[2] In 1860, the American bishop Thomas Grace wrote to All Hallows College, Dublin, to recruit seminarians for the Diocese of Saint Paul in Minnesota.

[4] In October 1868, McGolrick was charged by Bishop Grace to organize a new parish in Minneapolis for Catholics west of the Mississippi River.

The original wood-frame building was later replaced by a stone church, with the cornerstone laid in July 1871 followed by a solemn dedication in January 1873.

[5] He received his episcopal consecration on December 27, 1869, from Archbishop Ireland, with Bishops Grace and Martin Marty serving as co-consecrators, at the Cathedral of Saint Paul.

[5] At the time of McGolrick's arrival in Duluth in January 1890, the young diocese contained 22 priests, 32 churches, 10 stations, 5 parochial schools, and a Catholic population of a little over 20,000.