Sheldon - St. Patrick

SHELDON - Parish records of St. Patrick's Church state that Msgr. B.C. Lenihan, who was pastor of St. Mary's (now Cathedral of the Epiphany) in Sioux City, ministered to the few Catholic families in six or seven counties in northern Iowa. He was the first priest to serve the Catholics in the Sheldon area.

Msgr. Lenihan, known as Father Bart, offered Mass for the first time there 129 years ago. About 20 people attended the liturgy that was celebrated in the home of Mike Burns. He attended to their needs from 1873 to 1876.

In 1877 and 1878, Father J.J. Smith assisted Msgr. Lenihan in visits to Sheldon area.

The parish was officially established in 1879 and Bishop John Hennessy appointed Father Patrick Lynch the first resident pastor. Upon the priest's arrival, church services were held in city hall.

After a short time, the Sioux City and St. Paul Railroad Company deeded a quarter block of land for church use. In the spring of 1880, the first Catholic Church in Sheldon was built.

The first church was located on the corner of 9th Street and 6th Avenue. In dimension, the church was 37-feet wide by 60 feet in length. The church and furnishings cost about $3,500. On April 11, 1881, Father John A. O'Reilly of Rock Valley succeeded Father Lynch. He remained there until 1884.

The parish's next pastor, Father Timothy Sullivan from Cork County in Ireland served there from 1884 to 1889. During his tenure, he established the parish cemetery.

Other early pastors were Father James McCormack, Father P.F. Farrelly, Father T. Tracey and Father J.B. Barron.

During early years, the parish had a long horse barn that stood in the rear of the large wooden church. It was in this building that farmers unhitched their horses from the family buggy and tied the horses in the stalls where they remained during church services.

In 1910, Father McCormack was appointed pastor for the second time. He commenced the erection of a new church in 1911. At a cost of $40,000 the church was completed in 1912 by Geiger Construction Company of Sheldon. The stained glass windows were imported from Italy. It stands on the corner of 4th Avenue and 10th Street. The old church was torn down and lumbar was sold to build new homes.

Father McCormack remained there as pastor until his death in 1938. Father George Cooke succeeded him. He led a church renovation project in 1939. He also supervised the construction of a new rector in 1940. He resigned as pastor in 1953 for health reasons.

The next administrator of the parish was Father J.J. Hyland, who supervised the construction of the parish's first school. The school was completed in 1955 and was staffed by Presentation Sister of Dubuque. Sisters from that community continue to serve there today.

The church was redecorated and new pews were installed in 1968. A new roof was added in 1971.

The parish celebrated its centennial in 1973.

Seven women from the parish have become women religious and four men priests including Fathers C.P. Sweeny, Verne Stapenhorst, Kevin Richter and Harry McAlpine.