St. Alphonsus was founded in 1959 to serve the growing population in Brooklyn Center. The Redemptorist (The Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer) were invited to staff the parish, making it the first Redemptorist parish in Minnesota. The initial 1000 families in the parish used neighborhood schools for weekly Masses. The parish is named in honor of St. Alphonsus Liguori, founder of the Redemptorists. The first Mass was celebrated in 1960, and the school opened in 1961. The present church was completed in 1969. The expansion to the worship space was made in 1998.