Oyens - St. Catherine

OYENS - Prior to 1900, people from and around Oyens traveled to LeMars or Remsen to attend Mass. On Dec. 26, 1899, the German and Luxembourg residents of the area held their first meeting to discuss the building of a new church. Work began in the spring of 1900. The cornerstone was laid on May 30 and the new church was dedicated on Sept. 30 by Father J. S. Bauman of Dubuque. The area was part of the Dubuque diocese at the time. The church was named after St. Catherine of Alexandria in honor of the mother of James Tierney, who had donated the land for the church.

The building itself was completed at a cost of $4,500. The church was built in the simple Gothic style, with dimensions of 41 by 80 feet, a seating capacity of 300 and a 75-foot high steeple.

There were 45 families in the new parish in 1900. Father Henry Rolfes (1900-1943) was appointed as the first pastor. When the Sioux City Diocese was created in 1902, St. Catherine became part of it.

St. Catherine's original church property consisted of 10 acres of land donated by James Tierney and one acre donated by Nick Schroeder for the parish cemetery. St. Catherine's Parish was, and still is unique in that it has two outdoor chapels built on church property. The chapels were originally built by Eugene Schroeder, the son of Nick. A parish procession still takes place around the chapels every year on the feast of Corpus Christi.

In addition to the church and outdoor chapels, a rectory, a sister's convent with a parochial school inside and a barn were built shortly after the parish was established. The value of all church property was about $11,000 at that time.

The east chapel was destroyed in a truck accident in 1995, but was rebuilt by Matt Loutsch and other members of the Loutsch family. It was rededicated on the Feast of Corpus Christi in 1996. A new west chapel was built by Lawrence Kellen, Randy Niehus, Alfred Sherlock and other parishioners in 1998, and was rededicated later that year.

The Sisters of St. Francis from Dubuque operated the first Oyens grade school. By 1910, more space was need for the school. A new building was constructed with a chapel and three classrooms that would hold 100 children. Students who lived seven or more miles from Oyens usually boarded with the sisters. Enrollment for grades 1-8 at Oyens usually remained between 80 and 150 students, with a high of 150 students in 1925. A ninth grade was added for a time, but was discontinued in 1950.

In 1927, a new barn was built for the parishioners' horses. It could accommodate 48 horses and had a large lane through the middle of the building. This barn was used until 1940. In the 1930s, many horses died of sleeping sickness, roads were graveled and the automobile became the common mode of transportation, so a barn was no longer needed by 1940.

Plans were made to remodel the school and convent in 1954. Carpenters remodeled the west side of the convent and a chapel was built in the convent.

In 1962, parishioners met to discuss plans for a new grade school. Collections were soon taken for a new school building. The cornerstone was laid on Aug. 7, 1966. Bishop Joseph Mueller of Sioux City dedicated the new school on Sept. 10, 1967.

By 1970, meetings were held to discuss school consolidation with St. Mary's of Remsen. The grade schools merged in August of that year. After that, first and second graders attended classes in Oyens, while grades 3-8 met in Remsen. In 1996, kindergarten was added, with K-1 grades attending school in Oyens, and 2-8 grades attending school in Remsen.

Today, St. Catherine Church still includes the church structure, which has occasionally undergone repairs to remain in good condition. A special collection was taken to apply new siding to the church structure in 1998, and the steeple was also shingled later that year.

About 40 students currently attend the St. Catherine grade school center in Oyens.

The parish celebrated its centennial in 2000. On July 9, a large parade went through the town of Oyens, with more than 100 entries. On Oct. 1, 2000, Bishop Daniel N. DiNardo presided at the parish centennial Mass, with several former pastors celebrating. A parish social and meal followed.

There are now approximately 100 families in the St. Catherine Parish. Many priests have served their pastorate at Oyens: Father Henry Karhoff (1943-1949), Father Thomas Parle (1949-1953), Father Lawrence Schoeppner (1953-1965), Father Gerald Wingert (1965-1971), Father Leo Riesberg (1971-1975), Father Richard Ries (1975-1979), Father Dale Reiff (1979-1982), Father Thomas Topf (1982-1986), Father Timothy Hogan (1986-1993) and Father Randy Schon (1993-present).