ST . PATRICK CATHOLIC CHURCH
St . Patrick opened in 1879 and was the first church on the south side of Ottumwa . It is the smaller of the two Catholic parishes in the city , though it averages about 160 parishioners for its Saturday evening mass and Sunday morning mass . Sia said there used to be three mass services a weekend at the parish .
Rev . Francis Ward was the first pastor of the parish , and the first church was dedicated four years after its founding . The current building , located on North Ward Street , was dedicated in 1957 and has seen various improvements over the years that have followed liturgical documents created in the 1960s by Pope Paul VI . The renovated building was rededicated in 1995 .
Though there have been 15 pastors since 1883 , with Paul Hart serving the longest tenure between 1971 and 1990 .
Pictured is the original St . Patrick Catholic Church , which was dedicated in 1883 as the first church on the south side of Ottumwa , located on North Ward Street . The building was replaced by the current church in 1957 . Photo courtesy of the Lemberger Collection
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