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“After the appointment of Father P. C. Kenny, churches were constructed in Vinton and Dysart under his direction. In 1879 the Church of Saint Mary in Vinton was dedicated on the feast of Mary’s Maternity, October 12, and the church in Vinton was…

"Father John Zlebcik, a native of Bohemia and missionary to the Bohemian and German Catholics from Tama to Cedar Rapids, established many parishes while resident at Norway, Iowa. One of them is Saint Mary Parish at Vining in Tama County. In 1874,…

“Saint Mary Church at Spencer’s Grove, two and a half miles north of Urbana, “stood out in the prairie like a lonely sentinel of the Lord,” according to Father Hubert Holsters, writing in the Centennial History of the Archdiocese. For many…

“Bishop John Hennessy established the Strawberry Point parish in the southwest corner of Clayton County in 1878 and appointed Father John Hackett pastor. They had been served by missionary priests coming into the area and celebrating Mass in the…

"After Father Ambrose Martin, a Canadian convert, came to Charles City in 1867, he frequently visited Roseville. A few years later, Father Patrick Feeley became the pastor of the Charles City parish and directed the building of the first Roseville…

"Saint Mary Parish is the second parish to be founded in New Hampton. Its beginning is unusual. The school was established and in operation for three years before the first church was built. The German speaking parents in Saint Joseph Parish wanted…

“Father Richard Nagle, living in a farm house near Monona and serving a wide area, saw to the building of the first Catholic Church in the town in the 1860s. About the same time, James McGregor gave the Catholic parish a parcel of land at the head…

“The first Catholics came to the county in the 1850s and their number increased as the Civil War veterans came west to claim government land. They were visited by Father William Edmonds of Iowa City and Father Clement Lowry of Cedar Rapids. Father…

“When Father John J. Hanley became pastor in 1887, he saw to the building of a three-story frame school and convent, which was known as Saint Xavier’s for many years. Cedar Rapids Sisters of Mercy staffed the school until 1940; then the Dubuque…

"Landolm Haas, a veteran of the Mexican War, was the first settler in Saint Mary Parish, arriving in 1851 to take advantage of choice land at a low price. Father David Slattery was the first resident pastor and began the parish records. He came in…