St Wendelin Catholic Church

22714 State Highway 15
St Cloud (Luxemburg), MN 56301

This organ received OHS Citation #11
Builder: Unknown, ca 1845
Manuals: 2
Ranks: 14
Action: Mechanical

Notes: Pictures from Facebook and Nils Halker (OHS Convention). See also a duplicate entry for Luxemburg St Wendelin Catholic.

MANUAL (54 notes, GG,AA-f3) enclosed
8' Open Diapason
8' Stop'd Diapason Bass (draws bass & treble)
8' Dulciana tc
4' Principal
4' Flute (original Stop'd Diapason treble)
2' Fifteenth

PEDAL (13 notes, C-C
16' Bourdon

Manual to Pedal coupler
Machine-stop drawing/retiring 4' + 2'


Saint Wendelin Catholic Church, originally staffed by Benedictines from St. John's Abbey, was completed in the early 1880's. There is no well-documented history of the organ. However, a clearly visible hand-painted script inside the case states "Pilcher". The entire organ, except for the 13 Pedal pipes standing in the rear, is enclosed in a nag's-head swell. A parish sesquicentennial book states the organ was purchased from a theater in St. Paul in 1898, but that seems unlikely. The manual compass suggests the organ is from the 1840's to the early 1850's. It is considered the oldest functioning organ of its kind in the state of Minnesota.
The organ was modified in the 1970's: the original Pedal Bourdon was removed and replaced by pipes from another organ; the original Pedal chest and wind supply (pump handle and feeder bellows) were removed, probably at the time the electric blower was installed; and the ivory keys were overlaid with plastic. However, all the original components are stored and are in good condition.