Emmetsburg - Holy Family

EMMETSBURG - Holy Family Parish of Emmetsburg is a strong faith community characterized by its very active membership and celebration of its heritage. What started out as 30 Irish immigrant families worshipping together in their homes with a visiting priest from Fort Dodge, today is Holy Family Parish with 560 household memberships. Five buildings are on campus, Assumption Church, Emmetsburg Catholic School, Holy Family Parish Center, Corrigan Hall and the rectory.

Emmetsburg Catholic School serves 113 students, grades K-8. Corrigan Hall has a cafeteria and gymnasium/auditorium for school and community events. The Parish Center houses the parish ministries offices, parish fellowship hall, kitchen and youth ministry/religious education center. The rectory houses the parish priest and the parish library and parish Prayer and Adoration Chapel.

Holy Family came together as a parish in 1990, bringing the best of Assumption and St. Thomas parishes together under one name and one voice. So, the history of Holy Family is actually a collective history of two significant northwest Iowa parishes. The origins of Catholic faith in Emmetsburg can be traced back to 1856, when Irish immigrants entered the area. Preparations were soon underway to establish a Catholic church in Emmetsburg. Land was purchased in 1859 and construction was begun when a firebreak got out of control. The construction site was leveled. Twelve years passed before Emmetsburg could claim its first (completed) Catholic church. Assumption Catholic church was erected in 1871 near the Des Moines River.

Father J. J. Smith (1871-1912) was the first pastor for the Emmetsburg Parish, "the mother parish of northwest Iowa," which extended from Garner in the east to Hull in the west and north to Minnesota. Father Patrick Farrelly (1912-1924), Father Joseph Murtagh (1924-1931), Father Joseph Finnegan (1931-1936), Father E. A. Dunn (1936-1938), Father William Mason (1938-1970) and Father Elmer Thom (1970-1979) served Assumption Church over the years.

The "new" Assumption Church was erected in 1884. St. Mary's Academy was founded in 1889 with the Sisters of Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Dubuque serving as staff.

St. Thomas Church was erected in 1906 after pioneer merchants Thomas and Ellen Tobin left their estate for the establishment of a church and school. Father Michael McNerney (1906-1944) was assigned to take over the new parish that would serve those in the northern portion of Emmetsburg.

St. Ellen's School for grades 1-8 was built in 1914. St. Ellen's convent was erected in 1924. The school was closed in 1967 when it merged with St. Mary's to become Emmetsburg Catholic Grade School. The St. Ellen's building was razed in 1987.

Msgr. Clarence Farrelly (1944-1979) succeeded Father McNerney at St. Thomas.

In 1950, St. Mary's Grade School was built, replacing the old St. Mary's Academy and convent. In 1952, Emmetsburg Catholic High School was constructed, operating as a separate entity from the two local parishes. The gymnasium and cafeteria were built in 1957 and named Corrigan Hall, in honor of Miss Florence Corrigan, who bequeathed more than $50,000 for the facility to be built.

Emmetsburg Catholic High School was closed in 1968. The former high school began to serve grades 1-8. Kindergarten was added in the fall of 2000. The former St. Mary's Grade School building now serves as Holy Family Parish Center.

In 1979, Father Donald Ries and Father Charles Bormann were appointed co-pastors of Assumption and St. Thomas Churches. Members of both churches shared programs and activities and became known as the Catholic Family of Emmetsburg.

In 1989, the parish councils, parish lay directors and Father Leroy Seuntjens completed the process of officially merging the two separate legal and canonical entities into one-Holy Family Parish. This took effect on the Feast of the Holy Family of Nazareth, Dec. 31, 1989.

In 1996, St. Thomas Church celebrated its 90th year and was moved to oratory status, to be used only for weddings and funerals. The building was razed in February of 2000.

A restoration and renovation project was completed in the summer of 2001. This project preserved the Assumption Church by tuckpointing and restoring the structure. The parish center was renovated in order to house the parish offices, which had previously been located in the rectory. Other necessary work was completed, such as the installation of energy efficient windows.