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“In 1873 the 27 families sent John Brost to ask Bishop John Hennessy for a resident priest and permission to build a church. Permission to build was granted, but no priest was available. The next year they dedicated the new church to the Blessed…

“The Parish of Saint Isidore was canonically resurrected on March 22, 1961, the Feast of Saint Isidore the Farmer. At Father Engler’s suggestion the new parish was dedicated to God in honor of Saint Isidore, the Patron of Farmers. Isidore and his…

“Jackson County settlers some miles south of Bellevue in the 1860s did business in either Slabton, where there was a sawmill, or Old Springbrook, or “new” Springbrook. The Methodists worshipped in Liberty School, the Baptists in Old Springbrook, but…

“The first Catholic settlers of the Sherrill community came from Germany and Luxembourg in the 1840s to find land providing timber and rock for building and wood for fuel, as well as productive soil. They were visited by Bishop Loras and priests from…

“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…

“Saint Donatus Parish is the only parish in the United States named for this heavenly protector against storms. Soon after the Iowa Territory was opened to settlement in 1833, pioneers from Luxembourg in Europe took up residence on the fertile hills…

“In its 110 years, Saint Wenceslaus Parish in Duncan, located in Hancock County, has only had ten pastors. Before the first church was built in 1900, the people attended Mass in Garner or were visited by traveling priests, who celebrated Mass in…

“The mission was raised in the status of a parish in 1858, and Father Andrew Trevis was appointed the first pastor in addition to his duties as seminary president. He was soon followed by Father Patrick McCabe as the first permanent pastor. In 1870…

“In 1902 the Catholics were numerous enough to buy the vacant Methodist Church in Little Turkey for $500 and Fathers John Broz and Peter Kloss blessed it. Father Joseph Dostal, pastor of Spillville and brother to the two Dostal founders, celebrated…

“Newhall’s Saint Paul Parish began with Father Alfred P. Meyer’s letter to Archbishop James J. Keane asking permission to start a parish. There had been two parishes in the neighboring town of Norway. One of them began as a Czech parish, with the…