St. Mary's Catholic Church (Davenport, Iowa) facts for kids

Quick facts for kids St. Mary's Catholic Church
St. Mary's Catholic Church from Fillmore St
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Location	516 Fillmore St. Davenport, Iowa
Country	USA
Denomination	Catholic Church
History
Founded	July 21, 1867 (1867-07-21)
Founder(s)	Rev. J.A.M. Pelamourges
Dedication	Mary, mother of Jesus
Architecture
Functional status	Active
Groundbreaking	1867 (1867)
Completed	1867 (1867)
Construction cost	$25,000
Specifications
Number of spires	One
Spire height	135 feet (41 m)
Materials	Brick
Administration
Diocese	Davenport

St. Mary's Catholic Church was a church in Davenport, Iowa. It was part of the Diocese of Davenport. The church building is in the west end of Davenport. It is located at the corner of Fillmore and W. 6th Streets.

The church is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. This means it is an important historical site. The listing includes the church, the rectory (where the priest lived), a former school, and a convent (where nuns lived). Another old school building from the parish is also on the National Register. St. Mary's Church stopped holding services in July 2020. It joined with St. Anthony's Church downtown. The buildings are now used by a group called Humility Homes & Services. This group helps people who do not have homes.

History of St. Mary's Church

The grave of Judge G.C.R. Mitchell and family is one of the few graves left in St. Mary Cemetery

St. Mary's was started as a new church in 1867. It was part of the Diocese of Dubuque at that time. The church was built for about 150 English-speaking Catholic families. These families lived in the west part of Davenport. The church was built near another German-speaking church, St. Joseph.

The first stone for the church was laid on July 21, 1867. The church was built on land that was once St. Mary's Cemetery. This cemetery was started in 1849. The church cost $25,000 to build in 1867. Ten years later, a house for the priest, called a rectory, was built for $8,000.

The first priest was Rev. J.A.M. Pelamourgues. The first priest who lived at St. Mary's was Rev. Maurice Flavin. He arrived in 1868. In 1881, St. Mary's became part of the new Diocese of Davenport.

In 1883, the church got a new pipe organ. It was built by the Moline Pipe Organ Co. A church organist named Célestine Fejérvary brought a special painting to the church. She bought it in Belgium. The painting is called Assumption of the Blessed Virgin. Both the organ and the painting are still in the church today.

Church interior

Around 1900, St. Mary's built more buildings. A school and a convent (for nuns) were built across the street. These buildings were finished in 1901. They were designed by a local company, Clausen & Burrows. The convent cost $7,000 and the school cost $19,000.

In the early 1940s, a new altar screen was built. It included the special painting from Belgium. On Christmas Eve in 1947, a fire damaged the church. It caused about $50,000 in damage. The fire mainly hurt the west side of the church. Christmas services had to be held in the school auditorium.

In the late 1980s, more Spanish-speaking families joined St. Mary's. Services were held in English, Spanish, and sometimes Latin.

A tornado hit Davenport on October 6, 2016. It caused some damage to the church buildings. The church and other buildings were fixed in the summer of 2017.

In 2019, the bishop decided to combine St. Mary's with another church. This decision was made because of changes in the community. St. Mary's merged with St. Anthony's Church downtown on July 1, 2020.

Jubilee Center: A New Purpose

In December 2020, a group called Humility Homes & Services bought the church buildings. This group helps people who are homeless. They are run by a group of sisters called the Congregation of the Humility of Mary.

The old convent will be used for offices. The former rectory will become housing for women. The old church building will become the Fresh Start Center. Here, people can get things they need for free to set up a new home. All religious items will be removed from the church. The old school will still be a place for community groups. This includes the Hispanic community who were part of the church. The whole group of buildings is now called the Jubilee Center.

Parochial School History

St. Mary's started a school one year after the church began. The church building was used as the first school. A bigger school building was built two blocks north of the church. The Sisters of Mercy taught at this school.

The current school building was built in 1901. It is directly across the street from the church. The Sisters of the Holy Cross took over teaching at this time. The school was only for girls until 1931. After that, high school girls went to another school. St. Mary's continued to have its own school. Later, it joined with a nearby church's school. This combined school was called Holy Trinity. It continued until the 1990s.

Architecture of the Buildings

The four main buildings of St. Mary's are across the street from each other. They look like they belong together. They are all made of dark red brick. The convent now has vinyl siding over its brick.

The church was built in the Romanesque Revival style. This style uses round arches and strong, simple shapes. The church has a tall bell tower in the middle. It is about 135 feet (41 m) high. The outside has decorative brickwork. It also has tall, narrow windows with round tops. The tower has special details at the top. These include small gables and round openings.

The rectory was first built to match the church's style. Its look was changed around 1901. At that time, the convent and school were built. They were designed in the Colonial Revival style. This style often looks like older American colonial buildings.

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  The church in 2013

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  The Moline pipe organ

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  Rectory

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  Convent

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  School (Parish Hall)

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  First school building

Pipe Organ

The church has a pipe organ built by the Moline Organ Co. in 1883. It has two keyboards and 18 different sounds, called stops.