Parish Details

St. John XXIII

8100 Roncalli Dr.
Cedar Rapids, IA 52404-9178
Phone: 319-846-3139 Fax: 319-846-3159
Email us: [email protected]

John XXIII Parish came into existence on September 3, 2000, the same date as the beatification of Blessed Pope John XXIII. The need for a new parish to serve the needs of the growing Catholic population on the southwest side of Cedar Rapids (particularly in St. Jude Parish) and in the southwest area of Linn County led to the creation of John XXIII Parish. On Sunday, Sept. 3, 2000, Archbishop Jerome Hanus celebrated with a small group of parishioners at Taft Middle School for the first Mass in the new parish. The parish used Taft Middle School for over three years as plans were made to build an adequate facility on the new parish property on 80th St., S.W. A multi-purpose center–consisting of a church, parish center, kitchen, and offices–were designed by Novak Design Group and built by Kleiman Construction Company. Several sacred items were installed at John XXIII that came originally from Holy Trinity Church in Walford, including the tabernacle, the crucifix above the altar and the Stations of the Cross. The pews came from St. Pius X Church in Cedar Rapids which was being remodeled at the time. The altar, ambo and stands for the baptismal font and tabernacle were donated by the closed St. Patrick church at Dumont. Archbishop Hanus blessed our new church on February 1, 2004.  In 2010 John XXIII Parish merged with St. Patrick, Fairfax to form Blessed John XXIII Parish.  With this merger, the former John XXIII church building was converted to Blessed John XXIII Parish and St. Patrick, Fairfax was changed to an oratory status.  Shortly after, in July 2013 the parish name changed to the current St. John XXIII Parish when Pope John XXIII was canonized by Pope Francis.  The current St. John XXIII church building will adequately serve the needs of the growing parish for a few years, but plans call for a larger church to eventually be built just to the west of the current facility.

Directions
From Highway 151 in Fairfax:
Turn north on 80th St. Church is one mile on the left.
 
 
From Highway 30:
Take exit 246. Turn south on 80th St. Church is one mile on the right.
 
 
From 16th Avenue:
Turn south on 80th St. Church is one mile on the right.

Parish Boundaries

On the North
(South of) US Highway 30 – from Edgewood Road to West Post Road
(South of) E Avenue – from West Post Road to Benton-Linn County Road
(South of) 70th Street of Benton County – from Benton-Linn County Road (west) to 32nd Avenue of Benton county

On the South
Johnson County Road (later becoming Benton-Iowa County Road) – from Edgewood Road to 32nd Avenue of Benton County
 
On the East
(West of) Edgewood Road – from Linn-Johnson County Road to US Highway 30
(West of) West Post Road – from US Highway 30 to E Avenue
(West of) Benton – Linn County Road – from E Avenue to 70th Street of Benton county 

On the West
32nd Avenue of Benton County – from Benton-Iowa County Road to 70th Street of Benton County

 


Saint Patrick

324 Church St.
Fairfax, IA
Directions
From Highway 151 in Fairfax:
Turn east on Church St (just opposite the Dairy Queen). St. Patrick Church is three blocks on the left.

The history of St. Patrick parish in Fairfax begins in the late 1850’s. As the first Catholic families settled in the Fairfax community, they traveled to the nearest church which was in Iowa City. Later Mass was celebrated in Fairfax homes by the priest stationed at Norway, Iowa. In 1875, the first St. Patrick church was built in Fairfax. Shortly after its completion, Fairfax received its first resident pastor, Fr. Edward O’Farrell. Construction on the present Gothic church was begun in 1911 and the corner stone was laid in June 1912. In 1916 the parish school was built. The Sisters of Mercy from Cedar Rapids ran the school teaching grade school and high school. The St. Patrick School eventually closed and St. Patrick became part of the Cedar Rapids Catholic school system. 

Holy Trinity Catholic Church Community

Holy Trinity Catholic Church Community in Walford, Iowa began gathering in 1890. The original parish consisted of 30 Czech families. The original frame church was built in 1890 in Johnson County near Chastek’s cemetery, which is on the Swisher road. In 1902 a new church was built in Walford, using salvaged lumber from the old church. The church exterior was built of native brick and stone. In 1936 an addition was built making the church about twice its former size. The church was completely redecorated in 1953. On July 9, 1972, ground was broken for construction of a new church and parish center. It was a single level brick structure, built in the shape of a cross. A number of items were brought from the old church, including the stained glass windows, the 1902 cornerstone, the 1891 bell and a gold leaf cross from the 1902 church. The Holy Trinity church building still stands in Walford and is used as a funeral home.