Sibley - St. Andrew

SIBLEY - The first St. Andrew's Church, a wooden structure, was built in 1894. It was the house of worship until the present brick structure was erected in 1949-1950.

At first, St. Andrew's was a mission church built under the guidance of Father Dullard, pastor at Rock Rapids. St. Andrew's Parish was established in 1897 with Father Edward O'Reilly as pastor. He oversaw the building of the old Rectory in 1899 at a cost of $1,800.

Father O'Reilly was succeeded by: Father John Phelan (1906-1908), Father M. J. Heatherton (1908-1913), Father Edward McNally (1913-1917), Father P. J. Flanagan (1917-1918), Father L. J. Cooper (1918-1919), Father Bernard O'Reilly (1919-1921), Father Edward Maynard (1921-1925), Father Michael Carey (1925-1939) and Father Leo Berger (1939-1973).

Father Bernard O'Reilly renovated the church and rectory and also installed furnaces and made other extensive improvements.

On the arrival of Father Berger, the buildings were again renovated and automatic heating systems were installed. The basement of the rectory was outfitted to serve as a parish hall; this became a much-used room during the ensuing 12 years.

Father Berger, whose term as pastor lasted thirty-four years until his retirement in 1973, will be long remembered as the guiding force behind the growth of the present parish. Under his guidance, the new church, St. Andrew's School, the present rectory and the spiritual growth of the parish prospered.

In addition, through Father Berger's efforts, the era of Catholic education flourished. He instituted a release time program with the public schools, having previously obtained volunteer services of teaching sisters from the town of Ashton. Under his pastorship, St. Andrew's School was built and services by nuns from the order of St. Francis, Dubuque. After only eight years, the loss of the sisters coupled with the increased costs forced the closure of the school.

The CCD program was then started at St. Andrew's. Father Berger recruited a group of lay teachers and parishioners to instruct students. The CCD program continues to use the school for instructional purposes.

Father Berger was the last pastor to celebrate Mass in the old structure erected in 1894. He was the first to say Mass in the present structure in 1949, when the basement was used during the completion of the upper church.

In addition to his parish duties, Father Berger assumed responsibilities for the Displaced Persons Program of the Diocese of Sioux City as its director. Following WWII, a resettlement program for displaced Catholics from countries in Europe was sponsored by War Relief Services, National Catholic Welfare Conference. At the request of Pope Pius XII, more than 200 individuals and families were resettled within the diocese under the direction of Father Berger and his workers.

Many other priests have served St. Anthony's over the years: Father R. E. Doherty (1973-1975), Father R. J. Kirschbaum (1975-1980), Father R. W. Phillips (1980-1987), Father G. B. McFadden (1897-1992), Father Richard Birdsall-interim pastor (1992-1993), Msgr. N. J. Ruba (1992-1996), Father Tim Hogan (1996-2000) and Father Clair Boes (2000-present).

In August of 1991, a major addition to St. Andrew's Church was started. A 1,200-square-foot addition to the main entrance and south basement was completed by December of 1991. It provided an entrance fellowship area with handicapped accessible restroom and an elevator. The basement storage area was enlarged as well as a handicap ramp constructed.

Currently, St. Andrew's has 263 recorded families with 713 members and 167 students.