St. Stan's in Winona has breathtaking architecture and incredible history

WINONA, Minn. — Four generations of Al Greenwood's family have attended St. Stanislaus Kostka in Winona. The church is so big that no matter how many times he comes back, he always finds something new.

"I still see things I've missed over the years," Greenwood said.

What he's seeing are stained glass windows, marble pillars and eye-catching architecture that dates back to 1895 — that's when Polish immigrants completed construction.  

From inside, it's 125 feet from the church floor to the dome. How that dome got built in 1895 is quite the story. 

"They built a ramp and horses to pull it up. They had to blindfold the horses because of the height," Greenwood said.

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"The story is the ramp went all the way to the Mississippi River," Father Patrick Arens said.

But it was all built to last. The proof came when the church was hit by lightning in 1966.

"The dome was glowing red hot and fire was billowing out the windows," Arens said.

Thankfully, firefighters responded quickly and saved it. These days, the higher up you go, the further back in time you go. Workers built much of it with a combination of wood and metal, which historians credit for keeping the church in one piece.

It's a big reason why the Pope himself gave St. Stan's special recognition.

"Basilica means it's recognized by the Vatican as a special place," Arens said. "In order to become a Basilica you need to send an application to the Pope. The application starts with answers to 100 questions."

It took Deacon Justin Green about a year to answer all those questions. 

"I had to describe everything in the place. Furniture, chairs, way of which we did things," Green said.

But just six months after sending in that application, the Pope responded and declared St. Stan's a basilica.

"It's a towering presence. It's one of the first things you see when you see the skyline of Winona," Arens said.

And it's in the heart of a community — another reason why the church received basilica status. 

It cost $85,000 to build St. Stan's — equivalent to about $100 million today. As the basilica approaches its 130th birthday, its biggest fans say they wouldn't change a thing.

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"People come from all over the world to see this basilica. When they are in town, they stop here. You can see the dome from Wisconsin," Arens said.

The church was named after a Polish saint from the 1500s who was known for his goodness, holiness and devotion.

Leaders say parts of the church are starting to show their age, and they hope to begin restorations soon.