History

History of St. Patrick Catholic Church — Lenox, Iowa

In 1872 two priest, Father Placidus McKeever and Father Eugene Phalen, started coming to Lenox on a regular bass. They traveled on horseback from Creston to Lenox to celebrate Mass in the “Griffen School House” two miles south of town. Also, the Hays, Carruthers and Conner homes in Lenox were used for Mass. Together these two priest were dedicated in bringing Christ to all people in the surrounding area, most especially the promising little mission of Lenox.

Several of the first settlers wanted the Catholic Church to be built on a prime corner lot up on Main Street, but in 1875 they finally settled on this property. The 600 block of W. Michigan was chosen because of the spacious grounds and because it was on the edge of town, making it accessible for the teams of horses that would pull families to church every Sunday and Holy Days of Obligation. The first church was a 20’ x 25’ modest wooden frame structure with wooden blocks as the foundation. This little church served the Lenox people for 9 years and then it became too small. Even with an 8:00 a.m. and 10:00 a.m. mass every Sunday there was still not enough room.

In 1881, a larger second church was built just a few yards to the west of the original church. In 1883 Fr. Phalen, on of our first two mission priests, unsaddled his horse and became Lenox’s first resident priest. He resided in a modest home just a few blocks away at 500 E. Ohio Street.

In 1889, eight years after the second church was built, the people of this parish saw to it that their priest and future priests were given a “grand home” to live. So the people eagerly took the first step to start the ball rolling, but first they had to persuade Fr. John Standler to allow the parish to build one of the finest homes in Lenox. This new two story rectory, painted white, was located just to the east of the second church. For the next 119 years, it stood tall and proud.

Father John Noonan’s first assignment as a priest was here in Lenox. He arrived in 1900 and was driving the first self-starting car just as the outgoing priest was leaving in a horse and buggy. Fr. Noonan soon found out that his car would not go very many places and bought a horse and buggy. In the horse and buggy days, everyone had their own hitching posts which were on the east and west side of the church. No one dared to tie up their team to the wrong hitching posts - just like the church pews - everyone had their own.

In 1911 the Diocese of Des Moines was established by Pope Pius X. It included 54 parishes, 28 missions, 68 priests and 17 Catholic schools. Bishop Austin Dowling became the first bishop. Father James Troy was the first pastor to serve under the brand-new Diocese of Des Moines. He was a young priest, only six years ordained and had already built two other churches. Fr. Troy immediately began plans for a larger church in Lenox. Bishop Dowling came to St. Patrick’s in 1913 to bless the cornerstone of our current church. This cornerstone is located on the southwest corner of the church. The current church was completed in 1914 and was built at the time for $24,000.00. Debt free.

No sooner had the finishing touches on our current church been completed when rumors of war, and the distressed cries of the people of Europe, modified the trend and the self-reliant activities of the parishioners of Lenox. Young men were drafted into the service, and in 1918, Father Troy, left to become a chaplain with the rank of Major in the Army just as Word War 1 was coming to an end. He served for six years.

In 1921 Father Henry C. Pouget, a gifted musician served St. Patrick’s for the next 14 years. Within this time, after World War I, people settled down to work and to farm to enjoy the peace they had fought so hard to protect. Now prosperity was to be enjoyed, but it was not real, however, for even the forces that brought on the Great Depression were at work. There were other forces as well, as the Klu Klux Klan came into prominence in Lenox. In 1931, our country hit an all-time low and depression caught us all unprepared. Farms were lost, money evaporated from our homes and left the parish in bad straits. Father Pouget was forced to ride the rough times with the people. His pastorate was most trying and along with the hard times a noticeable decrease in parishioners began to show. Father Pouget served St. Patrick’s for fourteen years, longer than any other priest. This most likely was due to the Depression Years when every effort was made to conserve expenses.

The year 1935 brought new hopes along with a new priest, Father Peter McStay. Fr. McStay began his pastorate at the time when Roosevelt’s New Deal was attempting to shuffle society back to normalcy. Father McStay was a former professor at Dowling High School and interested in youth and every phase of parish life. In 1935 the Bedford and Lenox parishes were combined and ran as one. In a Confirmation picture there were sixty-three students, one Bishop, two priests and three nuns standing in front of St. Patrick’s in 1936. Fr. McStay became chaplain of the CCC Camp of Bedford and brought many young people back to their Catholic faith. An interesting fact about Fr. McStay is that he built a bowling alley in the basement of the church. He also had a boxing ring in the basement. 

The year is now 1940 and Monsignor Paul Marasco moved to Lenox. He was a historian and researched and recorded a lot of St. Patrick’s early history. Msgr. Marasco only stayed two years and was followed by Msgr. William McMahon until 1950 when Father Adam Reisz became our parish priest for the next twelve years. Father Reisz was known as a great storyteller. In later years, his stories came to be called “Reizisms”. He loved to fish and hunt and loved to socialize. During the long years of the depression and hard times the church building had fallen into a state of disrepair. Father Reisz made sure the church received several fresh coats of paint. For many years the old pump organ in the choir loft served the parish well. There is not record of the names of the earliest organist. In 1953 the old organ was discarded, and a new electric organ was purchased. In 1957 parking became an issue as there was only parking on the west and east sides of the street. Parking was made available on the south side of the church as well as the first sidewalks being poured. In 1959 the tile roof was replaced with composition roofing. Around 1959 the basement floor was cemented, as before that it had just been dirt. The dirt was taken out with spades and wheelbarrows. Father Reisz left in 1962. Msgr. Steven Kane arrived in 1962 after serving 20 years in the Army. He was captured at Faid Pass on February 17, 1943 and spent two years in Hitler’s German prison camps. He received the Silver Star for gallantry in action during his service with the 34th Division, in Tunisia during World War II. Msgr. Kane had voluntarily gone into a mine field to recover a soldier’s body. One of our past parishioners recalls that Msgr. Kane told of the story of being fed “ground glass” during his imprisonment, for which his stomach suffered greatly for many years. He retired from the Army as colonel on November 1, 1961 and along with the Silver Star he was awarded the Bronze Star medal with Oak Leaf Clusters and the Purple Heart. During Msgr. Kane’s time in Lenox padded kneelers were installed.

In 1964 Father Nelo Leto arrived. He was a gifted carpenter and began the task of remodeling the church and the house, Vatican II had issued the proclamation that all Catholic churches need to make the church altar more “contemporary.” The original altar was taken out and replaced with a more modern one. The Mass changed from Latin to English in 1967 and Father Lavern Wingert helped the parish to transition. He would go to the homes of the sick and elderly and say Mass. A new addition was added to the rectory, as parishioners came together and built a one car garage, and room for the CYO (Catholic Youth Organization). The basement was completely redone with the boards on the walls in the basement coming from Sharpsburg. The cement basement floor received a new look with a poured finish floor being laid on top of it. The boards and the flooring are still the same today in the basement. During this time the decision was made to grill the chicken instead of frying the chicken for the famous Chicken/Ham Dinners.

From 1969-1973, St. Patrick’s was without a resident priest. Father Reginald Malinsky, Chaplain for the Rosary Hospital (now HCI) in Corning, served our parish. Father Malinsky took good care of both the Lenox and Bedford Parishes. He welcomed everyone and was always filled with cheer.

Father Blaze Schumacher served Lenox two different times. He resided in Lenox in 1973 and then returned in 1976. He was the last full-time priest to live in Lenox. Father Daniel O’Connell served Lenox from 1974-1976. His brother sent 20 evergreen trees from Ireland and for some reason the parish council would not let him plant them on the parish grounds. These trees were planted around a pond on the farm of Gene and Estella Swartz. Father O’Connell was known for his Irish wit and storytelling. He retired when he left Lenox and went home to Ireland.

In 1977 under the direction of the Diocese of Des Moines, a “team ministry” program was formed joining Bedford, Lenox, Villisca and Clarinda. Father Tim Fitzgerald and Father Mike O’Meara served these four parishes. Father Tim was ordained in 1975 and Father Mike in 1976, so both were young and ready to accept the challenge of serving four parishes. One of Father Tim’s most heartbreaking assignments before coming to Lenox was to tear down St. Malachy’s church in Creston.

St. Patrick’s did not stay in the four-parish team ministry for very long, as in 1978 we were joined with Afton and Creston. Four priests served three towns and they were Father Art McCann, Father Tom Coenen, Father Tim Fitzgerald and Father Mike O’Meara.

After Pope John Paul II’s visit to Des Moines on October 4, 1979, the altar, chair and the podium he used were stored in a warehouse in north Des Moines. Father Tim Fitzgerald received permission to borrow them and bring them to Lenox for a time. Art Schweers and Leo Ryan were given the task to go to Des Moines and bring all the pieces back to St. Patrick’s. When they arrived at the warehouse, they discovered all the pieces were stored about 20 feet up on a platform. A man was there with a forklift but had to ask permission from his boss before helping Art and Leo.

Father Mike Sims replaced Father O’Meara in 1981. At that time Lenox had a membership of 105 families and Chinky Eberle served as secretary. Father James Chario and Father Dennis Trausch made up the team ministry from 1984-1986. They rotated between Afton, Lenox, and Creston. Judy Christensen served as secretary during this time frame.

Father Mike Berner arrived in 1986 and joined the team ministry, which rotated between Lenox, Creston, and Afton. Father Berner was quite a character. He loved to deer hunt. He would hunt with Creston and Lenox parishioners, but he did not have a deer license. The game warden would check everyone’s license except Fathers. One time, a church member asked Father if he would like to help wash dishes. He responded, “These hands are made for chalices, not washing dishes”- and he didn’t. A few years after leaving Lenox, Father Berner won a big lottery. He appeared on many talk shows, including David Letterman’s show. Father Berner and Letterman got along great during the interview.

In 1988 Father Gerald Stessman replaced Father Berner. It was noted that Father Berner had once served as an altar boy for Father Stessman. Father oversaw the inside renovation of St. Patrick. Our goal was to raise $90,000.00 which would go to redesigning the altar area, new carpet, and the installation of air conditioning. $120,000.00 was raised therefore allowing us to install an elevator. Father Stessman was a talented musician and moved his piano with him wherever he went.

Once again a major change took place for St. Patrick, in 1990 when the team ministry disbanded and we joined with St. Patrick in Corning under the leadership of Father John Bertogli. There were 87 families in the Lenox parish. Father John loved to eat and was noted for calling families at a moment’s notice to tell them he was coming for supper and what he would like them to fix.

Father Dan Siepker arrived in 1995 to minister Lenox and Corning. Before Father Dan joined the priesthood, he had been a certified electrician. He then became a brother at Conception Abby in Missouri and did a lot of their electrical work. Father resided in Corning and stayed with us until 2004.

Father Tan Van Tran was our first international priest. Father Tran was a naturalized American citizen who was born in Vietnam in 1957. Although he survived the Vietnam War and subsequent Communist rule, his father who fought alongside American soldiers, did not. But not even the horrifying war could dull Father Tran’s insatiable appetite for knowledge. That desire led him to study English, French and Latin. He was an accomplished piano, violin, and guitar player. Many people were moved by his heartfelt playing of “Ave Maria” on the violin at Florence Robinson’s funeral. People attending could not help but break out in applause after the violin went quiet.

One huge project that was completed during Father Tran’s time was the tearing down of the parish rectory. The insurance company would no longer insure the house for its use in RE classes and office space. This house stood for 119 years serving St. Patrick proudly.

Father Lazarus Kirigia was our new pastor in 2011. He is originally from Kenya. Father was ordained in Des Moines in 2007 by Bishop Charron. Father had the big undertaking of overseeing the construction of our parish center. Also in 2014 he helped organize the 100th year celebration of our current brick church. Father Michael Peters arrived in the summer of 2017. He helped us get through COVID. He retired in 2020 leaving his legacy of beautiful artwork.

Fr. Litto Thomas, a young priest from India, came in 2020 and only stayed one year, before being moved to Sacred Heart Parish in Des Moines. He brought so much joy into the parish and was able to visit over 40 families in their homes before he left. Father always had a smile on his face and he had so much energy to share with everyone.

Father Emmanuel Bassey from Nigeria came in 2021. Father comes from a very devout Catholic family, which has two nuns and two priests. He was ordained in 2014. Father has a passion for research and writing. He has served in Africa, Portugal, Spain and now the United States. Father has enjoyed learning about our rural farming heritage. Father was assigned to Sacred Heart Parish in Des Moines in 2022.

Our current pastor is Father Livinus Anweting from the Diocese of Uyo, Nigeria. Father has six siblings and was born and raised in the rural village of Okopedi Okobo, Nigeria and both parents are still alived. He has He has a Master’s degree in Pastoral Counciling from Loyola University in Chicago, trained and certified in Clinical Pastoral Educations with four units of CPR; and graduated with a Ph.D in Religious Education from Fordham Jesuit University, New York. Father has been in the United States since 2010 and was assigned to Corning and Lenox in 2022.

The windows in our church were installed in 1914. They came from the Munich Glass Studio in Chicago, Illinois and were created in 1913. The windows all reflect on the life of Jesus.

The windows on the east side of the church depict Christ carrying the cross, the Annunciation (a picture of this window was taken by Sandy Sweeney and was on one of our Bishop’s Christmas cards), the Last Supper, Jesus and the Rich Man, and the Christ Child. The west side windows portray the Boy Jesus, the Good Shepherd, Mary and Martha with our Lord, Anointing in Bethany, Jesus Blessing the Children and the Daughter of Jarius. Two windows were above the altar on the north wall and were relocated in the church during the 1964 remodeling and they were Mary holding a Lamb and Saint Joseph with the Child Jesus. The last picture was dedicated to Father James Troy, builder of our current church. The biggest window is in the choir loft on the south side of the church. This window depicts the Women at the Grave with an Angel after Jesus’ Resurrection. This window has been pictured in the Catholic Mirror, our Diocesan paper several years ago. The window in the choir loft is dedicated to our first two mission priests who rode in and out of Lenox on horseback, Rev. Eugene Pheland O.S.B. and Rev. Placidus McKiver.

Our church bell, which is rung every Sunday five minutes before Mass was donated sometime in the 1890’s. Bishop Cosgrove came to bless the bell on the front lawn of the church. The T. F. Meagher family donated the bell at a cost of $500.00.

No one has an exact date of when we started serving our Chicken Dinner. In the early years the dinner would be held downtown in empty store buildings or in the old opera

house (the old skating rink). All the church dishes had to be carried up the steps, and the water brought from the town pumps. Sometimes bazaars and other dinners at the opera house lasted several days or a whole week. The Opera house was used because it was owned by a Catholic family, the T. F. Meaghers. The last member of this large pioneer family passed away on Christmas Day, in 1970, at the age of ninety-one. Even after the present church was built, the parishioners carried all the water from the rectory and people brought their wash tubs from homes to wash dishes in. We did not host our Chicken Dinner during COVID and will not have it this year because of our celebration.