Our Lady of Lourdes Church is the oldest continuously used church in Minneapolis. After its construction in the 1850s, the Catholic French Canadian community purchased the building in 1877. With them came their culinary traditions, including French meat pies (les tourtières), which quickly became an essential component of church holiday dinners and events. After the dinners ended in the 1980s, the pies remained a staple at fundraisers and hunger relief events.

Parishioners who prepared food for funerals pooled their techniques and recipes to develop the ideal pie, and the recipe is still served in the church today. Cooks combine ground pork tenderloin, bread crumbs, onions, and spices to prepare the filling, then bake it inside a tender, buttery crust. Interested parties can acquire one of Our Lady of Lourdes’ handmade meat pies during the week by ringing the doorbell at the Parish House between 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. or on Sundays after the 8:30 a.m. or 10:30 a.m. Mass. One pie feeds between six and eight people and costs $25.