St. Patrick Church (Imogene, Iowa) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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St. Patrick Church
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 Location in Iowa
Location in the United States
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| Location | 304 3rd Street Imogene, Iowa |
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| Area | less than one acre |
| Built | 1915-1919 |
| Architect | Harry Lawrie |
| Architectural style | Late Gothic Revival Romanesque Revival |
| NRHP reference No. | 83000360 |
| Added to NRHP | July 7, 1983 |
St. Patrick Church is a historic Catholic church in Imogene, Iowa, United States. It is a Catholic parish church that belongs to the Diocese of Des Moines. This beautiful church was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1983.
Contents
History of St. Patrick Church
Early Beginnings in Imogene
In 1869, many Irish immigrants started settling in southwestern Iowa. The town of Imogene was officially formed ten years later, in 1879. Some young Irish men from New Melleray Abbey near Dubuque, Iowa came to nearby Mills County. They were there to take care of Black Angus cattle herds. When the cattle market changed, these men stayed in the area. They helped build the railroad further into Iowa.
In 1876, Father Gerald Stack arrived to serve the Catholic community. He held church services in a schoolhouse near Imogene. The very first church service in town was held in John Delehant's home. Father Stack officially started St. Patrick's in 1880. At first, it was a mission church connected to St. Mary's parish in Shenandoah, Iowa. Back then, all of Iowa was part of the Archdiocese of Dubuque.
Building the First Churches
A wooden church was built in Imogene in 1881. It cost about $1,800. In that same year, all of southern Iowa, including Imogene, became part of the new Diocese of Davenport. The land for Mount Calvary Cemetery was bought south of town in 1883. Father Ryan passed away in February 1884 and was one of the first people buried there.
St. Patrick's became its own parish in 1888. Father Edmund Hayes, who was from County Cork, Ireland, became its first full-time priest that same year. Father Hayes had a big impact on both the church and the town. People called him the "best known Catholic priest in Iowa." Some even said he was "probably the best known minister in all southwestern Iowa of any denomination."
Father Hayes's Contributions
Father Hayes was very wealthy. He inherited money from his brother, who owned silver mines in Nevada and oil and gold in California. Father Hayes invested a lot of his money in Iowa farmland. Soon after he arrived, a house for the priest (called a rectory) was built. The original wooden church was also made bigger.
Later, in 1892, a new brick church replaced the old one. A new rectory was built in 1904. In 1906, a school called St. Patrick's Academy was built. Father Hayes helped pay for many of these projects himself. In 1911, the parish became part of the Diocese of Des Moines when it was created.
The Current Church Building
Sadly, the brick church was destroyed in a fire on February 12, 1915. Only the church bell and a statue called the Pietà were saved. Harry Lawrie, an architect from Omaha, Nebraska, designed the church you see today. Ed and Jack Sprague, also from Omaha, built it. Construction started in August 1915 and finished on March 20, 1919.
While the church was being built, services were held in the Hibernian Hall. Later, they moved to the basement of the new church. The first service in the church basement was on October 29, 1916. The church was even wired for electricity when it was built, even though electricity wasn't available in Imogene yet!
Father Hayes donated the beautiful Carrara marble main altar and side altars. He also gave the baptismal font as a way to remember his family. These items were worth a lot of money, between $60,000 and $90,000. Father Hayes traveled to Pietrasanta, Italy, to order them himself. The first set of altars he ordered was on a ship that was sunk by the Germans during World War I. It took two years for Italian sculptor Enrico Tonnegetti and his team to put the altars together. After the church's building debt was paid off, it was officially dedicated on March 17, 1924.
Father Hayes did much more than just help the church. He also helped bring electricity to Imogene. He promised money for street lights and helped start the town's water system and library. He passed away in St. Joseph's Hospital in Omaha in 1928. He was buried in Mount Calvary Cemetery.
Architecture of St. Patrick Church
St. Patrick's Church is about 130 feet (40 m) long and 65 feet (20 m) wide. Its outside walls are made of Black Hylex St. Louis pressed brick. The church combines features from two styles: Gothic Revival and Romanesque Revival.
Gothic and Romanesque Features
You can see Gothic features in the pointed arched windows and door frames. The large front window has decorative stone around it. There are also wall supports called buttresses next to the main entrance. The stone trim on the roof's gable and the hinges on the front doors also show Gothic style.
The Romanesque features include the mix of stone trim with the brick. Stone bands form the bottom part of the wall, called the water table. The wall buttresses have decorative stone caps. There's a rounded corner buttress and a corner tower with a battlement (like a castle wall). The front part of the church sticks out and has several gables. Similar stone bands are found at the top of the tower, near the cornice line. Other outside features include a raised foundation and decorative brickwork under the roof's eaves. The back of the church has a rounded apse, and confessionals stick out from the sides.
Inside the Church
Inside, the church has one main open space called a nave. The ceiling is made of oak and rises 65 feet (20 m) above the floor. Six large wooden supports, called hammer beam trusses, hold up the ceiling. The bottom of each support has a decorative circular design called a quatrefoil.
The main altar is made of Carrara marble. It has a statue of Saint Patrick in its central tower. The side altar on the left has a statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The side altar on the right has a statue of Saint Joseph. The altars and the decorative screens behind them (called reredoses) are shiny. This contrasts with the statues, which have a duller finish. A marble altar rail runs across the front of the altar area. The bronze gates in the middle were added later.
Beautiful Stained glass windows line the nave walls. These windows show love for God, country, and family. Italian glass masters created them, commissioned by families in Imogene. The Stations of the Cross are made of mosaic and marble. They were brought from Venice, Italy. The Pietà statue, which Father Hayes donated in 1910, is still in the church today. It was saved from the fire that destroyed the old church.
St. Patrick Academy
St. Patrick Academy was a school located on the north side of the church. When it opened on September 9, 1907, it had 100 students. Because there were so many students, Father Hayes bought the old German Lutheran Church across the street. This building was used for the first and second grades.
The Sisters of Mercy taught at the school from 1907 to 1918. Later, Dominican Sisters taught there from 1920 to 1969. The current building for the sisters (called a convent) was built across the street from the church in 1922. This was where the old Lutheran church had stood, which was torn down in 1919.
St. Patrick Academy closed in 1969. The Dominican Sisters stayed at St. Patrick's to organize and teach the parish's religious education program. The sisters left the parish in 1972. The academy building was torn down that same year. Religious education classes then moved into the former convent. It is now called the Faith Center.
