The name St. Michael was chosen because 1979 marked the centennial year of Catholicism in the city; 100 years since the first St. Michael Catholic
Church was dedicated in Sioux Falls. The "old" St. Michael Church was replaced in 1915 with St. Joseph Cathedral on the same site.

400 households from Christ the King parish and 150 from St. Joseph Cathedral comprised the original 550 families of the new St. Michael Parish.

The pioneer parishioners felt that the nave of the parish center should be flexible for all kinds of large group events in the parish. Thus the furnishings were designed to be movable. So that there may be more room for seating and so that the chairs could be stacked for various meetings, the building committee opted for chairs without kneelers.

Ground was broken in March 1981, and St. Michael parishioners took possession of the new building for midnight Mass at Christmas of that same year. The education center and Catholic school was built and dedicated in August 1996, Phase II was completed in 1998, and Phase III in 2001.

The stained glass windows were created and installed by Dr. Robert Harmon of St. Louis. The artist fashioned the windows after several visits to observe St. Michael's Parish in action. Robert Harmon explained the windows along the north wall of the Nave, "I played with the idea of sound--a musical instrument. I started thinking about the dance of the Holy Spirit....and then it became the song and the dance of the Holy Spirit, and the rhythm in the Nave."

The Rose Window is "essentially feminine...it's delicate. It's flowerlike. It's revealing. It's open. It's accepting, in a spiritual sense. That feminine touch in this very strong, honest, powerful structure suddenly jelled, and it makes the masculine more handsome."

The four chapel windows represent four important events in the life of Christ, the incarnation, the ministry, the crucifixion, and the resurrection.

The tapestries hanging in the commons, entitled "The Sower", were created nd woven by Grete Heikes, a native of Norway, currently of Rapid City. She said that she watched this building rise from an open field of rich South Dakota soil, and was inspired to liken God's holy word being sown in western Sioux Falls and the growth that come from it to the Midwestern symbolism of planting, nurturing and harvesting.

Our chapel tabernacle, wherein resides the living presence of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament, sits in front of a beautiful stained glass window. The reds emphasize the life which we receive in the Eucharist, and also the blood of Christ shed for our salvation.

Rachel Weeping for Her Children statue was dedicated in the fall of 2001. She is a symbol of LIFE and HOPE in the midst of mourning the great loss of millions of our children through abortion.