1. Archbishop Bernard Hebda and Auxiliary Bishop Andrew Cozzens travel to Rome for their Jan. 13 “ad limina apostolorum” visit with Pope Francis. The bishops invite young adults from the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, and 25 men and women join them for a Jan. 9-18 visit that includes sacred sites of the Eternal City.

2. The Ramsey County Attorney’s Office ends Feb. 1 its four-year supervision of the archdiocese’s safe environment procedures in the wake of a child sexual abuse scandal. Archbishop Hebda vows to continue and strengthen Church efforts to protect children and others vulnerable to abuse.

3. After being named by Pope Francis as the next bishop of Sioux Falls, South Dakota, in December 2019, Father Donald DeGrood, pastor of St. John the Baptist in Savage, is ordained Feb. 13 in Sioux Falls.

4. A COVID-19 global pandemic spreads into Minnesota in March, leading to temporary shutdown of Masses and other religious services, schools and businesses, and a suspension of the Sunday Mass obligation that continues into 2021.

5. Bishop Cozzens in April announces formation of an Anointing Corps of more than a dozen priests wearing protective gear to administer last rites to patients in danger of dying of COVID-19. The team’s work continues into the new year.

6. Archbishop Hebda and other Minnesota Catholic bishops challenge Gov. Tim Walz’s restrictions as the state announces in May a re-opening of public religious services; an agreement is reached to expand the number of people allowed.

7. George Floyd, an African American, dies while being arrested in Minneapolis May 25 as a police officer kneels on his neck in the street for more than eight minutes; his death sets off protests, riots and national soul-searching on race relations.

8. Worshippers, pastors and parish staff adjust to livestreaming Masses, other ministries; as restrictions are loosened but the pandemic continues, the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis encourages parishioners in July to follow a state mandate requiring facial coverings indoors to help prevent spread of the virus.

9. Most Catholic schools in the archdiocese open to in-person and hybrid learning in September while many public schools opt for distance-only learning. Catholic schools remain flexible to changing needs during the pandemic as distance-only learning remains an option; no severe outbreaks are reported in Catholic schools.

10. Republican President Donald Trump and Democrat Joe Biden campaign for the presidency. Amid protests by Democrats who insist a nomination to replace the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg should not take place before the election, Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett, a Catholic, is nominated Sept. 26, receives Senate approval the next month and assumes office Oct. 27.

11. Pope Francis Oct. 3 releases his latest encyclical, “Fratelli Tutti: On Fraternity and Social Friendship,” outlining challenges and hope in the midst of COVID-19, consumerism and distancing of people from one another in the digital age.

12. Biden is declared winner of the Nov. 3 presidential contest, despite Trump’s insistence there was widespread fraud. Trump also had faced articles of impeachment early in the year but was acquitted by the Senate Feb. 5. Biden will be the second Catholic to hold the office.

13. The Vatican Nov. 10 releases its long-awaited report on what Church leaders knew of sexual abuse allegations against former cardinal and priest Theodore McCarrick even as he rose in Church ranks.

14. Pope Francis Nov. 28 elevates Washington Archbishop Wilton Gregory to cardinal, the first African American to don the distinctive red zucchetto.

15. The archdiocese continues its preparation for an Archdiocesan Synod, set back from 2021 to 2022 because of the pandemic. Many events, including archdiocesan retreats on prayer and healing, are offered online. Dec. 8, Archbishop Hebda consecrates the next phase of preparation and the archdiocese itself to St. Joseph.