This church traced its origins to 1876 when a German Catholic group branched out from the Church of St. Joseph in North Minneapolis to organize a St. Vincent Society in South Minneapolis. The St. Vincent Society met in a one-story, frame schoolhouse located on 14th Avenue South between 6th and 7th Streets, which they purchased and used for a church and school until 1883. The first Mass was said to be held in the building on December 2, 1876. In 1882, the society was reorganized as a parish and was incorporated into the St. Paul Diocese on January 25, 1883, under the name, "The Church of St. Elizabeth". The Reverend Peter Joseph Jeram was appointed resident pastor in 1882. The congregation built a brick church and school in 1883 at 15th Avenue and 8th Street.