Mass Times
Sunday @ 10:30 am
About Our Church--St. Mary (Lake City)
The history of St. Mary Catholic Church in Lake City, Iowa, dates back to
1894. A group of Catholic families purchased property from the Church of Christ in Lake City for $800. The St. Mary Mission was incorporated into the Diocese of Sioux City in 1912 under Bishop Garrigan. Fr. George Costello was appointed pastor of St. Mary Mission.
In 1929, St. Mary became of mission of St. Mary in Sac City and Father Dentlinger was appointed pastor. Under Father Dentlinger’s leadership, the original Catholic church was raised and a basement, kitchen and restroom were added. A Sanctuary and sacristy were added to the west side. It was in 1935 that Father Dentlinger’s parish was given the status as a parish. In July of that year, the church purchased a rectory and Father Leo Berger was appointed as the first resident pastor.
In 1956, for a price of $5,000, the parish purchased two blocks of land on the west side of Lake City for the purpose of building a new church and rectory. With a capacity of 400 people, the new church and rectory were dedicated in February of 1963. The finished project cost $140,284.
As the parish grew, a parish hall and educational center were built on the same site as the church and rectory. The church’s next major improvement took place in the spring and summer of 2016, under the guidance of Father Lynn Bruch.
The old parish hall and educational center were torn down in the spring of 2015
and a new parish hall was built. Through wise financial management and generous donations from the parishioners, the new hall was completed in the early part of 2016. The new facility houses the church offices, a meeting room, classrooms, and a parish hall that seats 400—in addition to a larger kitchen facility.
