About Our Lady Of Lourdes / Holy Rosary Cluster · Lourdes, Iowa
Our Lady of Lourdes is a small rural Catholic parish in the unincorporated community of Lourdes, Iowa (Howard County), one of five parishes that make up the Holy Rosary Cluster in the Archdiocese of Dubuque. Its roots reach back to 1858, when Catholics in the Crane Creek area first gathered for Mass celebrated by circuit-riding priests, and the parish has served successive waves of Irish, Czech, Slovak, and German Catholic immigrants ever since. Today the parish shares a pastor and staff with sister parishes in Elma, Riceville, Alta Vista, and New Haven under Father Telesphore Dusabe, and remains a close-knit faith community known locally for its annual Steeple Days celebration.
- Established
- 1858
- Patron
- Our Lady of Lourdes
- Rector
- Rev. Telesphore Dusabe
- Diocese
- Archdiocese of Dubuque
Why belong here
Our Lady of Lourdes offers the warmth of a small rural Catholic parish with deep roots in northeast Iowa — its people have worshipped on this ground since 1858, and they take seriously the call to welcome new faces into their community of faith. As part of the Holy Rosary Cluster it shares a priest and faith-formation resources with four neighboring parishes, so even a small congregation has access to RCIA, religious education, and sacramental preparation through the cluster. The annual Steeple Days celebration in July — with its polka Mass, breakfast, children's games, tractor pull and softball — is a vivid expression of the parish's Catholic and small-town identity, and a great way for visitors and newcomers to meet parishioners.
Mass times at Our Lady Of Lourdes / Holy Rosary Cluster
Weekly Mass schedule
Parish History
Our Lady of Lourdes traces its origins to 1858, when Catholics in the Crane Creek area first gathered for Mass offered by circuit-riding priests such as Fr. Louis DeCalley, grandnephew of Bishop Matthias Loras. Fr. Michael McCarty took pastoral care of the community in 1872, and by 1875 seventy-five members had built St. Mary's Church. Fr. John Garland became the first resident pastor in the fall of 1877. Under Fr. James J. Nelson the parish built the present Gothic-style brick church in 1901 and received its current title through Archbishop John Keane. The parish school, staffed by the Sisters of St. Francis from Clinton, operated from 1908 until 1969. After a 1938 fire destroyed the original school and convent, Fr. Frederick Renier led the construction of replacements.
- 1858 — First Masses near Crane Creek celebrated by circuit-riding priests
- 1872 — Fr. Michael McCarty placed in pastoral charge
- 1875 — St. Mary's Church built by 75 parishioners
- 1877 — Fr. John Garland named first resident pastor
- 1901 — Gothic-style brick church built and dedicated; name changed to Our Lady of Lourdes by Archbishop John Keane
- 1908 — Three-story parish hall / school / convent / dormitory built; Sisters of St. Francis (Clinton) arrived
- 1938 — Fire destroyed original school and convent; rebuilt under Fr. Frederick Renier
- 1969 — Parish school closed
- 2002 — Joined six-parish 'Good Shepherd Faith Community' under Msgr. John Hemann
- 2005 — Joined the new Holy Rosary Cluster of five parishes
- 2007 — New multi-purpose room added on the northeast corner of the church
- 2009 — Driveway paved
Holy Rosary Cluster
Since July 2005 Our Lady of Lourdes has been part of the Holy Rosary Cluster, a grouping of five Catholic parishes serving Chickasaw, Howard, and Mitchell counties in northeast Iowa. The cluster shares pastoral and administrative staff so that each small parish can keep its own identity and programming while receiving cluster-wide resources for faith formation, sacraments, and liturgy.
- Saint Bernard – Alta Vista
- Our Lady of Lourdes – Lourdes
- Immaculate Conception – Elma
- Immaculate Conception – Riceville
- Saint Peter – New Haven
- Cluster Pastor: Rev. Telesphore Dusabe
- Cluster Business Manager: Nancy Theis
- Cluster Secretary: Renee Burke
Faith Formation and RCIA
Faith formation at Our Lady of Lourdes is supported through the Holy Rosary Cluster, with shared staffing in religious education and the RCIA (Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults). Fr. Telesphore Dusabe serves as RCIA Coordinator for the cluster, helping adults preparing for Baptism, Confirmation, and Eucharist, and the cluster's Director of Religious Education, Chad Buckley, oversees ongoing catechesis. The cluster also calls a Director of Faith Formation (Meg Schutjer) for sister parishes such as St. Peter's in New Haven.
- RCIA coordinated by Fr. Telesphore Dusabe
- Religious Education led by DRE Chad Buckley
Steeple Days Parish Festival
Steeple Days is the annual parish festival held each July at Our Lady of Lourdes. Long a fixture of Lourdes' parish and small-town life, the celebration brings together the parish community and visitors from across the cluster for a weekend of Catholic and rural-Iowa tradition.
- Held each July
- Features a polka Mass
- Parish breakfast
- Children's games
- Tractor pull
- Softball tournaments
- Other family activities
Location, Address, and Contact
Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church stands at 14068 175th Street in the unincorporated community of Lourdes, Howard County, Iowa (ZIP 50628), in the Archdiocese of Dubuque. The parish office can be reached by telephone at (641) 393-2520 — the same number serves the entire Holy Rosary Cluster. The parish's official website is the Holy Rosary Cluster site, hosted on the Archdiocese of Dubuque's web platform.
- Address: 14068 175th Street, Lourdes, IA 50628
- Phone: (641) 393-2520
- Cluster website: holyrosarycluster.dbqarch.org
- Diocese: Archdiocese of Dubuque
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Fr. Louis DeCalley
Circuit-riding priest; grandnephew of Bishop Matthias Loras.
- Fr. Michael McCarty1872-
Placed in charge of Catholics in the Crane Creek area.
- Fr. John Garland1877-
First resident pastor of the parish.
- Fr. Eugene O'Keefe
Succeeded Fr. Garland as pastor.
- Fr. James J. Nelson
Built the Gothic-style brick church in 1901, originally dedicated under the title 'Immaculate Conception.'
- Fr. John Norris1905-1917
Built a three-story parish hall/classroom/convent/dormitory building in 1908.
- Fr. Frederick Renier1923-
Arrived December 1923; rebuilt the convent and school-gym after the 1938 fire.
- Msgr. John Hemann2002-2005
Named pastor in 2002 when parish joined six-parish 'Good Shepherd Faith Community' cluster; retired July 2005.
- Rev. Telesphore Dusabe
Current pastor of the Holy Rosary Cluster.