St. Mary Church

HISTORY OF ST. MARY CHURCH, WILLEY, IOWA

The congregation at Willey dates back to December 1881, when Michael Wurzer, Joseph Petersmeier, George Balk, Casper Werner and Herman Venteicher formed a building committee. Casper Werner and Michael Wurzer donated five acres of land each. A frame church, measuring thirty-two by fifty feet, was built in 1882, under the direction of Fr. Theodore Wegmann. Fr. Wegmann was pastor of the Roselle parish, but attended to the spiritual needs of this congregation until December 1886.

In the summer of 1886, a parish rectory was built. The Pleasant Valley Catholic parish, through Bishop Hennessy of the Dubuque Archdiocese, was given a Christmas gift in 1886 in the person of Fr. J.P. Hoffmann, who became the first pastor. He stayed at Willey less than a year.

In September 1887, Fr. John H. Geling became the second pastor, and he served until April 1901. The first marriage in the church was a double wedding: Henry Wurzer married Gertrude Kerper, and John Kerper married Mary Wurzer on October 16, 1883. The first recorded baptism was Anna Maria Hackfort on February 19, 1887. The first funeral was J. Balk in 1901.

Willey’s first parochial school was built in the autumn of 1887. The Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration of LaCrosse, Wisconsin, undertook the staffing of the school. Among the earliest teaching sisters were Sr. Otilia Herbers, Sr. Mechtilda Schuller, Sr. Levinda and Sr. Henrica Rose. The sister’s living quarters were in the school and during the severe winter weather, pupils boarded there. Because of the interest in Catholic education, an addition to the first school became necessary in 1894 and again in 1897.

In 1896, Fr. Geling sold the five acres of land donated by Michael Wurzer and bought another five acres adjacent to the property used for the parochial buildings and cemetery. Fr. Geling built the first chapel in the cemetery. Due to the growth of the parish an addition to the church was built in 1896 and later, two more additions were required.
The first Confirmation in the parish was administered to 187 children by Archbishop Hennessy of the Dubuque Archdiocese.

At Easter time in 1901, Fr. Matthew Muemmele was appointed pastor. Fr. John Heinzlmeier was appointed pastor in August 1903 by Bishop P.J. Garrigan, the first Bishop of the Sioux City diocese. In 1904, Fr. Heinzlmeier built an addition to the rectory. Fr. E.J. Jungblut assisted in ministering to the parishioners for a brief time in 1904. Fr. Edward Neppel and Fr. A.G. Schaefer were assistants to the pastor from 1904 to 1908.
A new brick school was built in 1907 for the sum of $10,242.00. On January 12, 1910 the contract for a beautiful new brick church, dedicated to the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, was given to Anthony Zwack of Dubuque, IA for $26,440.00.

The cornerstone was placed by Msgr. F.X. Feuerstein of LeMars, IA on July 4, 1910. The church measures fifty by one hundred twenty-one feet and is built of St. Louis pressed brick. From the foundation to the top of the gilded cross that surmounts the spire is a distance of one hundred twenty-six feet. The spire is covered with copper which alone weighed 2600 pounds. It was estimated that there were 3150 wagon loads of material hauled from the railroad at Dedham to build this edifice. The total of the finishing, decorating and statuary amount to $12,000.00. The altars and stained-glass windows were imported from Munich, Germany. Everything except the pews were donated by members of the parish.

On November 24, 1910, the first Mass was celebrated in the basement of the new church. The first Mass was celebrated in the new church on January 1, 1911. On February 26, 1911 the stations of the cross were erected and blessed by Fr. P. Othmar Schneeberger, O.S.B. In May 1912, Fr. John Heinzlmeier had to leave the parish because of failing health. He was buried in Willey on December 3, 1952.

Fr. A.E. Zimmermann served the parish as administrator from December 1911 to January 1914. Being a natural artist, he painted the stage curtain and props in the church basement. Fr. Joseph Cordes served as administrator from March 1914 to
August 1914. A new pastor, Fr. John Baeumler was appointed in October 1914.

A new pipe organ was built and installed by the B. Schaefer  and Son Co. of Schleisingerville, Wisconsin in October 1915 for the sum of $1800. Fr. Baeumler served until July 1916. Msgr. M.A. Schemel was appointed pastor in 1916 by Bishop Garrigan and served until 1929. During this time the rectory was raised two feet and a porch was added. A brick entrance was added to the school and an iron fence was erected on the west and north sides of the parish property.

At this time, German was the predominant language and church services, prayers and hymns were all offered in German. However, about 1920, the English language began to gradually phase out the German.

On March 20, 1929, Fr. H.J. Dries, the first priest ordained in the diocese of Sioux City, was appointed pastor by Bishop Edmond Heelan. During his administration a great emphasis was placed on learning and practicing our faith; tuition was abolished and the school was to be supported by the whole parish. New sidewalks were laid, the church interior was decorated twice, and the three new boilers and three new stokers were installed in the parochial buildings. About $1000. was spent in decorating the parish property with ornamental trees and shrubs. The cemetery was leveled and beautified. New electric lighting and inside restrooms were installed in the school. Two new chapels were built in the cemetery and a new organ was purchased. The south entrance to the church was built, the church basement was remodeled and a new kitchen was added.

A new era for Catholic secondary education in Carroll County began in 1954 with ten parishes joining to establish Kuemper Catholic High School in which St. Mary’s parish actively participates.

In 1958, Msgr. Richard E. Zenk assisted Fr. Dries for a short time and Fr. John Nockels served as assistant from June 1962 to 1966. Fr. Dries passed away on November 14, 1965 and was buried in the St. Mary cemetery.

On June 7, 1966, Fr. Francis Nemmers was appointed pastor of St. Mary’s. In the fall of 1968, St. Mary’s school was consolidated with St. Joseph’s school in Dedham, with an educational center in each parish. Fr. Nemmers had the rectory remodeled, the church interior was redecorated and a new tile floor was laid in the church basement. Many trees and the iron fence was removed with new landscaping on the grounds.

Fr. Kenneth Seifried (1968-1970), Fr. John McQuirk (1970-1975), Fr. Thomas Topf (1975-1977) and Fr. Timothy Schott (1977-1978) resided in St. Mary parish while teaching full time at Kuemper.

Fr. James E. Fangman was appointed pastor on October 24, 1972. In 1976 the church was sand-blasted and tuck-pointed, copper flashing on the roof was repaired, the cross regilded and the church windows and doors were refinished. A parish shelterhouse was built in July 1980.

Fr. Peter Fransco (1982-1984), Fr. Edmund Tiedeman (1984-1987), Fr. Timothy Friedrichsen (1987-1988), Fr. Paul Bormann (1988-1990), Fr. Terry Roder (1990-1991), Fr. Mark Harrington (1991-1994) and Fr. Craig Collison (1994-2003) resided in St. Mary parish while teaching at Kuemper.

In 2003, St. Mary’s parish became a mission parish of Holy Spirit Parish in Carroll, with Fr. James McCormick serving as the Pastor.   Fr. Sunny Dominic and Fr. Siby Punnoose were the parochial vicars.  Following Fr. Dominic and Fr. Siby, Fr. John Gerald became the parochial vicar.  In 2006, there was a painting and restoration project on the interior of the church.

In 2008, Fr. Tim Johnson became the new Pastor of Holy Spirit Parish and St. Mary’s Parish.  He was assisted for several years by Fr. Tim Boeckelman as the parochial vicar.   In 2008, repair work and shingling of the steeple was completed.  In 2009, the church was rewired, and a new HVAC system was installed.  In 2012 new concrete was laid in the church parking lot.  In 2013, the parish hall was remodeled.  In 2014, a new concession stand was built at the softball field.

In 2017, the Diocese of Sioux City placed all the parishes of Carroll County, including St. Mary’s Parish, under a team of priests who would serve the county:   Fr. Kevin Richter was named the Pastor, and the parochial vicars were Fr. Brian Feller, Fr. John Gerald, Fr. Shinoj Jose, and Fr. Mark Stoll.   Fr. Timothy Schott also assisted this team as a retired priest.  

In 2018, The Diocese decided to split the county into two groupings.  A “western” group of parishes (Arcadia, Breda, Halbur, Mount Carmel, Templeton, and Glidden) was served by Fr. Mark Stoll as the Pastor, along with Fr. Tim Schott as an assistant.   In the “eastern” group of parishes, Holy Spirit Church and St. Lawrence Church were merged to form St. John Paul II Parish.   This newly formed parish, along with Coon Rapids, Dedham, and Willey, was served by Fr. Kevin Richter as the Pastor, and Fr. Brian Feller and Fr. Shinoj Jose as parochial vicars. 

In 2018, a new roof was installed on St. Mary’s church, and the rectory was razed. 

Also at that time, due to the shortage of active priests available to serve in the diocese, and declining population throughout the rural communities of the Diocese of Sioux City, Holy Angels parish in Roselle officially went to church building status (meaning that there would not be regular daily or weekend masses, but the church building would be maintained for special occasions such as weddings and funerals), and Holy Family parish in Lidderdale closed (with the church building and parish hall being sold).  

In 2019, Fr. Tim Friedrichsen became the Pastor of the “western” parishes, with Fr. Tim Pick serving as the parochial vicar.   Fr. Kevin Richter remained the Pastor of the “eastern” parishes, with Fr. Patrick Behm and Fr. Shinoj Jose serving as the parochial vicars.

In 2019, St. Mary’s pipe organ was dismantled in order to be thoroughly cleaned/repaired, and then it was reassembled.

In 2021, further changes were made, going from five active priests serving the county to three.  In the “western grouping of parishes, St. John’s Church in Aracadia, St. Bernard’s Church in Breda, and Sacred Heart Church in Templeton were merged to become Good Shepherd Parish.  St. Augustine Church in Halbur and Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church in Mount Carmel were changed to church building status.   Fr. Tim Friedrichsen continued as the Pastor of Good Shepherd Parish. 

In the “eastern” grouping, Annunciation Church in Coon Rapids, St. Joseph Church in Dedham and St. Elizabeth Seton Church in Glidden were merged into St. John Paul II Parish in Carroll.  At that time, St. Mary’s Church in Willey was changed to church building status.  This change was a very difficult transition for the people of St. Mary’s parish.  Fr. Kevin Richter continued as the Pastor of St. John Paul II Parish, with Fr. Patrick Behm serving as the parochial vicar.

In 2021, St. Mary’s church was tuckpointed and the exterior trim of the church was repainted.   That summer, the parish softball field was given to the City of Willey to make sure that it would continue to be used for generations to come.

In 2022, extensive repair work was done on the steeple of the church after a wind storm the previous year had done significant damage.