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St. Mary's Catholic Church, also known as St. Mary of the Visitation Church, is a parish church of the Diocese of Davenport located at 220 E. Jefferson St. in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as St. Mary's Church and Rectory. The parish's first rectory, which is now a private home, is also listed on the National Register as St. Mary's Rectory. It is located a few blocks to the east of the present church location at 610 E. Jefferson St. ==History== The first Mass in what is now Iowa City was celebrated by a frontier missionary, the Rev. Samuel Charles Mazzuchelli, OP, on December 20, 1840. It was attended by 28 people in a building that doubled as a private home and a hotel owned by Fred Haberstroh. The University of Iowa’s School of Business is currently on that location. The previous day Mazzuchelli had arrived from St. Paul’s Church in Burlington and bought two lots for $2,000 on which the church and rectory stand today. St Mary's parish was established by Mazzuchelli in 1841, and he designed a small frame building that would serve as a church. The cornerstone for the Greek Revival structure was laid on July 12, 1841 by Bishop Mathias Loras of Dubuque. The building, named St. Mary of the Assumption, was largely completed by 1842. Several priests, including the Rev. J.A.M. Pelamourgues from St. Anthony’s in Davenport celebrated Mass in the new church. In 1844 the parish had grown to about 70 families and the Rev. Anthony Godfert was assigned the parish’s first pastor.〔 A year later he established St. Joseph Cemetery to the northeast of the city. Godfert left the parish in 1846 and the parish was served by visiting clergy again for the next two years. Father Pelamourgues came again, as did J. G. Perodin, Joseph Cretin and John Alleman.〔 In 1848 the Rev. F.B. Poyet was named pastor and the parish has not been without a pastor since then. In the 1850s the parish’s first choir was organized and a gallery was added to the interior of the church.〔 The original rectory was built during the pastorate of the Rev. Mathias Hannon in 1853. When Hannon arrived in 1852 the foreign-born Catholic population in Iowa City was growing, especially the Germans and the Bohemians. In 1862 St. Francis Xavier Church was established for the pastoral care of Bohemian immigrants. That church burned to the ground in 1869 and the parishioners returned to St. Mary’s. The Rev. William Emonds became pastor in 1858. During his pastorate of 32 years saw the expansion of Catholic education and the building of the present church. He also served more than the Iowa City parish. He is credited with establishing 44 parishes, and built churches in many of them.〔 Initially, Father Emonds extended the original church to the north for more space, but it became obvious a new church was needed. The cornerstone for the present church was laid on October 27, 1867. Hugh Gilles of Dubuque, Iowa and A. Groebel of Chicago were contracted to build the new church. The new building was built over the old church as the parish continued to worship there. When the new building's roof was completed the old structure was torn down.〔〔 It took two years to build the church, although the tall spire would be completed at a later date. By the time it was dedicated the main altar, pews, pulpit and stained glass windows were in place. The new church was dedicated by Bishop John Hennessey of Dubuque on August 15, 1869 as St. Mary of the Visitation Church. It was the first consecrated church in the Diocese of Dubuque.〔 The construction costs of the new church were $75,000.〔 The tower was completed in 1873 and the spire and cross were added in 1874. A 17-bell carillon was added to the tower in 1885. St. Mary’s parish was divided when other parishes were established in Iowa City. St. Patrick’s was founded in 1872 and their church was built a few blocks south of St. Mary’s in 1879. Another parish to serve the Bohemian community was established in 1891 when St. Wenceslaus was founded. St. Thomas More was founded in 1944 as the Newman Center before it became as independent parish. The parish became a part of the Diocese of Davenport when it was established in 1881. The parish’s rectory was moved four blocks to the east in 1891 by the Rev. John F. Kempker and the following year the present rectory was built during the pastorate of Msgr. A.J. Schulte, who would serve the parish for nearly 50 years. The rectory was designed to match the church, and was built for $8,000.〔 Renovations were done to the church building in 1908 under Msgr. Schulte. The work included sixteen buttresses to strengthen the building, a new cross and spire were built, a basement was dug below the church, and the church interior was redecorated. A local builder and parishioner J.J. Hotz did the buttressing. The church was once again redecorated for the parish centennial in 1941 during the pastorate of Msgr. Carl Meinberg. The present pews were added at that time. Liturgical changes were made after the Second Vatican Council during the pastorate of the Rev. John Morrissey. Changes included a new altar so the priest could face the congregation. Masses were now celebrated in English rather than Latin. Another renovation of the church occurred in early 1980s under the leadership of the Rev. Henry Griener. The pipe organ was rebuilt in 1981. A parish hall was built in the basement of the church in 1982, and the church interior was redecorated in 1983. The church renovation included removal of the communion rail, new carpet, reconciliation rooms, altar, ambo and chairs. The tabernacle was moved from the high altar to a side altar. Another redecorating project occurred around 2000 by the Rev. Kenneth Kunz, which included moving the baptismal font near the front door and new carpeting. The parish council was initiated by Father Morrissey in 1969. From 1971-1980, Father Morrissey and the Rev. Carlos Leveling served the parish as co-pastors. In 1986 the concept of sacrificial giving was introduced to the parish and it started the practice of tithing a percentage of the parish income. About the same time the parish offices were moved out of the rectory to a house just east of the church. In 1988 the church tower was reconstructed. Another house was added to the parish offices and the two buildings were renovated for expanded office space by the Rev. Thomas Doyle in 1992. At the same time the parish hired its first youth minister. Today, approximately 1,700 families belong to the parish.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「St. Mary's Church and Rectory (Iowa City, Iowa)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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