John the Baptist Catholic Parish was established in the fall of 1903 in Excelsior, MN. The church structure on the corner of the First and Courtland streets was purchased and made ready for the first Mass. Busch, remodeled the newly purchased building and the first Mass was celebrated on Easter Sunday 1904. When the parish was first established it had the whole of Lake Minnetonka for its territory
. Thomas Cushen was appointed pastor of St. Busch was consecrated a bishop. Cushen served St. John’s up until his death in 1960. The parish saw lots of changes during his pastorate. As the parish grew the church underwent renovations, land was purchased for a parish cemetery (Resurrection Cemetery), and annual parish dinners were held. Starting in the 1950s, St. John’s began to look very different. The parish continued to grow and in July of 1950 had four Masses on Sunday at 7:00, 8:00, 9:00, and 10:00am. A committee was formed to discuss finding a better site for the parish. A site on Mill Street was for sale, and the choice of this site was met enthusiastically by parishioners. In 1951 the decision was made to build a school and a convent there, with Mass being held in the basement of the new school until funds could be raised for a new church. Construction began in 1959 on the new church (our present building). Shortly after construction began, Fr. Cushen, who had been pastor of St. John’s for fifty years, became ill and passed away before he saw the new church completed. Father Oscar Winzerling became pastor in 1960. Father Winzerling worked hard to reduce the parish debt that had been incurred primarily because of the school and church building projects. The parish continued to grow and this enabled Father Bullock to broaden and enhance the activities of the parish. He left in 1980 when he was made Auxiliary Bishop to Archbishop John Roach in St. Gerald Frier became pastor in 1980, followed by Fr. McIntyre in 1984. Soon after Fr. McIntyre became pastor he called several parishioners to form a steering committee to explore ideas to improve the parish facilities. Input was taken from as many parishioners as possible, and in the end the recommendation was made to proceed with a major addition to the parish. “We really had no place where members of the parish could get together for things other than meetings”, said Jim Walsten, a member of the Parish Council. “We needed a community place”. The Building Committee instituted a two-track process. Phase One included the new Gathering Place. Phase Two would involve a reorientation of the sanctuary, remodeling the rectory, and finishing the lower level of the Gathering Place. Wolnik, who became pastor in 1994, saw the completion of a Perpetual Adoration chapel, and instituted the offertory procession each Sunday at Mass. In 1999, the parish opened an Atrium for Catechesis of the Good Shepherd, a childhood faith formation program in the Montessori style, which continues to flourish today. Dosh came to St. John’s on the cusp of a major event in the parish’s history – its 100th anniversary. The Centennial, celebrated in 2003, included a year-long celebration of the rich history of the parish. Events were held each month, some of which included: reception celebrating our parish patron, St. John the Baptist, an old-fashioned ice cream social to honor the year of our founding, 1903, and Catholic Schools Week to celebrate Catholic education. A history book was also created, detailing the parish’s history since its founding in 1903. Carlson became pastor of St. John’s in 2013. In 2016 the school transitioned to become a Catholic Montessori school. Soon after, in 2018, major renovations were completed in the church. The sanctuary was reoriented 180 degrees and the entrance of the church was moved to the gathering place, which was the original plan in 1994. The interior of the church was renovated, stained glass windows were added, and the adoration chapel was expanded. In 2023, a new monstrance was donated by a parish family and was blessed by Archbishop Hebda.
