All Saints Catholic Church is a parish church building in the

Diocese of Des Moines The Diocese of Des Moines () is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory, or diocese, of the Catholic Church in southwestern Iowa in the United States. It is a suffragan see in the ecclesiastical province of the metropolitan Archdiocese of Dubuque. ...

. The building is located in

Stuart, Iowa Stuart is a city in Lincoln Township, Adair County, and in Stuart Township, Guthrie County, in the U.S. state of Iowa. That part of the city within Guthrie County is part of the Des Moines– West Des Moines Metropolitan Statistical Area. ...

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. The parish used the building as its church until a devastating fire severely damaged the structure. The church was rebuilt and it now serves as a cultural center called the Historic All Saints/Saints Center for Culture and the Arts. It is listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

, and is a rare example of

Neo-Byzantine Neo-Byzantine architecture (also referred to as Byzantine Revival) was a Revivalism (architecture), revival movement, most frequently seen in religious, institutional and public buildings. It incorporates elements of the Byzantine architecture, ...

architecture in the state of

Iowa Iowa ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the upper Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Ill ...

History

Development

The Catholic Church in Stuart traces its beginnings to August 1871 when a Father Moniahan from

Des Moines Des Moines is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities in Iowa, most populous city in the U.S. state of Iowa. It is the county seat of Polk County, Iowa, Polk County with parts extending into Warren County, Iowa, Wa ...

came to town for the first time to celebrate Mass. He would come at irregular intervals and Mass was celebrated in school rooms, Shield's Hall, and in private homes. At this time the whole state of Iowa was part of the

Diocese of Dubuque The Metropolitan Archdiocese of Dubuque () is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory, or archdiocese, of the Catholic Church in the northeastern quarter of the state of Iowa in the United States. The Diocese of Dubuque was erected in 1837 and ...

. The first church was built in 1874 under the direction of the Rev. Edward Gaul. It was dedicated by the Very Rev. J.F. Brazil from

St. Ambrose Ambrose of Milan (; 4 April 397), venerated as Saint Ambrose, was a theologian and statesman who served as Bishop of Milan from 374 to 397. He expressed himself prominently as a public figure, fiercely promoting Roman Christianity against Ari ...

in Des Moines on the Feast of All Saints, November 1, 1877. The Rev. James Foley was pastor at the time and he built two additions onto the church as well as the

rectory A clergy house is the residence, or former residence, of one or more priests or ministers of a given religion, serving as both a home and a base for the occupant's ministry. Residences of this type can have a variety of names, such as manse, p ...

during his 24 years at All Saints. During that time he was also responsible for parishes in Casey, Adair, Guthrie Center and Greenfield. The parish became a part of the

Diocese of Davenport The Diocese of Davenport () is a Latin Church ecclesiastical jurisdiction, or diocese, of the Roman Catholicism in the United States, Catholic Church for the southeastern quarter of the state of Iowa in the United States. The current bishop of D ...

when it was established in 1881.

Historic Church

Historic All Saints Catholic Church2 Stuart Iowa

On October 12, 1902, the Rev. M.S. McNamara became pastor. It was during his pastorate that plans for a new church were developed and executed.

Maginnis and Walsh Maginnis & Walsh was a Boston-based architecture firm started by Charles Donagh Maginnis and Timothy Francis Walsh in 1905. It was known for its innovative design of churches in Boston in the first half of the 20th century. Partners Maginnis ...

were responsible for designing the church. The cornerstone was laid in September 1908 and it was completed in 1910. It was built of blue Bedford limestone in a combination of

Byzantine Revival Neo-Byzantine architecture (also referred to as Byzantine Revival) was a revival movement, most frequently seen in religious, institutional and public buildings. It incorporates elements of the Byzantine style associated with Eastern and Or ...

and

Romanesque Revival Romanesque Revival (or Neo-Romanesque) is a style of building employed beginning in the mid-19th century inspired by the 11th- and 12th-century Romanesque architecture. Unlike the historic Romanesque style, Romanesque Revival buildings tended t ...

styles. The building measures wide, long and high. It has a seating capacity of 600. The interior is under an high dome that contains 16 windows. The dome was covered in

copper Copper is a chemical element; it has symbol Cu (from Latin ) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkish-orang ...

. The church was decorated with Italian

marble Marble is a metamorphic rock consisting of carbonate minerals (most commonly calcite (CaCO3) or Dolomite (mineral), dolomite (CaMg(CO3)2) that have recrystallized under the influence of heat and pressure. It has a crystalline texture, and is ty ...

, rare woods, hand painted frescos, gold gilding, and statuary. The windows were from the Franz Mayer & Co. of

Munich, Germany Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

. The church was built for $65,000. Bishop James Davis of Davenport dedicated the church at a

Pontifical High Mass A Pontifical High Mass, also called Solemn Pontifical Mass, is a Solemn Mass, Solemn or High Mass celebrated by a Bishops in the Catholic Church, bishop using certain prescribed ceremonies. Although in modern English the word ''pontifical'' is al ...

. Bishop James J. Keane of

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, preached the sermon. The following year the parish became part of the Diocese of Des Moines when it was established in 1911 on the same day that Bishop Keane was named Archbishop of Dubuque.

Fire and aftermath

On August 22, 1995, Charles Willard of Des Moines drove to Stuart and poured gasoline in various places in the church and set it on fire. Fire departments from 20 area communities in a radius of Stuart fought the fire. While the exterior walls remained standing the rest of the building lay in ruins. A small chapel in the back suffered minor damage. Willard had mailed letters to two bishops and a Des Moines television station before he set the fire taking responsibility based on his hatred of the Catholic Church. He even held a news conference before his arrest. He was convicted of arson and a hate crime. The parish, under the leadership of the Rev. Dan Clarke, and the diocese decided that to rebuild the church would be too expensive. Instead they decided to build a new facility on of land purchased from the Bill and Marlene Wilson family for $475,000. The new church, designed by the RDG Planning & Design of

Omaha Omaha ( ) is the List of cities in Nebraska, most populous city in the U.S. state of Nebraska. It is located in the Midwestern United States along the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's List of United S ...

, has seating for 400 people and a parking lot for 175 cars. The cost for the new church was $2.5 million. Bishop Joseph Charron, C.Pp.S. laid the cornerstone for the new church on August 31, 1997. In September 1997 the damaged historic church building and property were sold to a group named the Project Restore Foundation for $7,200. They had hoped to rehabilitate the building in three years for a community cultural center at an estimated cost of around $3.5 million. The architects for the restoration project were Kirk Blunck and Jeff Wagner of HLKB in Des Moines and construction was done by Koester in

Grimes Claire Elise Boucher (; born March 17, 1988), known professionally as Grimes, is a Canadian musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer. Her lyrics often touch on science fiction and feminist themes. The visuals in her videos are elabora ...

. Plans called for the exterior of the old church to look similar to the way it looked before the fire. The interior would have a modern appearance with exposed stone and brick on the walls. The dome would be rebuilt with the original stone, which had been numbered and saved. The original copper on the dome melted so it was replaced with new copper sheeting. Several grants helped with the restoration effort. In 2000 the State Historical Society of Iowa Board of Trustees approved a grant for $60,000 towards the project. In 2007 Project Restore received a $545,000 grant from Vision Iowa, a state program that provides money for major tourism attractions. That same year 63% of the citizens of Stuart voted to accept a $1.7 million bond referendum to rebuild the church. Another $232,000 (as of 2007) in private donations was also raised, A small chapel on the west side of the church and the former sacristy was the first part of the project that was finished in 2002–2003. A group of

Serbian Orthodox The Serbian Orthodox Church ( sr-Cyrl-Latn, Српска православна црква, Srpska pravoslavna crkva) is one of the autocephalous (ecclesiastically independent) Eastern Orthodox Christian churches. The majority of the populat ...

Christians started using the chapel for a monthly liturgy in 2005. The new dome was lifted into place in October 2008. Work on the interior continued after that and was completed in 2010.

References

External links

Historic All Saints Web Site Construction Photos Historic All Saints-Project Restore Foundation Saints Center for Culture and the ArtsSaints Center Web Site
{{DEFAULTSORT:All Saints Catholic Church (Stuart, Iowa) Roman Catholic churches completed in 1908 19th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in the United States Churches in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Des Moines Buildings and structures in Guthrie County, Iowa Churches on the National Register of Historic Places in Iowa Former Roman Catholic church buildings in Iowa Byzantine Revival architecture in Iowa Religious buildings and structures in the United States destroyed by arson Crimes in Iowa National Register of Historic Places in Guthrie County, Iowa 1871 establishments in Iowa Anti-Catholicism in the United States 20th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in the United States Church fires in the United States