St. Donatus Catholic Church Invests in Their Faith and Future Generations
June 14, 2024

St. Donatus Catholic Church in St. Donatus, Iowa officially launched a capital campaign on Thursday evening, June 13, 2024. With over 50 people in attendance, leaders shared the campaign, “Foundation of Faith: Building for Generations” and the goal of raising $600,000 over three years to repair the church's weathered and leaking steeple, restore its aging stained-glass windows, and renew water-damaged walls in the interior with fresh paint.
Initial funds for the steeple have been collected and work is underway by Fred Jackson Tuckpointing of St. Donatus. Additionally, the timeline calls for restoration of the windows in 2025 and completion of interior painting in 2026, based on available funds raised.
The roots of St. Donatus Catholic Church run deep, tracing back to a time when pioneers gathered for Mass in homes. In 1848, the first church building was created from logs, and a framed church was built in 1851. In 1856, flames ravaged the church, and the current stone edifice was erected the same year.
The Outdoor Way of the Cross was built in 1861 and the Pieta Chapel in 1885. Both sacred landmarks are visited each year by hundreds of people from across the country.
Today, St. Donatus Parish stands as the spiritual and sacramental home for 120 families. Many of these families are multi-generational parishioners, while others are new to the parish. Lori (Ploessl) Heiar, a parishioner whose family roots date back to the earliest generations of church goers, notes that, “Our parish families are close-knit and have gathered and worshiped at this beautiful church for a very long time. My goal, and the goal of many of our parishioners, is to raise the money needed to restore the basics of our building that are in greatest need: the leaking steeple, the aging stained glass window frames, and the cracks in our interior walls that need repair and painting. These structural repairs will help to ensure that our children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren will have this wonderful and holy place for their worship for decades to come.”
Father Robert Gross, parish priest at St. Donatus Catholic Church, notes, “The ancient faith of the apostles deeply formed the faith of our ancestors and inspired them to come to the new world, America. Here at St. Donatus, we have the same ancient apostolic faith in Jesus Christ and his Church. For our parishioners, this restoration project for our parish church will inspire us to never take our faith for granted and to pass it on to future generations. With gratitude to God's faithfulness in our past, we now strive forward with hope in the future.”
Anyone interested in supporting the campaign for St. Donatus Catholic Church can do so by making donations payable to “St. Donatus Capital Campaign” and mailing them to the Catholic Church rectory in Bellevue at 405 Franklin Street, Bellevue, IA 52031. Donors may also visit sjandspp.com/sdcampaign to make a donation online and read more about the campaign. Any questions can be directed to [email protected].