About St. Columbkille · Churdan, Iowa
St. Columbkille Catholic Church is a small historic parish located at 807 Head Street in Churdan, a town in Greene County in west-central Iowa. Established in 1886 to serve Irish-Catholic farming families in the area, it has long been one of three Catholic parishes in Greene County, clustered today with St. Joseph in Jefferson and St. Brigid in Grand Junction under the Greene County Catholic Churches parish. The parish belongs to the Diocese of Sioux City, and its current church building — built in 1930 — is now an oratory, used for weddings, funerals, and feast-day Masses rather than regular weekly liturgy, following the diocese's 2017 Ministry 2025 pastoral plan.
- Established
- 1886
- Patron
- St. Columbkille (Colmcille / Columba of Iona, 6th-century Gaelic Irish missionary priest)
- Rector
- Rev. Jeff Schleisman
- Diocese
- Diocese of Sioux City
Why belong here
St. Columbkille's regular worship life has ended under the Diocese of Sioux City's Ministry 2025 plan, but the building remains an active oratory — it can be reserved for weddings, funerals, the annual June 9 feast-day Mass of St. Columbkille, and one other Mass each year, and the parish community continues to gather for those occasions and for faith formation through the Greene County Catholic Churches cluster. Anyone with family ties to Churdan, Greene County, or to the Irish-Catholic farming heritage of west-central Iowa will find St. Columbkille a meaningful place to pray, attend a memorial Mass, or maintain a sacramental connection to their roots. For ongoing weekly Mass, confession, and the full sacramental and faith-formation life of the parish, parishioners are now served through St. Joseph in Jefferson and the other Greene County Catholic Churches locations.
Mass times at St. Columbkille
Weekly Mass schedule
Parish Identity and Patron
St. Columbkille Catholic Church in Churdan, Iowa, takes its name from Colmcille — better known as Columba of Iona — the 6th-century Gaelic Irish missionary priest (521–597 A.D.) who evangelized Scotland from the monastery island of Iona. 'Colm' means 'dove' and 'cille' means 'church,' so the name 'Columbkille' (or 'Colmcille') is traditionally rendered 'Dove of the Church.' The parish in Churdan was organized under his patronage in 1886, and his feast day, June 9, is observed with a special Mass at the church each year — one of the few regular liturgical events still held in the building after it moved to oratory status.
- Founded: 1886
- Patron: St. Columbkille (Colmcille / Columba of Iona)
- Feast day: June 9
- Rite: Roman-Latin
Founding and Early History (1886–1929)
St. Columbkille was established in 1886 by Irish-Catholic farming families who had settled the Churdan area of Greene County in west-central Iowa in the decades after the county was organized in 1854. The earliest frame church was constructed in 1878 to serve the small congregation, and the parish was formally organized under that dedication in 1886. A 70-page centennial history, 'St. Columbkille Catholic Church 1886–1986,' preserved in the Greene County public library collection, documents the parish's first hundred years — including the building of the first church and rectory, the early mission pastors, baptisms, marriages, and the growth of the rural congregation through the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
- First frame church: 1878
- Parish formally established: 1886
- Centennial book: 'St. Columbkille Catholic Church 1886–1986' (70 pages)
The 1930 Church Building
By the early twentieth century, the original frame church had become too small for the growing parish. The current St. Columbkille church building on Head Street was constructed in 1930, replacing the earlier structure on essentially the same lot. The 1930 church has served the parish continuously ever since and remains the building preserved as an oratory today. No architect, builder, or detailed architectural description of the 1930 Churdan building is publicly documented in the sources reviewed.
- Current church building constructed: 1930
- Location: 807 Head Street, Churdan, IA 50050
- Status: Oratory (not an active parish church)
Clustering with Greene County Parishes
Like many rural Catholic parishes across northwest Iowa, St. Columbkille has been part of parish clusters since the late 1980s as the Diocese of Sioux City responded to shrinking rural populations and a declining number of priests. In 1988, St. Columbkille was grouped into the very first parish cluster of the diocese, along with St. Patrick's in Cedar Township, St. John's in Paton, and St. Bridget's in Grand Junction. That configuration was adjusted in 1995 to combine St. Patrick's Cedar, St. Columbkille Churdan, and St. Paul's Scranton. Today St. Columbkille is part of the Greene County Catholic Churches cluster, with St. Brigid in Grand Junction and St. Joseph in Jefferson, all served pastorally out of the Jefferson parish office.
- 1988: first cluster in the Diocese of Sioux City — St. Patrick's Cedar, St. Columbkille Churdan, St. John's Paton, St. Bridget's Grand Junction
- 1995: reconfigured cluster — St. Patrick's Cedar, St. Columbkille Churdan, St. Paul's Scranton
- Current: Greene County Catholic Churches — St. Brigid Grand Junction, St. Columbkille Churdan, St. Joseph Jefferson
Ministry 2025 and Oratory Status
In 2016, the Diocese of Sioux City unveiled its long-range pastoral plan 'Ministry 2025,' anticipating only about 31 active priests available to serve the diocese by 2025 and proposing a sweeping reorganization of parishes and worship sites across the 24-county diocese. An initial draft in February 2016 did not list St. Columbkille for oratory status, but the finalized plan, published in the diocesan newspaper The Catholic Globe on January 12, 2017, designated St. Columbkille — along with St. Brigid Grand Junction and St. John Ogden — to move to oratory status. Parishioners at all three Greene County churches voted in mid-2017 to merge the three into a single parish to preserve active parish status, but the diocese did not approve that proposal. The change became effective after summer 2018, leaving St. Joseph in Jefferson as the only active Catholic parish remaining in Greene County. St. Columbkille is now maintained as an oratory: it no longer hosts regular weekly or daily Mass, but it can be used for weddings, funerals, the annual feast-day Mass of St. Columbkille (June 9), and one other Mass during the year. Because no weekly collection is taken and no diocesan money or administrative support is provided, the building is sustained by the volunteer efforts of former parishioners.
- Diocesan plan: Ministry 2025 (finalized January 12, 2017)
- Initial 2016 draft did not include St. Columbkille for oratory status
- Effective: after summer 2018
- St. Columbkille became an oratory alongside St. Brigid Grand Junction and St. John Ogden
- Only active Catholic parish remaining in Greene County: St. Joseph, Jefferson
Pastor and Staff
At the time of the Ministry 2025 transition, the pastor of all three Greene County Catholic parishes — St. Brigid, St. Columbkille, and St. Joseph — was the Rev. Jeff Schleisman. He is named in diocesan and state records as the registered agent for the parish entities of St. Columbkille's, St. Joseph's, St. Brigid's, and St. Patrick's, all with the address 501 N. Locust Street, Jefferson, and he celebrated funeral Masses at St. Columbkille in Churdan through at least October 2018. The Greene County Catholic cluster office email is [email protected]. Sacramental records (baptism, confirmation, marriage, burial) for St. Columbkille are administered through St. Joseph Parish in Jefferson, in accordance with the Diocese of Sioux City's sacramental records policy.
- Pastor: Rev. Jeff Schleisman
- Cluster office: 501 N. Locust Street, Jefferson, IA 50129
- Email: [email protected]
- Phone: (515) 386-2638
- Sacramental records: St. Joseph, Jefferson
Worship, Sacraments, and Visiting
Because St. Columbkille is an oratory, its worship life is intentionally limited. No regular weekly or daily Mass is celebrated, but the building is reserved for weddings, funerals, the feast-day Mass of St. Columbkille on June 9, and one additional Mass each year. Earlier published Mass schedules (e.g., on DiscoverMass) listed Wednesday 8:30 a.m. and Saturday 5:00 p.m. services; current visitors should confirm any liturgical schedule with the Greene County Catholic cluster office in Jefferson before traveling. Baptisms, first communions, confirmations, ongoing faith formation, and the regular sacramental life of the parish are now served through St. Joseph in Jefferson and the other Greene County Catholic Churches locations.
- Status: oratory — no regular weekly Mass
- Permitted uses: weddings, funerals, June 9 feast-day Mass, one additional yearly Mass
- Active sacramental and faith-formation life: St. Joseph, Jefferson
Community Memory and Heritage
St. Columbkille remains an important landmark of Irish-Catholic heritage in Churdan and Greene County. Local families such as Duane and Carolyn Towers — Duane a member of St. Columbkille for more than sixty years and Carolyn a life-long member who attended and later taught catechism there — publicly expressed the loss felt by the parish as it moved to oratory status. The building's maintenance continues to be supported by former parishioners through volunteer time and fundraisers, in the same spirit that has kept nearby historic St. Patrick's in Cedar Township viable since it became an oratory in August 1996. The Greene County public library preserves the parish's centennial history 'St. Columbkille Catholic Church 1886–1986' as part of its local history collection.
- Heritage: Irish-Catholic farming community of Greene County
- Preserved records: 'St. Columbkille Catholic Church 1886–1986' (Greene County library)
- Sister oratory: St. Patrick's in Cedar (oratory since August 1996)
- FamilySearch: 'Catholic Church. St. Columbkille's (Churdan, Iowa)' records, 1895–1987
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Rev. Jeff Schleismanat least 2017–2018 (and continuing in clustered role)
Pastored all three Greene County Catholic parishes (St. Brigid Grand Junction, St. Columbkille Churdan, St. Joseph Jefferson) under the Ministry 2025 diocesan restructuring; registered agent for St. Columbkille's, St. Joseph's, St. Brigid's, and St. Patrick's Church entities; celebrated funerals at St. Columbkille Churdan through at least 2018.