The parish was established in 1854 to serve the needs of French-Canadian settlers in the easter Anoka County. A log church was built in 1855 and replaced with a larger building in 1859. Fr. Joseph Goiffon, one of the great early missionaries in Minnesota, served as pastor from 1861 to 1891, and oversaw the completion of the third in 1870. After a fire in 1900, the present church was built in 1904. Meanwhile, the villagers of Oneka/Centerville Station requested that the bishop establish another Catholic church and in 1901, St. John the Baptist was established. Fr. Lloyd Fortin came to Hugo in 1947 and oversaw the building of the current church after a fire destroyed the original. Richly steeped in the early history of the region, St. Genevieve and St. John the Baptist grew over the years. In 2012, the parishes merged into one St. Genevieve and continues to celebrate Mass in both historic churches as well as the newer parish community center. St. Genevieve is proud of its past and open to the future as it serves a growing population around Centerville and Hugo.
Under the Strategic Plan, St. John the Baptist merged with St. Genevieve, Centerville; St. Genevieve is the receiving parish.
