St Patrick Catholic Church

The parish has been served by 21 priests throughout the years. Two pastors died while here, Fr. Demuth in 1934, is buried at Prairie Du Chien, Wisconsin, and Fr. Flood, who served here for 14 years and is buried in our local cemetery. Prior to the establishment of the Parish Council, the pastors were assisted by 2 Trustees. In 1981, the Parish Coun... cil was established as the decision-making body of the parish. On October 22, 1991, the Sacred Heart Parish in Woden went back to being a mission of St. Patrick Parish in Britt, as it had been originally. St. Patrick in Buffalo Center once more became a mission of St. James of Forest City, thus reuniting the three parishes of Winnebago County. Pastor Riley was transferred to residency at Forest City in charge of the three parishes. On November 9, 1991, the rectory household items were sold at auction. The rectory is now utilized as a CCD center and parish office. In 1996, the parish hired its first Pastoral Associate, Sr. Dolores Moes, whose services we share with Forest City and Lake Mills. Her duties include pastoral visits to the sick and homebound, RCIA program, baptismal preparation classes, helping with the CCD programs, and assisting the pastor in a variety of ways. In the fall of 2001, with the Archdiocese of Dubuque facing a shortage of priests, our parish was told that we might be closed as part of a reorganization of the Mason City Deanery. Following an emotional parish meeting, it was decided that we would work together to try to find a better solution than closure or becoming an oratory. Many parishioners and their children took the time to write letters to the officials in Dubuque, explaining just what the parish meant to them personally and what effect closure would have on the Catholic population of this area. Following the letter writing and two meetings with officials from Dubuque, it was announced that our parish would remain open, for the time being. St. Patrick then became part of a six-parish grouping consisting of the parishes in Winnebago and ...Read More