Corpus Christi Catholic Church

Corpus Christi Catholic Church is one of the most striking landmarks in Fort Dodge. A fine example of Romanesque Revival architecture, the church features a large bell tower that reaches a height of 175 feet, arched windows with stone hoods and keystones, a rose window, semi-circular windows with tracery, buttresses, stepped gables, and decorative brickwork. The church was built in 1882 and was home to a congregation founded in 1856. The church, which closed in 2020, was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1976.

The first Catholic service in Fort Dodge occurred in a private home in 1855. When the congregation was established the next year, it became the first parish of the Diocese of Sioux City. The congregation bought its first property in January 1857 and completed its first church, a brick building, that year. A four-room priest house was also built and it was located where the present rectory is now. For the first several years, Corpus Christi priests served the area encompassing from north to Emmetsburg and Spirit Lake and west to Sioux City. During the winter months they drove an oxen team to reach these communities. The congregation built the first Catholic school in northwest Iowa in 1859.

Plans for the present church originated with Father Lenehen in the late 1870s. It was designed by Swiss-born architect and priest Father Fred Herr, who also designed the Dubuque County Courthouse. Construction began 1879 and was completed in 1882. The church was dedicated on January 1, 1883. It is the oldest church in the Diocese of Sioux City. A new school called "The Academy" was built in 1902 to replace the original one which was destroyed by a fire two years earlier. The Academy was eventually demolished in 1975. A convent (for the nuns who taught at the school), the rectory and the central heating plant were built between 1909 and 1932. The congregation also grew to 2,200 members during this time.

In 2006, Corpus Christi and the other Catholic churches in the county became part of Holy Trinity Parish. Declining membership resulted in the eventual closure of the churches in the coming years. However, in 2016 the Diocese decided to consolidate the congregations into a new church called Holy Trinity, which was completed in 2021.

Mitchell, John H. "Corpus Christi Catholic Church." National Park Service - National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form. October 8, 1976. https://npgallery.nps.gov/NRHP/GetAsset/NRHP/76000812_text.

"Parish History." Corpus Christi Catholic Church. Accessed March 16, 2022. https://www.holytrinitywci.org/corpus-christi-fort-dodge.