Holy Trinity (Baldwin, Iowa)
"In the southwest corner of Jackson County, between Maquoketa and Wyoming, the town of Fremont was platted in the center of Monmouth Township in 1859. Five years later, on May 5, 1864, Joseph J. Kopsa called a meeting of the area Catholics. He gave the land to the newly formed society that later became Saint John Bohemian Church. The name recognized that most of the members were of Czech ancestry. These settlers had been attending the Catholic Church in Onslow and then in their own homes when priests would visit the area from Cascade, Delmar, Garryowen, Hughes’ Settlement, and Oxford Junction. It is claimed that at least forty-five children were baptized in the old Ales homestead. They began building a stone church in 1864, and it was used for Mass before it was completed in 1871."<br /><br /> - Rev. Msgr. Edgar Kurt, "Parish Profile #120," <em>The Witness,</em> April 16, 1989.
The Archdiocese of Dubuque.
The Center for Dubuque History at Loras College.
Loras College
Kucera Center for Catholic Thought
Frank and Ida Goedken Series: "Spiritual Life in the Upper Mississippi River Valley"
Burback, Emily. Burns, Daniel. Gibson, Michael. Oberfoell, Carol. Waldmeir, Helen. Waldmeir, John.
English.
Various primary and secondary sources.
1864-
History of the parish over the span of 125 years, including information about its priests and parishioners.
Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary Parish (Cresco, Iowa)
"The oldest Catholic parish in Howard County began with four families from Canada with the family names of Christmas, Hannigan, Ryan and Welsh. At first priests from Prairie du Chien came to serve them, but in 1853 Father Clement Lowery from Decorah attended to their needs. They built a limestone church on property purchased from James Upton in Vernon Springs, just south of Cresco. Family names then included Barnes, Carroll, Conner, Conry, Donahue, Glass, Higgins, Logue, Long, Ploff, Reynolds, Schaefer and Sweet. When the railroad located its depot in Cresco, many of the Catholics moved from Vernon Springs into Cresco and so the first resident pastor, Father James Harding, celebrated Mass in Cresco." <br /><br />- Kurt, Rev. Msgr. Edgar, "Parish Profile #58," <em>The Witness,</em> January 24, 1988.
The Archdiocese of Dubuque.
The Center for Dubuque History at Loras College.
Loras College
Kucera Center for Catholic Thought
Frank and Ida Goedken Series: "Spiritual Life in the Upper Mississippi River Valley"
Burback, Emily. Burns, Daniel. Gibson, Michael. Oberfoell, Carol. Waldmeir, Helen. Waldmeir, John.
English.
ca. 1853-
Historical documents pertaining to Assumption parish and its parishioners.
St. Anthony (Dubuque, Iowa)
"Saint Anthony’s was a school for several years before it was a parish. As a parish it was dedicated first to Saint Malachi, then to Saint Aiden in 1880. Later to Saint Ambrose and still later to Saint Anthony. The parish had its beginning when Bishop John Hennessy directed Father Thomas O’Reilly, rector of the Cathedral, to build a school at the present corner of St. Ambrose and Seminary Streets in 1866. It was the policy of the new bishop to have a school in every parish, and he intended establishing a parish for the people of the hill district of Dubuque. The school was staffed by lay teachers until the coming of the Presentation Sisters in 1876, when the men of the area built a convent for them and became the pioneers of the new parish."<br /><br /> - Rev. Msgr. Edgar Kurt, Parish Profile #52, <em>The Witness</em>, December 1, 1987.
The Archdiocese of Dubuque.
The Center for Dubuque History at Loras College.
Loras College
Kucera Center for Catholic Thought
Frank and Ida Goedken Series: "Spiritual Life in the Upper Mississippi River Valley"
Burback, Emily. Burns, Daniel. Gibson, Michael. Oberfoell, Carol. Waldmeir, Helen. Waldmeir, John.
English.
Various primary and secondary sources.
1876-
History of the parish over the span of 142 years, including information about its priests and parishioners.
St. Bridget (Bluffton, Iowa)
"The first settlers in Bluffton Township, Winneshiek County, arrived in 1851. The Catholics among them were the families of Michael Gelice, Terrence McDonnell, Charles McLaughlin, and Barney Sutton. Before any church could be built visiting missionaries celebrated Mass in the homes of Michael Gelice and Patrick Nolan. The village of Bluffton, prosperous for those times, sprang up on the banks of the Upper Iowa River, where the first post office opened in 1855. In 1858 Patrick Nolan donated land for a church, and the log structure was dedicated to Saint Bridget, as most of the pioneers were either from Ireland or had Irish ancestors."<br /><br /> - Rev. Msgr. Edgar Kurt, "Parish Profile #162," <em>The Witness</em>, February 18, 1990.
The Archdiocese of Dubuque.
The Center for Dubuque History at Loras College.
Loras College
Kucera Center for Catholic Thought
Frank and Ida Goedken Series: "Spiritual Life in the Upper Mississippi River Valley"
Burback, Emily. Burns, Daniel. Gibson, Michael. Oberfoell, Carol. Waldmeir, Helen. Waldmeir, John.
English.
Various primary and secondary sources.
1858-
History of the parish over the span of 160 years, including information about its priests and parishioners.
St. Boniface (Garwin, Iowa)
"The second half of the nineteenth century saw many immigrants come to Iowa from the Slavic areas of Europe. A large portion of them settled in Cedar Rapids and along the rail lines extending from Cedar Rapids to Marshalltown. Czechs built the first Catholic churches in Norway, Chelsea, and Toledo, and the smaller communities in the area known as the Bohemian Hills of Benton and Marshall Counties. The Garwin area Catholics claimed Saint Boniface Church at Toledo as their parish until they could build a church of their own at Garwin." <br /><br />-Rev. Msgr. Edgar Kurt, Parish Profile #200<em>, <i>The Witness</i>, </em>November 18, 1990.
The Archdiocese of Dubuque.
The Center for Dubuque History at Loras College.
Loras College
Kucera Center for Catholic Thought
Frank and Ida Goedken Series: "Spiritual Life in the Upper Mississippi River Valley"
Burback, Emily. Burns, Daniel. Gibson, Michael. Oberfoell, Carol. Waldmeir, Helen. Waldmeir, John.
English.
Various primary and secondary sources.
1864-
History of the parish over the span of 154 years, including information about its priests and parishioners.
St. Columbkille (Dubuque, Iowa)
"When Saint Columbkille Parish was officially erected on May 24, 1997, the newly appointed pastor Father John R. Fogarty did not have to look for parishioners and buildings. The residents of West Hill welcomed Bishop John J. Hennessy’s decree providing them with their own parish and pastor. After years of going to the Cathedral, they had been celebrating Mass for some years with the Cathedral priests in the Presentation Sisters’ school. Father Thomas O’Reilly celebrated the first Mass in the temporary school on Bryant Street on September 21, 1879. After the school moved to the Rush Street location, the first Mass there was on the following December 14. The Sisters arranged to have Mass said regularly in the makeshift church inside the combination school and convent. Thirteen years after his ordination, Father Fogarty came as founding pastor to stay for almost a quarter century."<br /><br /> - Rev. Msgr. Edgar Kurt, "Parish Profile #126," <em>The Witness,</em> May 28, 1989.
The Archdiocese of Dubuque.
The Center for Dubuque History at Loras College.
Loras College
Kucera Center for Catholic Thought
Frank and Ida Goedken Series: "Spiritual Life in the Upper Mississippi River Valley"
Burback, Emily. Burns, Daniel. Gibson, Michael. Oberfoell, Carol. Waldmeir, Helen. Waldmeir, John.
English.
Various primary and secondary sources.
1997-
History of the Parish over the span of 21 years, including information about its priests and parishioners.
St. Francis (Dumont, Iowa)
"Before any Catholic church was built in Dumont, priests from neighboring parishes ministered to the Catholics of the area. Four Ackley pastors are especially remembered, Father Peter O’Dowd, D. H. Murphy, Lawrence H. Burns, and Michael A. Meagher. Father McCormick is mentioned in old histories of the parish, but he cannot be identified in the Archives of the Archdiocese. “Mass was said in the prairie homes of staunch defenders of the faith, many of whom hailed from Canada, some from the banks of the Rhine and others from the land of destiny—the Isle of the sea,” according to Father James M. Ryan, who was in charge of Dumont in the 1800s. Those words and the following were published in a calendar in 1902."<br /><br /> - Rev. Edgar Kurt, "Parish Profile #152," Dubuque:<em> The Witness,</em> 3 December 1989.
The Archdiocese of Dubuque.
The Center for Dubuque History at Loras College.
Loras College
Kucera Center for Catholic Thought
Frank and Ida Goedken Series: "Spiritual Life in the Upper Mississippi River Valley"
Burback, Emily. Burns, Daniel. Gibson, Michael. Oberfoell, Carol. Waldmeir, Helen. Waldmeir, John.
English.
Various primary and secondary sources.
1890-
The history of the parish over the span of 128 years, including information about its priests and parishioners.
Holy Ghost (Dubuque, Iowa)
"As the “north end” of Dubuque grew during the 1880s, Archbishop John Hennessy found it necessary to establish Sacred Heart Parish. Continued growth in that area inspired the Archbishop to found another parish, Holy Ghost, on Central Avenue. Holy Ghost Parish was the third parish to be founded to serve the many German immigrants and their descendants. The German Catholics had built Holy Trinity Church in 1850 and then replaced it with Saint Mary Church in 1867. The second parish for the German [...] of the Catholic population has Sacred Heart Church founded in 1880." <br /><br />- Rev. Msgr. Edgar Kurt, Parish Profile #198,<em> The Witness,</em> November 4, 1990.
The Archdiocese of Dubuque.
The Center for Dubuque History at Loras College.
Loras College
Kucera Center for Catholic Thought
Frank and Ida Goedken Series: "Spiritual Life in the Upper Mississippi River Valley"
Burback, Emily. Burns, Daniel. Gibson, Michael. Oberfoell, Carol. Waldmeir, Helen. Waldmeir, John.
English and German.
Various primary and secondary sources.
1896-
History of the parish over the span of 122 years, including information about its priests and parishioners.
Holy Trinity (Dubuque, Iowa)
"The German families in Dubuque asked Bishop Loras for permission to form a parish and built a small stone church at 8th and White Streets in 1851. Although named Holy Trinity, it was replaced in 1867 by the present Saint Mary Church at 15th and White Streets. Holy Trinity Parish came into being in 1909 when Father Arnold A. Boeding, the Sacred Heart pastor, asked Archbishop John J. Keane to create a new parish in the Eagle Point area of the city. Father Joseph A. Dupont, the Sacred Heart assistant, was appointed pastor. The parish was named Holy Trinity. Finding about 110 families in his care, Father Dupont chose the present location on Rhomberg Avenue. A committee headed by George Roepsch and Joseph Schlueter gave him valuable support and assisted in raising funds. When Father Dupont made the fund appeal, several parishes, many priests and businessmen, and a good number of parishioners responded, providing $30,000 in cash and $15,000 in pledges. Work began in early 1910. For the cornerstone laying, a long procession of 17 Catholic societies in colorful regalia proceeded from the Cathedral to the Rhomberg Avenue site." <br /><br />- Rev. Msgr. Edgar Kurt, Parish Profile #189, <em>The Witness,</em> September 2, 1990.
The Archdiocese of Dubuque.
The Center for Dubuque History at Loras College.
Loras College
Kucera Center for Catholic Thought
Frank and Ida Goedken Series: "Spiritual Life in the Upper Mississippi River Valley"
Burback, Emily. Burns, Daniel. Gibson, Michael. Oberfoell, Carol. Waldmeir, Helen. Waldmeir, John.
English.
Various primary and secondary sources.
1909-
The history of the parish over the span of 109 years, including information about its priests and parishioners.
Immaculate Conception (Allison, Iowa)
"Father Bernard W. Coyle of Waverly is reputed to have celebrated the first Mass in the Allison community in the 1880s. He continued to care for the Catholics there on his many journeys. The further accounts of the parish’s beginning are confusing. One account claims the church was built in 1800 and dedicated on the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, 1890, while Father Coyle was still serving the community. Another account gives the date as 1895 and Father James Ryan directing the building during his pastorate. The date of the transfer of title to Archbishop John Hennessy on December 10, 1890, would tend to favor the earlier date."<br /><br /> - Rev. Msgr. Edgar Kurt, "Parish Profile #195," <em>The Witness</em>, October 14, 1990.
The Archdiocese of Dubuque.
The Center for Dubuque History at Loras College.
Loras College
Kucera Center for Catholic Thought
Frank and Ida Goedken Series: "Spiritual Life in the Upper Mississippi River Valley"
Burback, Emily. Burns, Daniel. Gibson, Michael. Oberfoell, Carol. Waldmeir, Helen. Waldmeir, John.
English.
Various primary and secondary sources.
1890-
The history of the parish over the span of 128 years, including information about its priests and parishioners.