Jean Hopfensperger
Reporter
Religion, Faith & ValuesA veteran reporter, Hopfensperger has covered religion, philanthropy, immigration, the state legislature, human services and Central American issues. Before joining the Star Tribune, she worked for several years in Central America, reporting on conflicts for U.S. newspapers such as The Christian Science Monitor. She has a B.A. in Journalism from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a M.A. in Political Science from the University of Minnesota focusing on international politics and U.S. social policy.
Latest from Jean Hopfensperger
Local
Religious exemptions pose new challenges to COVID vaccine mandates
As employer mandates grow, rising number seek religious exemptions.
October 16, 2021
Local
COVID-19 has changed the way we worship, faith leaders say
Adaptations such as Zoom services and digital donations are here to stay.
October 10, 2021
Local
Kenneth Schoen, national leader in criminal justice reform, dies
A tribute posted on the Minnesota Department of Corrections Facebook page called him "The Father of Community Corrections."
September 16, 2021
Local![In South St. Paul, Minnesota on September 6, 2021, at St. Augustine Church, Father Robert Grabner headed into the Sacristy with the four altar boys. ] Pope Francis has said the growing expansion of the Latin Mass is being "exploited to widen the gaps'' among Catholics and "expose her to the peril of division." The Pope announced in July that he would limit these Masses, which have become a mecca for conservative Catholics. RICHARD TSONG-TAATARII • richard.tsong-taatarii@startribune.com](https://arc.stimg.co/startribunemedia/Q32O7NTHXDCSFP6TMLL33HIQPU.jpg?&w=252&ar=3:2&fit=crop)
Pope's crackdown on Latin masses draws mixed response among Minnesota Catholics
The phenomena has developed in few nations besides the United States, said one scholar, who called Francis' order the most significant of his papacy.
September 11, 2021
Local
3 pastors leave Minneapolis megachurch amid 'painful and confusing moment'
The tensions at Bethlehem reflect the fractures rocking the nation's evangelical Christian community amid racial reckoning and the MeToo movement.
August 14, 2021
Local
'Angels Unawares' sculpture, commissioned by Pope Francis, arrives at Basilica of St. Mary
Dramatic life-size sculpture depicts immigrant experience, with life-size men, women and children packed into an boat. A pair of angel wings rise above the group.
July 30, 2021
Migration Catchall
July 30, 2021
Local
Minnesota's last survivor of Holocaust children's rescue offers lesson in history
Benno Black boarded a train 82 years ago to an unknown future.
July 26, 2021
Local
3 pastors leave Minneapolis megachurch amid 'painful and confusing moment'
The tensions at Bethlehem reflect the fractures rocking the nation's evangelical Christian community amid racial reckoning and the MeToo movement.
August 14, 2021
Local
'Angels Unawares' sculpture, commissioned by Pope Francis, arrives at Basilica of St. Mary
Dramatic life-size sculpture depicts immigrant experience, with life-size men, women and children packed into an boat. A pair of angel wings rise above the group.
July 30, 2021
Migration Catchall
July 30, 2021
Local
Minnesota's last survivor of Holocaust children's rescue offers lesson in history
Benno Black boarded a train 82 years ago to an unknown future.
July 26, 2021