Algona - St. Benedict

ALGONA - The history of St. Benedict Catholic Church of rural Algona began in the fall of 1877 when Father Eberhard Gahr, a pioneer of the Benedictine Order in the United States, arrived in what is now Prairie Township, Kossuth County to establish the church and serve as its first pastor. He was born at Pfatter, Bavaria in 1832, came to the United States in 1854, and was ordained in New Jersey in 1857.

Father Gahr lived in a hut when he arrived and offered Mass there. Previously, a priest from Emmetsburg came about once a month to celebrate Mass and administer the sacraments. In summer, 1878, a small rectory was built for $675 in which Father Gahr lived and offered Mass. By then, 50 or 60 families, drawn from a large area, formed the congregation.

The first church was a humble wood frame structure, 20-by-36-feet, that had no foundation and only benches for pews. The first Mass in the church was celebrated Aug. 15, 1879. Land for a cemetery was purchased in 1883; an addition was acquired in 1942.

In 1889, Father Gahr was succeeded by Father Henry Eckert who served St. Benedict's until 1892.

Father Anton Erdman, St. Benedict's third pastor, served 21 years between 1889 and 1913, and under his direction the present church, a rectory and two schools were built.

In 1894, a Gothic-style, 125-foot by 45-foot wood church with a steeple 130 foot tall was built. The cost was $11,523.63. Stained glass windows from Regensburg, Austria had been installed costing $1,600. A pipe organ was placed in the church in 1896, and the present pneumatic-electronic pipe organ was installed in 1930. Three altars still in use were installed in 1901.

In 1898, a large rectory was built for $5,000. As there has been no resident pastor since 1999, the rectory was sold to a parish family.

The first school was staffed by two lay women until nuns from St. Francis Assisi Convent, Milwaukee, arrived in 1891. In September 1894, Sisters of St. Francis of the Holy Family of Dubuque took charge. In 1895, there were 113 pupils. A larger school was built in 1899 for about $6,000. Eight grades were taught in the school with ninth grade added for about 20 years. In 1970, the St. Benedict and St. Joseph Wesley schools merged with classes at both centers. By 1974, there were only lay teachers and in 1979, the school closed.

Catholic education is offered through Algona's Bishop Garrigan Catholic Schools.

The school building was torn down in 1984 and a new parish center was built on the site during the pastorate of Father James Smith.

Parish organizations have existed from the early days. The St. Benedict Court of Catholic Daughters of the Americas was established in 1952 and is still active today. The St. Benedict Guild replaced the Rosary Society and conducts parish maintenance, fund raising, and social functions long with the parish council.

Vocations to the priesthood form St. Benedict's include Fathers Magnus Schemel, Aloysius Arndorfer, and John McCarty. William Hudspeth joined the Brothers of the Good Shepherd of Dayton, Ohio.

Thirteen nuns from parish families include Sisters Mary Baptist Ray, Mary Euphemia Ray, Mary Gabrielle Arndorfer, Mary Elizabeth Arndorfer, Mary Radegundis Ludwig, Mary DeSales (Anna) Arndorfer, Mary Pancratia Mayer, Mary Bertille Goeddertz, Mary Charlotte Markl, Mary Anita Markl, Mary Pauline Schemel, Marcelline Arndorfer, DeSales (Lenore) Arndorfer, Mary Joan Lickteig and Jeanette McCarthy.

Other priests who have served at the parish include Fathers Paul Warzawa, John Baumler, Joseph Wolf, Bernard Loeffelholz, Herman Kramer, John Neppl, Cletus Ahmann, Charles Ernst, Francis Conway, Nicholas Ruba, Leo Riesberg, Thomas Geelan, Donald Ries, James McAlpin, Dale Reiff, Dennis Sefcik, James Smith, Gerald Feirfeil, Douglas Dandurand, Tim Boekelman, Paul Bormann, Randy Schon, Tim Hogan, and Lynn Bruch.

Since July 2000, Father Dan Greving serves St. Benedict's Church as pastor as well as St. Joseph's Parish, Wesley, where he resides and Scared Heart, Livermore.