Browse Items (254 total)

"The first Catholics bought a stone church built by the Sand Springs Baptists at the beginning of Civil War and closed for ten or more years. The church was dedicated to the Mother of God under her title of the Immaculate Conception. The first…

“In 1892 the Catholic pioneers judged their numbers were sufficient to build a church. That year they raised some money by means of a fair in the Cass Opera House. In August they began hauling rocks for the foundation. The church was a white frame…

“The Catholic Church in Benton County began with the deeding of two sections of prairie near Keystone, Iowa, to the University of Notre Dame in Indiana in January 1863. Francis Murphy, a Benton county pioneer, gave those 1,280 acres in return for…

“Immaculate Conception Parish owes its origin to Father Thomas Hore, a native of the parish of Our Lady’s Island in County Wexford, Ireland. His life would be good material for an interesting saga. Father Hore, born in 1796, completed his…

“The Church of the Nativity became the ninth parish in the city of Dubuque in 1922. As the Catholic population had increased, Archbishop James J. Keane saw the need for another parish in the city. On July 4, 1923, Archbishop Keane blessed the…

"The two Catholic parishes of Cresco - Assumption and St. Joseph's - were officially merged into the unified parish of Notre Dame on Thursday, July 1. The birth of the new parish was celebrated on July 3-4 during masses offed by Archbishop Jerome…

“Under the leadership of Father James Nelson, the parish built a gothic style brick church in 1901 to seat 500. It was dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary under the title The Immaculate Conception, which is inscribed to the cornerstone. During the…

“Father Patrick F. Farrelly was appointed to Saint Rose Parish in 1876 or 1877, he became their first resident pastor in 1877. Father Byrne directed the building of a two-story frame school in 1882, a long building with only one room on each floor.…

"Our Lady of Seven Dolors Parish at Festina began as an Indian mission. In 1840 the federal government built Fort Atkinson and moved the Winnebagoes there from the Yellow River area north of McGregor for the Indians’ protection. When Bishop Loras…

"Archbishop Leo Binz established Queen of Heaven Parish in Reinbeck on July 19, 1955. Father John E. Graham, pastor of Immaculate Conception at Blessing, had conducted a survey of the area Catholics to determine their interest in forming a parish.…