In
1956, Father John Hart authored The
History of the Irish Settlement
in which he relates that St.
Patrick’s Church is older than any Catholic parish in Des Moines and in
the early days served as a focal point for all Catholics in south
central Iowa.
The first log
church at St. Patrick’s was built in 1852, on 40 acres of
land in the southeast quarter of section 32 of Lee township, the
land accommodating both the church and it's cemetery to the south.
By the year
1868, the original log church had been outgrown, and it was
decided that a larger frame church should be built at the Irish
Settlement. This new church
was built under the direction of Father Brazill, as he still
had St. Patrick’s as a mission. This
church still stands and is in use at the present time.
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St.
Patrick's Catholic Church
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The
first priest to serve St. Patrick's was Father
Timothy N. Mullen who was assigned the area from Des Moines to
Council Bluffs with St. Patrick's as his base. At the outset, the
assigned priests handled several parishes and services occurred
once a month. It was not until 1872 that a priest was assigned
full time to St. Patrick's parish. During the early years, the
parish enjoyed rapid growth.
From February 1874 to June of 1875, Father Patrick Smith
baptized 47 infants, and witnessed eight weddings.
Early in 1877, Rev. Michael Rice was sent to the Irish
Settlement, and for the next seven years remained as pastor as he
consecrated a total of 324 baptisms.
Some of the
men of St. Patrick’s parish, from the earliest times, dedicated
themselves to the Priesthood. including
Father Daniel Mulvhill, Msgr. Henry Malone, Father J. C.
White, and Father John Weill.
Young women
who left the parish to enter religious life include: Cecilia
Durigan, who took the name of Sister M. Victoria; Mary A. Crogan
took the name of Sister M. Kiernan; Mary Kiernan took the name of
Sister M. Juanita in the order of St. Francis at LaCrosse,
Wisconsin; Ann Connor took the name of Sister M. Benedict in the
order of St. Benedict in Guthrie, Oklahoma; Agnes Caffery took the
name of Sister M. Aquinas with the Sisters of St. Joseph at
LaGrange, Illinois; Theresa Cain took the name of Sister M. Angele
with Ursuline Sisters of St. Louis, Missouri; Catherine Connor
became Sister M. Alberta and joined her aunt in the Order of St.
Benedict; Josephine Dooley took the name of Sister M. Sheila with
the order of St. Francis of Clinton, Iowa; two sisters, Sheila and
Susanne Mulvhill have entered the Sisters of Charity and taken the
names of Sister M. James Catherine and Sister M. Susan.
As
of 1956,
approximately 40 families made up the St. Patrick’s
congregation, about 85 percent of whom can trace their ancestry back to
the early settlers. Some
families are still on the farms first claimed by great
grandparents.
For
an in depth account of assignments of clergy and some interesting
anecdotes about the early church and the Irish Settlement, see the
link History of the Irish Settlement at the top of this
page. __________________
Source: St. Patrick's Founded in 1852 in Irish
Settlement, The Winterset Madisonian, |
Winterset, Iowa, October 12, 1956 |
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