boniface School is noted for its creation of Top 20 Smart Board Curriculum. In 2012, teachers learned about the Top 20 strategies. Three teachers took the concepts that address issues when conflicts arise. They created a program that is the “anti” part of anti-bullying, the antidote to the problem, as a Smart Board Curriculum.
It provides guidance for appropriate actions and reactions before inappropriate thinking and behavior occur. The program was published through Master Teacher, and is available across the United States and has been sold in Minnesota and several states.
This curriculum provides students, teachers and parents with a guaranteed ongoing awareness and practice of healthy thinking, learning, and communicating, and it permeates the weeks and years of a St. Boniface student.
Q: What is an interesting historical fact or anecdote about your parish?
A: Our first church building was finished in 1884; by 1896 plans had been made to replace the building due to the walls not supporting the roof. They planned to build a new church that would be a duplicate of the St. John’s Abbey Church and decided to put in strong steel crossties to support the roof. That fixed the roof.
The parish didn’t start building the new church until 1978; by that time the building was 100 years old.
Meet the pastor
Benedictine Father Matthew Luft
Benedictine Father Matthew Luft grew up in Des Moines, Iowa, where he attended St. Augustin School through the eighth grade, and then Dowling High School. He attended St. John’s University in Collegeville. In September 2001, he professed vows at St John’s Abbey.
In January 2005, Bishop John Kinney ordained Father Luft to the priesthood and, upon Abbot John Klassen’s recommendation, assigned him to St. Boniface Parish as parochial vicar. In August 2008 he began a doctoral program in liturgical studies at The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. While there, he assisted on weekends at Our Lady of Mercy Parish in Potomac, Maryland. In July 2013, he became pastor at St. Boniface; the following March, Father Luft defended his dissertation and earned a doctorate.
Q: What inspired you to become a priest?
A: I was inspired to become a priest because of the witness of the priests in Des Moines. The pastor of my home parish, Father Frank Nugent, was a solid priest who invited me when I was a fifth grader to think about becoming a priest. Father Michael Irwin, the parochial vicar, often visited my grade school and even challenged our class to Bible trivia. In high school, Father John Acrea, a former teacher at Dowling, invited me to join a prayer group, and it was in the context of that group that I first seriously considered becoming a priest.
Q: What do you enjoy most about your daily life as a priest?
A: In my daily life, the areas of ministry that are most life-giving are presiding at the daily Eucharist, preaching and the opportunities to interact with the school children.
Q: What was the theme of a favorite homily that you preached?
A: My favorite theme in preaching is centering on Christ. I think too often we forget the words of Pope Benedict XVI, that to be a Christian is to have an encounter with the person of Jesus Christ. Everything we do as a church must flow from that daily encounter with the Lord Jesus. Only when we have encountered him — that is, truly know and love him — will we be willing to give everything we have for his sake.
If you were to ask any parishioner at St. Boniface, they would tell you I am a proud Iowan. Each fall as an auction item for our BoniBall (the main fundraiser for our school), I offer parishioners the opportunity to watch the Iowa football team play (and usually defeat) the team from Minnesota.
Author: The Visitor
The Visitor is the official newpaper for the Diocese of Saint Cloud.
