Sacred Heart Catholic Church (Fort Dodge, Iowa)

Sacred Heart Catholic Church was a parish church in the Diocese of Sioux City. The church building is located in Fort Dodge, Iowa, United States. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2022.[1]

Sacred Heart Catholic Church
Sacred Heart Catholic Church (Fort Dodge, Iowa) is located in Iowa
Sacred Heart Catholic Church (Fort Dodge, Iowa)
Sacred Heart Catholic Church (Fort Dodge, Iowa) is located in the United States
Sacred Heart Catholic Church (Fort Dodge, Iowa)
Location211 South 13th St.
Fort Dodge, Iowa
Coordinates42°30′13.9″N 94°10′49.5″W / 42.503861°N 94.180417°W / 42.503861; -94.180417
Arealess than one acre
Built1921
ArchitectWilliam L. Steele
Architectural styleRomanesque Revival
NRHP reference No.100008305[1]
Added to NRHPOctober 26, 2022

History edit

Sacred Heart parish was established in 1897 from Corpus Christi, also in Fort Dodge. Archbishop John Hennessy of Dubuque assigned the Rev. Edmond Heelan as the parish's first pastor.[2] A frame church building was completed by October 1897 on the site of the present church.

As the parish grew it was determined that a larger church building was needed. Sioux City architect William L. Steele designed the new building in the Romanesque Revival style with Prairie School influences.[2] Construction began in 1915 and the basement was completed the following year. It was used by the parish as its church until the upper church was completed in 1921.[2][3] In the meantime, Heelan had become auxiliary bishop of Sioux City. He returned to Fort Dodge to dedicate the new church in 1922.

The city's third Catholic parish, Holy Rosary, was created from Sacred Heart in 1946. In 2000, the parishes in Webster County formed the Catholic Team Parishes. Six years later, Bishop R. Walker Nickless merged all of the county's parishes and created Holy Trinity Parish. The last Mass was held in Sacred Heart in 2019 when the new Holy Trinity Church was opened.[3] The pew ends, altar, Rose window, and the top-tier stained glass windows from Sacred Heart were installed in the new Holy Trinity.[4]

References edit

  1. ^ a b "National Register of Historic Places Program: Weekly List". National Park Service. October 28, 2022. Retrieved 2022-12-01.
  2. ^ a b c "Sacred Heart Catholic Church - Fort Dodge". Fort Dodge: Holy Trinity Parish. Retrieved 2022-12-01.
  3. ^ a b Shea, Bill (March 3, 2022). "Sacred Heart effort advancing". The Messenger. Fort Dodge. Retrieved 2022-12-01.
  4. ^ Wingert, Kelby (September 29, 2019). "Sacred Heart leaves behind a lasting legacy". The Messenger. Fort Dodge. Retrieved 2022-12-01.