About St. Mary · Pomeroy, Iowa
St. Mary Catholic Church is a small rural parish in Pomeroy, Iowa, part of the Diocese of Sioux City. Worshipping at 306 South Geneva Street, the parish is now clustered with Our Lady of the Plains Parish in Lake City (under which its sacramental records are housed). With a current membership of about 160 people across roughly 72 households and 38 children in religious education, St. Mary's continues to serve the Catholic faithful of Calhoun and Pocahontas Counties in north-central Iowa, drawing on a heritage that stretches back to the early 1880s when Irish and German Catholic pioneers first organized worship in the Pomeroy area.
- Established
- 1881
- Patron
- The Blessed Virgin Mary (Saint Mary)
- Diocese
- Diocese of Sioux City
Why belong here
St. Mary's in Pomeroy is a close-knit rural Catholic community where roughly 160 members across 72 households know one another by name, and 38 children still gather for parish religious education each week. It is a parish with deep roots — surviving the 1893 Pomeroy Cyclone, building a school in 1915, and rebuilding again in 1970 — and it now shares sacramental life and clergy with the wider Our Lady of the Plains family of parishes in Calhoun and Pocahontas Counties. Visitors and newcomers can expect a traditional, mission-style Catholic experience in the heart of Iowa's farm country.
History of St. Mary's Parish, Pomeroy
By 1875 Pomeroy was a growing community, and Catholic families in the area were first served by priests traveling from Fort Dodge. The first St. Mary's Church was built around 1881, with cemetery property acquired around 1885–1897. On July 7, 1893, the original church and all parish records were destroyed by the devastating Pomeroy Cyclone — only the tabernacle, chalice, communion cup and their fixtures survived undisturbed. Father M. C. Daly of St. Thomas, Manson, was assigned Pomeroy as a mission and led the rebuilding, with a new church completed on the same site in 1894.
- First church built c. 1881
- Destroyed in the Pomeroy Cyclone, July 7, 1893
- Tabernacle, chalice and fixtures left undisturbed
- Replacement church built on the same site, 1894
- Cemetery acquired c. 1885–1897
Parochial School (1915–1967)
A parochial school built at a cost of $12,000 opened in the fall of 1915 under Sisters Theodosia and Alexander of the Franciscan Sisters of the Holy Family of Dubuque. The school served as a combination sisters' home, boarding school and day school; at its height roughly 60 boarders from Palmer, Jolley, Knoke and Manson stayed Monday through Friday, and from 1928 to 1932 eleven grades were taught. The school closed in 1967 due to declining enrollment but the building continued to house weekly CCD classes and storage until it was destroyed by fire shortly after Father Richard Macke's arrival in 1991, when a double garage with storage was built in its place.
- Opened fall 1915; cost $12,000
- First teachers: Sister Theodosia and Sister Alexander (FSHF, Dubuque)
- Served as boarding school with ~60 boarders at peak
- Eleven grades taught 1928–1932
- Closed 1967; building lost to fire after 1991
The Present Church (1970) and Bell Tower
Plans for an entirely new church were drawn up in the spring of 1966; a generous gift from parishioner Adolph Peiffer in 1967 launched the capital campaign, and the present church was completed in August 1970. Between 1971 and 1975, under Father Lawrence McCarty, a free-standing bell tower was erected and the salvaged bell from the older 1894 church was installed in it, preserving a tangible link to the parish's pre-cyclone and immediate post-cyclone heritage.
- New church completed August 1970
- Major gift from Adolph Peiffer in 1967
- Free-standing bell tower built 1971–1975
- Old church bell installed in the new tower
Parish Life and Religious Education
St. Mary's is a small but active rural community: roughly 160 members across 72 households, with 38 children attending the parish religious education (CCD) program. The parish has been clustered since 1998 with surrounding worship sites, and its sacramental records are housed at St. Mary, Lake City within the Our Lady of the Plains parish family. The faithful gather for Mass and devotions centered on the Eucharist as 'a constant reminder of God's unchanging love in today's ever-evolving world.'
- Approximately 160 members / 72 households
- 38 children enrolled in parish religious education
- Clustered within Our Lady of the Plains parish family
- Sacramental records maintained at Lake City, St. Mary
Diocese and Canonical Status
St. Mary, Pomeroy is a Catholic church in the Diocese of Sioux City (northwestern Iowa). The parish is listed in the diocesan parish finder and in GCatholic's directory (Church ID 36214), with sacramental records for Pomeroy now kept at Lake City, St. Mary. The church's mailing/physical address is 306 South Geneva Street, Pomeroy, Iowa 50575; the diocesan contact number listed is (712) 468-2248.
- Diocese of Sioux City
- GCatholic Church ID 36214
- Records custodian: Lake City, St. Mary (Our Lady of the Plains)
- Address: 306 S Geneva St, Pomeroy, IA 50575
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Priests from Fort Dodge (unnamed)pre-1893
Traveled from Fort Dodge to serve Pomeroy Catholics in the early years of the parish.
- Rev. M. C. Daly1893–1902
Pastor of St. Thomas, Manson; Pomeroy assigned to him as a mission after the 1893 cyclone. Rebuilt the parish.
- Rev. John McAuliffe1902–1909
Continued care of St. Mary's from Manson.
- Rev. Edward J. Neppel1909–1919
First resident pastor. Built the first rectory (1910); oversaw construction of the parochial school.
- Rev. (Neppel successor)1919–1923
Also served as pastor of the newly organized parish at Palmer.
- Rev. Joseph M. Neppel (Neppl)1923–1924
Succeeded his older brother as pastor.
- Rev. Richard Graf (Graff)1934–1938
- Rev. James A. Kane1938–1944
- Rev. N. J. Boes (Norbert)1944–1954
- Rev. Raymond Calkins1954–1955
- Rev. L. H. Greving (Louis)1955–1956
- Rev. Thomas Lawless1956–1958
- Rev. G. A. O'Rourke (Gabriel)1958–1959
- Rev. L. J. Eisenbacher (Linus)1959–1961
- Rev. A. E. McCoy (Alfred)1961–1965
- Rev. J. C. Yetmar (J. Charles)1965–1971
Initiated plans for the new church (1966).
- Rev. Lawrence McCarty1971–1975
Built the free-standing bell tower; installed the old church bell.
- Rev. D. William Wingert1975–1977
- Rev. Robert Keefe1977–1981
- Rev. Robert Leiting1981–1982
- Rev. Edward Young1982–1984
- Rev. Peter Fransco1984–1991
- Rev. Richard Macke1991–1998
During his tenure the old school building was destroyed by fire.
- Rev. Jerome A. Degen1998–
Appointed pastor after Father Macke's retirement; also pastor of St. Thomas, Manson.
- Rev. Dale George
Listed as pastor on the parish history page (catholic-globe source).