St. Paul's Catholic Church (Burlington, Iowa)
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St. Paul's Roman Catholic Church
and Rectory |
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St. Paul's Church in 2013
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| Location | 508 N. 4th St. Burlington, Iowa |
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| Coordinates | 40°48′43.32″N 91°6′10.11″W / 40.8120333°N 91.1028083°WCoordinates: 40°48′43.32″N 91°6′10.11″W / 40.8120333°N 91.1028083°W |
| Area | 2.35 acres (0.95 ha) |
| Built | 1892-1895 (church) 1902-1904 (rectory) |
| Architect | James J. Egan |
| Architectural style |
Gothic Revival (church) Georgian Revival (rectory) |
| Part of | Heritage Hill Historic District (#82000406) |
| Added to NRHP | December 21, 1982 |
St. Paul's Catholic Church is an historic church building located in Burlington, Iowa, United States. Together with the Church of St. John the Baptist it forms Saints John and Paul parish, which is a part of the Diocese of Davenport. The parish maintains both of the former parish church buildings as worship sites. St. Paul's is a contributing property in the Heritage Hill Historic District listed on the National Register of Historic Places. St. Paul's School was also a contributing property in the historic district, but it has subsequently been torn down.
With the establishment of the Wisconsin Territory in 1836 the town of Burlington was chosen as one of the temporary capitals of the territory. With the establishment of the Iowa Territory in 1838, the town became its first capital. Bishop Mathias Loras and the Rev. Samuel Charles Mazzuchelli, OP, recognized the importance of the community. There were, however, few Catholics in the area when Mazzuchelli was dispatched to Burlington to buy land in 1839 and establish St. Paul’s Church. A small brick church building was constructed 1840-1841. The building was leased to the territorial legislature for 60 days for their use. As a way to strengthen Catholicism in the area Loras chose St. Paul’s as the location for the ordination of the Rev. Anthony Godfert, whom Loras recruited from France. It was also to Burlington that Loras fled when tempers flared between the Irish and German Catholics of Dubuque. He sent St. Paul’s pastor, the Rev. John Healy—an Irish immigrant himself, to calm tensions, which he could not do.
The Burlington area was served regularly by a visiting priest after Loras left town, especially the Rev. J.A.M. Pelamourgues of St. Anthony’s in Davenport. The Rev.John Alleman, arrived in 1847. The town by then had become a hotbed for anti-Catholic, anti-clerical and nativist thinking. Many of the people who harbored these beliefs had moved to Burlington from the eastern United States where such thinking was rampant. Alleman stayed a couple of years until the arrival of the Rev. George Reffe, who started Burlington's first parochial school in St. Paul's church basement in 1849. The Sisters of Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary started teaching at St. Paul’s in 1859.
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