When Saint Mary's Church in Dubuque was built, our nation was in the middle of civil war.
The first stones were laid in 18-63, the same year as the battle of Gettysburg and President Lincoln's famous address.
Now, 146 years later, the second oldest church in the oldest city in Iowa is closing.
The official announcement came during sunday mass.
I am ready to accept the recommendation to close St. Mary's parish.
The congregation took the news silently, no cries of anguish or shouts of denial.
Most faces were pretty sober, I heard some crying.
Despite their strength, Father Steven Rosonke knows the news was hard to take.
Its always hard to hear it said out loud, that the decision has been made to close the parish.
The tall brick building has stood here in Dubuque for generations.
All my kids were married here. My grandchildren were baptized here, made their communions here.
Reaching beyond the spiritual to touch other parts of the community.
They've educated, given free education for many, many children.
Parishioners aren't happy about it, they say the church is a resource the city can't lose.
This church is needed here because we've got the minorities, the elderly, the poor, the needy and that's why God came here to give up his life so we could have this kind of church for these kind of people.
While she knows about the economic difficulties the church is facing, Mary Ostrander won't accept that as enough reason to close St. Mary's.
Well, I can't, because of the fact that God did not come here for the rich. He came down here for the poor and this is where we're needed.
The church is showing its age.
No one denies that it would take a lot of money to fix it up.
She needs repair, she needs a lot of help. She needs a lot of help.
But Mary, at least, isn't ready to say goodbye.
Especially when finding a new church runs its own dangers.
There's more churches in this city that are gonna end up closing and i'm just scared to go to a church that's gonna close in 2 or 3 years and have to go through this all again., says mary
But she'll have to do something, because the bells will soon toll for this historic church.
They haven't decided when the final mass will happen but it's likely may or june of next year.
In the meantime, they'll work to find a new use for the church buildings.
They will also have to find a new location for three groups that call it home...and a new congregation for the 600 parishioners who won't have a church.
St. Mary Parish Closing