“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…
"Three Catholic families of Epworth in western Dubuque County were formed into a parish by Father James Commerford in 1879. He had been ordained in Ireland in 1878 and appointed resident pastor of Placid (or Pleasant Grove) the following April. Soon…
"St. Patrick’s at Garryowen began with the coming of Irish immigrants a few years after the conclusion of the Blackhawk War and the opening of the Iowa Territory to settlement. Father Samuel Mazzuchelli, the Italian Dominican missionary, tells the…
"Probably no other parish in the nation can claim the distinction of Saint Patrick Parish at Hampton. For three years it was served by two priests who were father and son, Father Patrick J. Norton and his son, Father Claude B. Norton. Hampton is the…
“During Father Kelly’s pastorate the people of Forest City also decided to build a church. Just before the church was completed, Father James P. Taken was appointed pastor of Forest City and Lake Mills with his residence in Forest City. Father…
"At first, Saint Patrick’s at Monti was known as the Buffalo Grove parish, and sometimes as The Buffalo or Erin, but the community became known as Monti in 1882, when Charles O’Hagan opened a post office in his store and gave the town a new name.…
“The first Catholic church in Story County was built in Nevada in 1870 under the direction of Father Delaney and that year dedicated to Saint Patrick. At some time afterwards Father Patrick Smith lived in Nevada for several months, but not as an…
"For over fifteen years the first Catholics of Butler County in the Parkersburg area west of Cedar Falls were cared for by the missionary priests who ventured beyond parish territory. The first of these, Father John Sheils, pastor of Waverly,…
"In the early 1880s Father Patrick H. Ryan lived in the Tom Magirl home while forming a parish and building a church. The church foundations are still visible in Calvary Cemetery on highway 13, about two miles south of Ryan. Completed about 1882, the…