St. Casimir Lithuanian Roman Catholic Church was a church in Sioux City, Iowa. Sioux City was the second westernmost city in the world to have a

Lithuania Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...

n church (after Los Angeles). Designed by the architect

William L. Steele William LaBarthe Steele (May 2, 1875 – March 4, 1949) was an American architect from Chicago, Illinois. He is considered a principal member of the Prairie School Architectural Movement during the early 20th century. Career After graduating f ...

and built in 1915, the church was demolished in 2007.

History

It was built by the Lithuanian immigrant community of Sioux City in 1915, and served as a neighborhood parish until 1998. Although it was founded as an ethnic parish, members have included Roman Catholics of diverse backgrounds, including Irish, Polish, Italian, and

Mexican Mexican may refer to: Mexico and its culture *Being related to, from, or connected to the country of Mexico, in North America ** People *** Mexicans, inhabitants of the country Mexico and their descendants *** Mexica, ancient indigenous people ...

. The location near the stockyards and meat packing industrial area of the city attracted many of its working-class neighbors. However, during the 1990s, the

Diocese of Sioux City The Roman Catholic Diocese of Sioux City ( la, Diœcesis Siopolitanensis) is the Roman Catholic diocese for the northwestern quarter of the state of Iowa in the United States. It is a suffragan see of the Archdiocese of Dubuque. The cathedral p ...

forbade St. Casimir parish from enrolling any new members. Then, in 1998 the diocese dissolved the parish, appropriating all holdings and instructing parishioners to join other active parishes. The building, which was deemed eligible for the National Register of Historic Places, was emptied of the fixtures, artwork, and

stained glass Stained glass is coloured glass as a material or works created from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant religious buildings. Although tradition ...

and left vacant. In May 2007, the diocese made public a plan to raze the structure due to safety concerns. Private interests arranged for the unique dome to be salvaged. The demolition was completed on 17 July 2007.

Architecture

The building was designed by the

Prairie School Prairie School is a late 19th- and early 20th-century architectural style, most common in the Midwestern United States. The style is usually marked by horizontal lines, flat or hipped roofs with broad overhanging eaves, windows grouped in ...

architect

, and built by Babue and Co. It incorporated a simplified neo-gothic exterior design, along with a distinctive "bell-cast" dome ( cupola) atop the steeple. The interior was extensively decorated by the Lithuanian artist

Adolfas Valeška Adolfas Valeška (15 March 1905, in Kybartai – 11 May 1994, in Kaunas, Lithuania) was a Lithuanian stained glass artist, painter, stage designer, and museum director who worked in Lithuania and in Chicago, Illinois. Valeška graduated fr ...

in the early 1950s, including woodwork, a

pulpit A pulpit is a raised stand for preachers in a Christian church. The origin of the word is the Latin ''pulpitum'' (platform or staging). The traditional pulpit is raised well above the surrounding floor for audibility and visibility, access ...

, stained glass, and several large paintings, among them Our Lady of Fatima, the Good Shepherd, and the Assumption of Mary. Our Lady of Fatima and the Good Shepherd now reside in St. Joseph Center at the Trinity Heights Marian shrine in Sioux City, along with the European bisque statue of the patron, Saint Casimir, all of which were purchased back from an antiques dealer after having been salvaged from the sanctuary. Other artifacts were hand-picked by the diocese for placement in the newly renovated Cathedral of the Epiphany and Mater Dei

grade school A primary school (in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, and South Africa), junior school (in Australia), elementary school or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary e ...

Former pastors

*Fr. Michael Cybulskis 1915–1917 *Fr. Joseph Gricius 1917 *Fr. John Aleknavicius 1918–1919 *Fr. Michael Kolvek 1919–1922 *Fr. George G. M. Cesna 1922–1951 *Msgr. Simon Morkunas 1951–1990 *Fr. Marvin J. Boes 1990–1995 *Fr. Paul-Louis Arts 1995–1998

References

External links

Active Sioux City Journal Link Also in the Sioux City Journal In the Sioux City JournalCupola down Decapitation

EditorialEulogyPreparation for demolition

Works by Valeška salvaged from St. Casimir Church.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Casimir Lithuanian Roman Catholic Church Roman Catholic churches in Sioux City, Iowa Former buildings and structures in Sioux City, Iowa Former Roman Catholic church buildings in Iowa Gothic Revival church buildings in Iowa Lithuanian-American history Roman Catholic churches completed in 1915 William L. Steele buildings Demolished buildings and structures in Iowa Demolished churches in the United States 20th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in the United States 1915 establishments in Iowa 2007 disestablishments in Iowa Buildings and structures demolished in 2007