Saint Mary's Catholic Church (Dubuque)
Encyclopedia
Dubuque, Iowa
Dubuque is a city in and the county seat of Dubuque County, Iowa, United States, located along the Mississippi River. In 2010 its population was 57,637, making it the ninth-largest city in the state and the county's population was 93,653....
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, at the corner of 15th and White Streets. The church is recognizable by its steeple– one of the tallest in the area.
The beginning
During the 1840s, a number of German families moved to the city of Dubuque. Many of these families were CatholicCatholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
. Initially, they attended Mass at St. Raphael's Cathedral. However, the cathedral was becoming quite crowded due to the growing German and Irish populations of the city. Also, Bishop Mathias Loras was having difficulty ensuring that the German families were adequately cared for.
In 1849, Bishop Loras granted permission for 40 German families to form a new parish. Gerhard Hueckels donated land at the corner of 8th and White Streets in Dubuque. In 1850, a church was built on the land. This church, named Holy Trinity, was built of native stone with a tower about twenty feet tall.
For the first few years, there was a lack of priests in the still-young diocese. The people of Holy Trinity parish were served at first by a missionary, Father Gerhard Plathe. Finally, in 1853, they were given a resident priest, Father William Edmonds.
Soon the first major influx of German immigrants occurred. The small Holy Trinity church was filled to capacity. In 1863, the pastor, Father George Fendrick, and members of the parish founded the "German Roman Catholic Association of Dubuque." Their goal was to build a new church to support the parish - which now had over 300 families. At first, they attempted to purchase the Presbyterian Seminary in Dubuque for $15,000. After other Christian denominations opposed this plan, the group instead purchased an orchard for $3,000. This site, about seven blocks north of the Holy Trinity Church, is the site of the current church.
Construction of the New St. Mary's Church
In 1864, construction was begun on the new church. The plans were designed by architect John Mullany, who had designed the present Cathedral building. (To this day, some note with humor that because of Mullany's Irish background, it took an Irishman to design a good German church). Father Aloysius Meis directed the construction. The new building was done in Gothic Architecture style.
From 1867 to 1922
On February 10, 1867, Bishop John Hennessy dedicated the new St. Mary's Church. Over the next 55 years, the population of Dubuque continued to grow. This was especially true in the 1880s with the arrival of the Milwaukee Railroad shops. St. Mary's was the mother parish of four other area parishes. Sacred HeartSacred Heart Catholic Church (Dubuque)
Sacred Heart Catholic Church is a Roman Catholic church in Dubuque, Iowa. It is part of the Archdiocese of Dubuque and located at 2215 Windsor Ave. The parish was one of the locations where the movie F.I.S.T. starring Sylvester Stallone was filmed....
was established in 1879, followed by Holy Ghost in 1896. In 1910, a new Holy Trinity Church was built near Eagle Point Park in Dubuque in memory of the first church in Dubuque to carry that name. Finally in 1922, Nativity parish was built near what today is called Loras College
Loras College
Loras College is a four-year Catholic college located in Dubuque, Iowa, with a general attendance of approximately 1,700 students. The school offers both undergraduate and graduate degree programs...
.
In the early 1870s, the Hook and Hastings Company - a prominent 19th century organ builder - installed an organ in the choir loft. This organ was placed in a visually impressive case. The organ was significantly altered by the Lima Pipe Organ Company of Elida, Ohio, in 1965; the case and most of the pipes were retained, augmented by all new mechanism (including windchests constructed of aluminum) and several additional ranks of pipes. It currently has three manuals and 33 stops.
The sanctuary was extended in 1911, followed by the construction of two small chapels at the rear of the church. In 1914, stained glass windows built in Bavaria were installed in the church, though the shipment of the windows was nearly stopped because of the outbreak of World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
.
From 1922 to the present
In 1935, Father Aloysius Schmitt was ordained in RomeRome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
. He returned to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, and his first assignment was as an associate at Saint Mary's Church. In 1941, he was killed in the attack at Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor, known to Hawaiians as Puuloa, is a lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. Much of the harbor and surrounding lands is a United States Navy deep-water naval base. It is also the headquarters of the U.S. Pacific Fleet...
, becoming the first chaplain of any faith to die in the Second World War.
In the early 1970s, the reforms of the Second Vatican Council
Second Vatican Council
The Second Vatican Council addressed relations between the Roman Catholic Church and the modern world. It was the twenty-first Ecumenical Council of the Catholic Church and the second to be held at St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican. It opened under Pope John XXIII on 11 October 1962 and closed...
were implemented. The parish removed the communion rail and placed a new altar in the sanctuary that faced the congregation. However, the original high and side altars were left largely intact.
The movie F.I.S.T.
F.I.S.T.
F.I.S.T. is a 1978 movie directed by Norman Jewison and starring Sylvester Stallone. In this film, Stallone plays a Cleveland warehouse worker named Johnny Kovak who becomes involved in the labor union leadership of the fictional "Federation of Inter State Truckers", and finds that he must...
, which was largely filmed in Dubuque, had a scene which featured exterior shots of St. Mary's Church. The scene, which showed Sylvester Stallone
Sylvester Stallone
Michael Sylvester Gardenzio Stallone , commonly known as Sylvester Stallone, and nicknamed Sly Stallone, is an American actor, filmmaker, screenwriter, film director and occasional painter. Stallone is known for his machismo and Hollywood action roles. Two of the notable characters he has portrayed...
and Melinda Dillon
Melinda Dillon
Melinda Rose Dillon is an American actress, perhaps best known for her roles in Close Encounters of the Third Kind and the holiday classic A Christmas Story.-Early life and career:...
sitting and talking on a hill overlooking the city, clearly showed St. Mary's Church in the background.
In recent years, St. Mary's Church had combined efforts with the nearby St. Patrick's Church
Saint Patrick's Church (Dubuque)
Saint Patrick's Church is a Catholic parish in the Archdiocese of Dubuque, and it is located in Dubuque, Iowa at 14th and Iowa Streets. It is unique in that it is located only two blocks away from Saint Mary's Church in Dubuque. The reason for this is that St. Mary's was originally built for the...
. The two parishes shared administrative staff and school facilities. The parish has felt the results of the Priest shortage
Priest shortage
A priest shortage is the situation of a reduced number of priests in religions, especially the Roman Catholic Church.In 2008, 49,631 parishes in the world had no resident priest pastor. While the number of Catholics in the world nearly doubled between 1970 and 2008, growing from 653 Million to...
, as well as a decline in membership. The parish had a priest to lead Mass, but most of the administrative work was handled by a deacon.
In the 1990s, St. Mary's built a new handicapped entrance. This entrance is located at the northeast corner of the church and has an elevator. Before that, the church was not as accessible as other churches in the area.
With a heavy debt load and a declining membership, the parish council recommended to the Archdiocese that the parish be closed. In late 2009 it was announced that the parish would be closed. On May 26, 2010, St. Mary's held its final mass as a Catholic parish. The building itself is still considered a church
Oratory status
In the Roman Catholic Church, Oratory Status is a special status that a church building may be placed in. In oratory status the parish has been closed and the church building and grounds become the responsibility of a neighboring parish....
, but the parish is no longer active.