Frank Kacmarcik (1920-2004) was a Minnesota-based artist, liturgical consultant, designer, calligrapher, iconographer, and collector of fine art and manuscripts. He was a major influence in American religious art and architecture throughout the last half of the 20th Century, and an early practitioner of the Liturgical Movement in the Catholic Church during, and after the Vatican II Council.

In conjunction with the 2025 Docomomo US national advocacy theme, Places of Worship, Docomomo US/MN commissioned new research into Frank Kacmarcik's Influence in Minnesota.

In this article, architectural historian Mary Dahlman Smith focuses on the life and career of Frank Kacmarcik, his contributions to the Liturgical Movement in Minnesota, and the overlap of Modernist ideas with church reform movements of the 20th century.

Kacmarcik's scholarship took him around the world, though his home was firmly centered in Saint Paul, and Collegeville, Minnesota. His partnerships with architects Marcel Breuer, Ed Sovik, Val Michelson, George Rafferty, (and others) left a lasting impact on sacred spaces throughout Minnesota, and indeed, across the country.

Drawing on dozens of sources, personal interviews, and site visits, the article features more than 30 photos and illustrations. The research project was also presented in a livestream last month – a recording of which is linked from the article itself.
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Docomomo US/MN is excited to announce the inclusion of Saint John's Abbey Church as one of only 10 sites in the United States to be featured in a new book to be published by Docomomo International.

Joining national Modernist treasures such as the Gateway Arch National Park in St. Louis and the Glass House in New Canaan, the Marcel Breuer-designed Abbey Church in Collegeville, MN places Minnesota Modernism in the international spotlight.

Succeeding the 2000 publication The Modern Movement in Architecture: Selections from The Docomomo Registers, Docomomo International is working to produce an upcoming book that celebrates a new cross section of member nations’ most eminent Modern heritage sites. Publication is scheduled for 2026.

​Special thanks to MN Photographer, Pete Sieger for contributing images of Saint John's Abbey Church for the new publication.

Read more about the upcoming book and site selection process at Docomomo US.
See more about the Saint John's Abbey Church.

Please join us at Christ Church Lutheran at 2pm on Sunday, November 16 to celebrate Victoria Young’s new book Saint John’s Abbey: Marcel Breuer and the Creation of Modern Sacred Space.  There will be a reading and book signing.