Browse Items (254 total)

“Sacred Heart Church, Volga, was built in 1899 under the direction of Father James Mulligan, during the time he was pastor of West Union, Wadena, and Fayette. The first Mass was celebrated in the church on Easter, April 2, and the church formally…

“The citizens of the community first sought to build a parish church in 1885 and subscribed $1,305. Of the 85 subscribers on the March 5, 1885, list about forty were not Catholic. In 1887 Father Peter O’Dowd, the Independence pastor, came to Walker…

"While Father Garrett T. Nagle was pastor of Saint Boniface Parish in Garner from 1893 to 1903 and a missionary to a large area, he visited the Catholics of Woden in Hancock County about every month. Mass was usually celebrated in the home of John…

“As early as June 1944 Archbishop Francis J. L. Beckmann conferred with Father John M. Fischer at the annual Priests Retreat about founding a new parish in Waterloo. In January 1945 his Coadjutor, Archbishop Henry P. Rohlman, appointed Father Fischer…

"Natives of Ireland were the first Catholic settlers in the West Ridge area of Winneshiek County, about eight miles northwest of Waukon. Norwegian settlers were their neighbors to the south. In 1860 Bishop Clement Smyth bought a lot for a cemetery…

"Saint Joseph Parish, Dysart, probably began as a triple-town parish. In 1937 Father James F. Delay wrote in a parish history, on November 11, 1878, Father P. Kenny was appointed the first resident pastor of Vinton, Dysart and Traer.” At that time…

“In 1882 Father Francis Boeding began a pastorate of 46 years. He saw to the spiritual formation of his parish and also served the people of Cresco, Fort Atkinson, Ossian, and Hawkeye in his early years. He was instrumental in making the area…

"Most of the priestly life of Father Nicholas Mary Homan is half the history of Saint Mary Parish in the Buchanan County town of Hazleton. Father Horman was appointed pastor of Saint Mary’s in September 1913 and stayed until his death on February 3,…

"Saint Michael Parish got its start when in 1863 John Shonagel built a small frame church at his own expense in the town of Elkport, not even a mile across the river from the village of Garber in Clayton County. Several priests came from the…

"In January 1951 Archbishop Binz appointed Msgr. Jaeger to found the new parish and Father Alvan P. Heuring to assist him in this task. Father Heuring took on the responsibility of visiting each of the 125 families of the new parish. The parish was…