A cold January in 1909 records the first organized Catholicism in the territory of Rockford, Floyd County, Iowa. Father Henry Rohlman instructed and converted many and administered the sacaraments over the two weeks he spent with the people. When he left, a committee had been formed to start the process of coming together as a parish. In the summer of 1909, building began for a church. On June 12, 1910 a formal dedication was held with Fr.
Dean Garland presiding. A rectory was built in 1916. When Father Paul LaVaLette arrived in 1931, a basement was dug under the church. A garage was added to the rectory and a split-level addition was added above the garage to serve as a winter chapel. During his pastorate, enrollment increased by 50% to 48 families and the parish celebrated its 25th anniversary. Two hundred forty five baptisms had been recorded to date.
The Confraternity of Christian Doctrine was instructed by the Sisters of the Presentation, from Immaculate Conception in Charles City, on 10 Saturdays in the fall and another 10 in the spring along with 2 weeks each summer. Father Lattner served us from 1950-1962 and many improvements were made to the church. The bequeath of Jake J. Paulus, Sr. of 200 acres of land to the parish was revealed at this time.
The historian at this time, Minnie Heinserling, has a quote in the records, “The highlights of our first 50 years have touched us all. We owe a great deal to the hardy pioneers of our dear parish without whose faith and vision would have made our history here very different. It is up to us here, present members of Holy Name, to accept our responsibilities and to do our utmost to see that our church parish continues to thrive.”
In 1964, records show 86 families enrolled in the parish and the First Sunday of Advent was said to be the first Mass where the priest faced the people and English was introduced to the liturgy. Vatican Council had arrived in rural Iowa, U.S.A.
During Father Paul Maguire’s pastorate, the parish voted to begin construction of a new church in 1976. Parish bazaars were held each fall to raise funds to clear the debt. On June 10, 1984, the witnessed the burning of mortgage, which was a dream come true for Father. At the council meeting to follow, he announced his retirement.
In 1984, Fr. Joseph Sullivan arrived at Holy Name. Deanery Councils were established, parish constitutions were put into place and the parish hired a lay person as the Director of Religious Education. In 1985 we co-celebrated Father’s 40th year of ordination and our 75th anniversary with a summer potluck.
A parish survey in 1986 shows 135 household registered. In 1989, a devastating school fire, brought the community churches together as they opened their doors to students so classes could continue while reconstruction took place. A parishioner, Louise Hermann, celebrated her 100th birthday in 1991 with a special papal blessing. In 1999, Fr. Riley arrived. He resided at Sacred Heart in Rockwell, and we became one part of a 3 parish cluster. The rectory was sold, moved and a larger parking lot was cemented. In 2003, Father Steimel organized the Father Raymond Bohrer Knights of Columbus Council #13314 involving the men of the 3 parishes; St. Patrick’s, Dougherty, Sacred Heart, Rockwell, and Holy Name. In 2006, our first joint Confirmation celebration with the clusters was celebrated by Archbishop Jerome Hanus
