Our Beloved Parish

Transfiguration Catholic Church

Welcome to Transfiguration Catholic Church!

At Transfiguration, we are Catholic. We believe, celebrate, and proclaim the fullness of the Catholic Faith that has been given to the Church down through the centuries. If you want to become a stronger Catholic, if you want to raise your family to understand and follow the faith and morals of the Church, if you wish to know and love Jesus Christ through His Sacraments and His teaching, then you’ve come to the right Parish!

The original Transfiguration event is the guidepost for all we are and do as a Parish: Jesus Christ, shining atop Mount Tabor in His glory to Saints Peter, James, and John, gave them a vision that would strengthen their faith when they saw Him suffer on a different hilltop, the Mount of Calvary. God the Father spoke from heaven, “This is my Beloved Son. Listen to Him.” There are many contrary voices in today’s world.  Whose voice are you listening to? At Transfiguration Catholic Church, we want our Lord Jesus Christ first to shine in us, so that He will then shine through us!

  • Minnesota Statutes require that each parish within the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis designates two lay members of the parish as Parish Trustees. The Trustees serve as the Secretary and Treasurer of the Parish Corporation and, along with the Archbishop, Vicar General, and Pastor, constitute the Officers of the Corporation.

  • The Parish Finance Council is charged with supporting the Pastor in his stewardship of the financial resources of the parish. The Parish Finance Council is a key element for promoting the financial health of Transfiguration and assuring accountability of parish resources. Parishioners with financial, legal and business backgrounds of all kinds are a good fit for Parish Finance Council.

  • The Parish Pastoral Council has the primary responsibility of supporting ministries within the Parish by staying in touch with the life and activity of the parish and working to carry out the Parish’s mission. The Council should constantly evaluate Parish ministries, identify needs, implement new ideas and assist the Pastor in carrying out his leadership role.

    The Parish Pastoral Council has several subcommittees and many new committees. If you have a specific skill or interest in safety and security, marketing, a trade, charity, technology, stewardship, education, or fundraising, please let us know and we will help you find an active place on our leadership team.

  • The Parish Stewardship Committee is charged with supporting the Pastor in developing and managing stewardship efforts at Transfiguration Catholic Church. The Stewardship Committee is a key element for promoting the annual Financial Pledge Drive, New Member initiatives, volunteer recruitment in our Parish, and Planned Giving efforts. Parishioners with a passion for helping others grow in giving and serving the Lord are needed to help us develop and promote a wider base of stewardship among the parishioners of Transfiguration Catholic Church.

  • 1939-1951 Father Cornelius Normoyle
    1951-1967 Father Brian Keany
    1967-1969 Father Richard Schmitzer
    1969-1976 Father James Holl
    1976-1981 Father Patrick Ryan
    1981-1994 Father Charles Brambilla
    1994-2002 Father James Smith
    2002-2010 Father Robert Hart
    2010-2018 Father William Baer
    2018-Father Al Backmann, Interim Parochial Administrator
    2018-Present Father John Paul Erickson

Meet our Pastor,
Fr. John Paul Erickson

Father Erickson has served as pastor of Transfiguration in Oakdale since the summer of 2018. Prior to his current assignment, Father Erickson served as the Director of the Office of Worship for the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis from 2008 until 2018. Ordained in 2006, Father has also served as an associate pastor of the Cathedral of Saint Paul, the Hmong Catholic Community at Saint Vincent de Paul in Saint Paul, and was pastor of Blessed Sacrament in Saint Paul from 2015-2018. A proud son of the Merriam Park neighborhood in Saint Paul, Father Erickson has 5 siblings, two of whom are consecrated religious.  He enjoys good books, decent movies, running (mostly…) and at least mediocre drinks with friends. 

Relying upon the assistance of clergy and staff, Father Erickson is responsible for the spiritual and temporal wellbeing of Transfiguration, and is proud to serve this beautiful family of faith as it seeks to bring all those in the East Metro to Christ, the Source and Summit of our daily and eternal lives.

Our History

  • 1939

    Transfiguration Catholic Church was established on August 6, 1939—the Feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord—when Archbishop John Gregory Murray appointed Father Cornelius Normoyle as our first Pastor. Father Normoyle offered the first Mass at Landy’s Café on Tanners Lake. Our first Church was built on the southwest corner of Harvester and Ferndale Avenues in Maplewood in 1940.

  • 1953

    In 1953, a new building was constructed on the same site that included a Church, Social Hall, Kitchen, eight Classrooms and Administrative Offices. The first Mass was celebrated in the new Church on Easter Sunday 1953. The new Church, located in the basement of the building, was considered a temporary solution at the time.

  • 1986

    Due to limited resources, the basement location served as our Church until 1986, when the first Church was built on our current campus in Oakdale. The School remained for several more years at the Maplewood location.

  • 1998

    In 1998, the Church in Oakdale was expanded to double the size of the worship space, add a large Gathering Space, eight Classrooms, a Gym, full Kitchen and School Offices. At this time, our Catholic School was expanding from one classroom at each grade level to two classrooms at each level, so the new building in Oakdale became home to the fifth-through-eighth grade students. Kindergarten-through-fourth grade remained at our original location in Maplewood and became known as the “Cub” campus.

  • 2005

    The Maplewood campus was sold in 2004 after the decision was made to consolidate all of our programs at our Oakdale campus. The final building project on our current Oakdale site was completed in 2005 to house our Kindergarten-through-fourth grade students and provide more classroom space for our Faith Formation programs.

  • 2016

    Transfiguration completed a major renovation of our sanctuary including new murals, stenciling, marbelizing of columns, and altar renovations. See more details of the renovation below.

  • Today

    Today, Transfiguration is home to more than 1,300 Catholic households. Our Parish mission has three principal dimensions: Sacraments, Youth, and Financial Stewardship. Through these, we seek to build a strong and vibrant Catholic parish for all of our members, to grow in their Catholic Faith.

Our Sanctuary

  • 2016 Renovation: A Legacy of Fr. Baer

    Father William Baer, Pastor of Transfiguration from 2010 until 2018, laid out a clear vision for the Sanctuary Renovations which were completed in 2016.

  • Rear High Altar

    The High Altar was commissioned with the same arches and marble work as our columns. It features depictions of St. John, St. Peter, and St. James who witnessed the Transfiguration.

  • The Altar of Sacrifice

    This Altar was consecrated twice: by Archbishop Roach in 1986, and by Archbishop Flynn in 1999, then by Bishop Andrew H. Cozzens in May, 2016 when the High Altar was added. The cross-shaped bronze plate that is now affixed to the front of our Altar is from our earlier Church on Harvester Avenue, across Century Avenue in Maplewood.

  • Sanctuary Mural: Moses & the Burning Bush

    In Exodus 3:1-22, the Lord speaks to Moses from a bush that is burning, yet not consumed. The Lord tells Moses, “Do not come near; take your sandals off your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.” This declaration by the Voice of God is a great prefiguring of the Transfiguration, when God the Father declares from the cloud, “This is my beloved Son; listen to Him.”

  • Sanctuary Mural: Elijah & the Fiery Sacrifice

    In 1 Kings 18: 16-40, the Prophet Elijah challenges the prophets of Baal atop Mount Carmel to demonstrate whether the Lord or Baal is the true God. The Lord sends down fire to consume the sacrifice and the altar prepared by Elijah, and the people respond, “The Lord – He is God!” This is a foreshadowing of the Transfiguration, when God the Father demonstrates from heaven that Jesus is His beloved and glorious Son.

  • The Words of God the Father

    On the underside of the left and right arches are the words spoken by the Father from the heavens at the Transfiguration: “This is My Son,” and “Listen to Him.”

  • The Descending Holy Spirit

    Directly above our Altar, on the underside of the central arch, is a depiction of the Holy Spirit as a dove. This follows a long-standing tradition in Catholic Church art, in which the Spirit is shown descending upon the bread and wine on the Altar at the portion of the Eucharistic Prayer termed the “Epiclesis” (Greek for “calling down from on high”), initiating the divine act of Transubstantiating the elements into the Body and Blood of Christ. (This Epiclesis is signaled by the first ringing of the bells.)