Browse Items (3180 total)

"Father John Nemmers, their Gilbertville pastor, celebrated the first Mass in the new church in the summer of 1906. It was probably on July 4, as the first recorded baptism took place after Mass on that date. The church was probably named and…

"Father F. Kenny was pastor of Sabula and caring for the Preston Catholics, when Bishop John J. Hennessy appointed him resident pastor of Preston and in charge of the Sabula parish as well. He was the first to celebrate Mass in the area, first in the…

"The 1850s brought to Iowa some priests willing to ride from one settlement to another to provide pastoral care for the Catholic pioneers. Among them was a Czech Redemptorist missionary, Father Francis Kroutil, who spent himself visiting the…

"Father John Ziebelk, pastor of Saint Wenceslaus Parish in Cedar Rapids, took charge of the Prairieburg Catholics in the 1870s. In 1874 he directed the building of a brick church on five acres given by Richard and Mary Lacy. It was capable of seating…

History of the St. Joseph church and parish in Prairie, Iowa.

Historical documents pertaining to St. Joseph parish in Paint Rock, Iowa.

"The sketchy early history states the parish was established in 1888 and that Father D. J. Kelly, pastor of Parkersburg, was given charge of Aplington and New Hartford. The early Catholic directories indicate that the Parkersburg pastor has had…

"Saint Joseph Parish in New Hampton was organized on April 3, 1870 and was the first Catholic parish in the town. The first settlers came in 1854. Until the church was built in 1870, the early Catholics attended Mass in homes and business places.…

“Under the guidance of Father Louis Cornelis of Lansing, during the winter of 1867, nine men cut and hauled logs to a site three miles southwest of the present town. The church and cemetery were dedicated in June 1867, receiving the name Holy…

“Missionaries came early to this center of agriculture, manufacturing, and railroading in eastern Cerro Gordo County, and by 1864 the Catholics were organized into a parish. Father Patrick Feely, located at Waverly after Father Murphy’s death,…