In the rolling farmland of Dubuque County, St. Patrick Parish has been a presence in Epworth since 1879. The parish began with three Catholic families - the O'Connors, the McCarthys, and the Jennings - a total of nineteen people who gathered in homes for monthly Mass before building their own church. More than 145 years later, St. Patrick is part of the St. Elizabeth Pastorate, a five-parish Catholic community stretching across Epworth, Bankston, Farley, Peosta, and Placid in the Archdiocese of Dubuque.
Father Commerford's First Church
The story begins with Father Commerford, an Irish priest ordained on June 20, 1878. Shortly after arriving in Iowa to lead St. John's Church in Placid, he began ministering to the scattered Catholic families around Epworth. Three families formed that original group: the Timothy O'Connors, the Florence McCarthys, and the William Jennings - nineteen persons in all. Once a month he offered Mass in the O'Connor home; when that became too small, the congregation moved to a larger room in the Finnessey house, even though the Finnessey family was not Catholic.
Within months, the small flock began building a church. The cornerstone was laid on November 9, 1879, in a ceremony performed by Father Burke and assisted by Fathers Commerford, Brady, Farley, Heer, and Kelley. The Daily Herald of Dubuque reported on the event three days later, noting the courage and determination of the young priest and the limited number of Catholics in the area. Father Commerford himself blessed the completed building one Sunday morning, with only about ten people present.
For its first quarter-century, St. Patrick shared a pastor with St. John the Evangelist in Placid. Father J. Brogan served both parishes from 1900 to 1905, and Father Patrick McNamara from 1905 to 1930. The first resident pastor for St. Patrick, Father Mathias J. Meyerhofer, was appointed in 1935 after serving both parishes for five years.
Five Parishes, One Mission
St. Patrick today shares clergy and programs with four neighboring parishes under the umbrella of the St. Elizabeth Pastorate. The other parishes each carry a long history of their own.
St. Clement, Bankston was organized in 1860 by the Reverend Dr. John Alyward, who had arrived in the area in 1859 and said his first Mass at Maurice Kirby's house, just west of the church grounds. Bishop Matthias Loras had traveled through the area on horseback in the early 1850s, visiting settlers who had come mostly from Ireland, with some from Germany and Luxemburg. Many had walked or ridden to Mass at a French settlement 10 miles northeast (now the Rickardsville Parish). Father McGauran named St. Clement's Parish after Bishop Clement Smyth to settle the many different names the town had carried from 1851 to 1869. The first church was built on land donated by Maurice Kirby, who also gave land for the cemetery.
St. Joseph, Farley is the largest of the five parishes, with about 600 families. Its roots reach back to the 1850s, when Mass was held in the homes of early Catholics such as Laurance McGuigan. By 1861 a frame church was needed, and it served Catholics from as far away as Hogansville (now Epworth), Centralia, Pleasant Grove, and Worthington. In 1865, a rock church was built for $10,000 - at the time the largest and grandest in Iowa outside the Dubuque Cathedral. In 1912, the parish undertook the first such project in the state of Iowa: tearing down the rock church, building a new brick church, a parochial residence, and a school, all in just eight months and paid off in 18 months. In 1956, a modern handicap-accessible school was added, which served as the St. Joseph High School until it closed; today it is the middle school for Seton Catholic. Annual traditions include Julyfest, a Lenten Fish Fry, and a Thanksgiving Breakfast.
St. John the Baptist, Peosta has a unique history. The parish was first established in 1875 at Centralia, 10 miles west of Dubuque, on land donated by Peter E. Erschens. Father George W. Heer was its first pastor. The parish opened a school in 1878 and added a convent, with the Franciscan Sisters teaching until 1913. The Rev. P.A.R. Tierney was appointed pastor in October 1898 and later took on the mission church at Lattnerville; he resigned in 1914 due to ill health, having paid off the entire parish debt. When the railroad came through Peosta, Archbishop James J. Keane decided to move the parish from Centralia to Peosta in 1923, but the cemetery remains in Centralia to this day. Some Centralia parishioners, unhappy with the move, began attending Mass in Dubuque instead; most are now buried in the Centralia cemetery.
St. John the Evangelist, Placid was founded in 1874. The community first celebrated Mass in the home of Edwin Horsfield, a non-Catholic. A Protestant neighbor, Mr. Hooper, donated a two-acre plot to the archdiocese, and Father John Hawe built the first church. After its completion, Horsfield became Catholic and donated the stations and a beautiful window above the main altar. Christmas services were held in the new church in 1874 for a parish of fifty families. Two local traditions explain the name Placid: one says the area was simply peaceful and serene, while the more popular story holds that the settlement was named for Fr. Placid, a monk of the New Melleray Monastery.
The pastorate's central office is at 104 1st Street SE in Epworth, and the mailing address for all five parishes is P.O. Box 286, Epworth, IA 52045. Office hours are Monday through Thursday from 8:00 AM to 4:00 PM, and Friday from 8:00 AM to noon.
Mass and the Sacraments
Weekend Masses are celebrated at three of the pastorate's churches:
- Saturday 4:00 PM at Holy Cross, Holy Cross
- Saturday 4:30 PM at St. Joseph, Farley
- Sunday 7:30 AM, 9:30 AM, and 5:30 PM at St. John the Baptist, Peosta
- Sunday 8:30 AM at Holy Cross, Holy Cross
- Sunday 10:30 AM at St. Joseph, Farley
Confessions are heard on Saturday from 3:15 to 3:45 PM at Holy Cross and from 3:45 to 4:15 PM at St. Joseph in Farley, and on Sunday from 4:45 to 5:15 PM at St. John the Baptist in Peosta, or upon request.
Eucharistic Adoration is offered throughout the week:
- Monday 8:30 AM to 8:00 PM at St. John the Baptist, Peosta, with Family Adoration from 6:00 to 7:00 PM
- Monday 3:00 to 7:00 PM at St. Joseph, Rickardsville
- Tuesday 7:00 AM to 12:00 PM at St. John the Baptist, Peosta (summers only)
- Wednesday 6:00 to 7:00 PM at St. Clement, Bankston (Family Adoration, with Rosary at 6:30 PM)
- Wednesday 8:30 to 10:00 PM at St. John the Evangelist, Placid
- Thursday 8:30 to 10:00 AM at St. Patrick, Epworth
- Thursday 8:30 AM to 1:00 PM at St. Clement, Bankston
- Friday 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM at St. Joseph, Farley
Reconciliation, First Eucharist, Confirmation, Baptism, Anointing of the Sick, and Marriage are all prepared through the pastorate. Couples planning to marry at one of the churches can follow a Marriage Preparation Checklist, guidelines for planning the ceremony, and a music and ministry guide.
Faith Formation from Childhood Through Adulthood
Faith formation is offered for all ages. For children, the pastorate provides a Summer program - 9 days of classroom instruction, 8:00 AM to 12:00 noon, with sessions beginning the first full week after school ends and the first full week after the Fourth of July - and a Homeschool option with materials for families to work through at their own pace. Both require attendance at Intergenerational Faith classes during the school year. Classes are offered on multiple Wednesdays and Sundays each month from October through March, with the same lesson taught at each offering; they meet at Shannon Hall, St. John the Baptist, Peosta.
For those who prefer gathering as a family, the In-Person Family Formation meets once a month - Wednesday evenings from 6:00 to 8:00 PM in Sherrill, or Sunday mornings from 8:30 to 10:30 AM at Holy Cross - with a meal (or donuts on Sunday morning) included. Refresher classes for Reconciliation are held in October and November, and for First Eucharist in February and March. Confirmation preparation includes a fall retreat and three winter Confirmation prep classes. A Middle School Youth Group gathers regularly.
Adults interested in the Catholic faith, or in deepening their understanding, can call the pastorate office at 563-876-5540 to schedule an initial meeting.
Buildings, Halls, and a School
Each of the five parishes maintains its own church, hall, and cemetery. Halls and pavilions are available for rent through Lynne McDermott at the pastorate office, with insurance paperwork handled in the same call. Pricing varies by parish and event size. St. Patrick's Church Hall in Epworth rents for $50 with a $75 deposit. St. John the Evangelist in Placid charges from $60 (for 1 to 49 people) to $260 (for 200 to 250 people), with a $150 deposit. St. Joseph's Hall in Farley rents for $50 with a $75 deposit. St. Clement in Bankston offers both a Hall ($150, capacity 200) and a Pavilion ($50 for 1-100 people, $100 for more, capacity 100), with a $75 deposit for both. St. John the Baptist in Peosta offers three tiers: small gatherings under 50 ($75 rental, $200 deposit), family gatherings or weddings under 75 ($100, $200), and over 75 ($175, $200).
Seton Catholic School, the pastorate's parochial school, is housed in the former St. Joseph High School building, which was expanded in 1956 to be handicap-accessible. After the high school closed, the Western Dubuque County Community School District rented the building for ninth-grade classes for several years; today it serves as a middle school for Seton Catholic. The school serves the families of all five parishes.
Cemeteries and Parish Life
Each parish oversees its own cemetery with a board and a set of regulations. Plot prices and rules vary. At St. Patrick's Cemetery in Epworth, a single plot costs $450 for parishioners and $800 for non-parishioners, with an additional burial (cremation) on an existing plot at $200. The cemetery board is Wayne Demmer and Dave Bries. St. John the Baptist Cemetery in Peosta charges $450 for parishioners and $650 for non-parishioners, with the board led by Tom McAndrew and Ray Stephan.
Across the pastorate, decoration rules are uniform: flowers or decorations may be placed on graves around Easter, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, All Souls Day, and Christmas Day, and may stay for one week before and after each holiday; year-round, decorations may be set directly on the headstone or cement foundation at the owner's risk. Shepherd hooks, if permanent, must be set in the cement foundation - only one per headstone, and not more than four feet high. The cemetery board reserves the right to remove items that are dead, faded, broken, or create a safety hazard.
Across the pastorate, social life centers on family events. St. Joseph in Farley hosts a Lenten Fish Fry, a Thanksgiving Breakfast, and the summer Julyfest with auction, games, and food. St. John the Evangelist in Placid holds an annual auction, with lunch beginning at 10:30 AM and the auction at 11:00 AM. The Altar and Rosary societies in each parish support the spiritual and material life of the church. St. Patrick holds a $100 Supper fundraiser.
Outreach and Social Justice
The St. Elizabeth Pastorate Social Justice Committee coordinates the parishes' outreach. Its mission is to empower the parish community to proclaim the Good News through the practical works of charity, justice and peace by responding to the needs of God's people in the parish and on a local, national and global level. Activities include identifying issues, listening to parishioners' needs, assessing local, county, and world community needs, and determining priorities for action. Education comes through pulpit announcements, bulletin notes, handouts, personal invitations, letters, phone calls, and displays in the gathering space.
Prayer Requests
Anyone can submit a prayer intention online, or call one of three parish contacts: Donna Gibbs (563-744-2006), Mary Rauen (563-581-1828), or Kim Koetz (563-451-4024).
Clergy and Staff
The pastorate is served by Fr. Steve Garner and Fr. Phil Gibbs as Pastors, with Fr. M.J. Groark and Fr. Eric Saah serving as Parochial Vicars. Three deacons - Nick Elliott, Jim Koetz, and Dan O'Connell - assist, along with Mike Sullivan as Minister of Care. Krystal Smith serves as Director of Liturgy, Jim Hammerand leads Faith Formation with Mindi McDermott as assistant, Geri Kalb handles marketing and communications, and Lynne McDermott serves as administrative assistant. Chad Lukes is the Business Manager, and Kari Feldmann is the Bookkeeper and Wedding Music Coordinator.
Joining the Parish
New members can register through a Join the Parish form. For infant and child baptisms (under 8 years old), families contact Lynne McDermott at 563-876-5540 (extension 12) or email stelizabethdbq@gmail.com. First-time parents are asked to attend a Baptism class. Online giving is available for each of the five parishes.