Saint Joseph's Prairie Church was a former Catholic parish of the Archdiocese of Dubuque. The parish was located in Washington Township, Dubuque County, Iowa - which is about ten miles south of Dubuque, Iowa.
In 1843, Father T.J. Donaghoe and five Sisters of Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary (B.V.M.) were invited to move to the Dubuque area by Bishop Mathias Loras. They moved from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to a wooded area in nearby Table Mound Township. A chapel and a convent were built on the land. The Sisters remained in the area until their original convent was destroyed by fire. At that point the Sisters moved north to Dubuque.
After the death of Fr. Donaghoe in 1869, Bishop Hennessy of Dubuque sent Father Monaghan to establish the St. Joseph's Prairie parish. Matthew Powers, who was an area farmer, donated land for the church and cemetery. The church was built by 1875 for $4,000. A bell was added to the church, it had the distinction of being the largest bell in the Archdiocese of Dubuque. The bell weighed 5,247 pounds. For many years the bell stood in a tower at the north side of the church building. Eventually the bell was placed on a concrete platform on the church grounds. In 1894 the rectory was built for $1,500.
One of the more famous pastors of St. Joseph's was Raymond Ettledorf, who as an Archbishop served Apostolic Delegate to New Zealand, as a pro-Nuncio to Ethiopia, and as an Official of State at the Vatican.
In 1952, nearby Holy Family parish had been put under the supervision of the Archdiocese after having been the responsibility of the New Melleray Abbey for many years. St. Joseph's Prairie and Holy Family were affiliated, and shared pastors from then until the closing of the parish.
In 1989, it was decided to place the parish on oratory status. The rectory was sold at this point. Most of the families were transferred over to Holy Family parish. The parish still owned the church building and grounds. For the next five years regular Sunday masses were not celebrated at the church, but the church building could still be used on special occasions - such as weddings and funerals. In 1994, it was finally decided to permanently close the parish. One last mass was held at the old church building.
A decree was issued relegating the church to Profane Use - or that it was no longer a church building. The building was sold to the family that had purchased the rectory. The building has since been converted into a storage shed. The bell has since been moved from its location just north of the church south to the church cemetery.
Famous quotes containing the words saint, prairie and/or church:
“This is the fundamental idea of culture, insofar as it sets but one task for each of us: to further the production of the philosopher, of the artist, and of the saint within us and outside us, and thereby to work at the consummation of nature.”
—Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900)
“The junior senator from Wisconsin, by his reckless charges, has so preyed upon the fears and hatreds and prejudices of the American people that he has started a prairie fire which neither he nor anyone else may be able to control.”
—J. William Fulbright (b. 1905)
“It is time that the Protestant Church, the Church of the Son, should be one again with the Roman Catholic Church, the Church of the Father. It is time that man shall cease, first to live in the flesh, with joy, and then, unsatisfied, to renounce and to mortify the flesh.”
—D.H. (David Herbert)