The construction of the new Holy Trinity Catholic Church is expected to be finished and the first Mass in the new church is anticipated for late June or early July.

With the opening of the new church, the congregation of the various churches in the Holy Trinity Parish will come together as one.

According to Tom Miklo, development director for St. Edmond Catholic Schools, the seeds of the project date back to 2001 or 2002, when the Fort Dodge region began experiencing a shortage of priests. At the time, the priest shortage made it difficult to hold Mass at the seven different worship sites in Webster County and became one of the main factors leading to the consolidation into Holy Trinity Parish and Holy Trinity Catholic Church.

The other, Miklo said, was the age of the existing churches.

-Messenger photo by Brendan Hoffman
The rooftops of the new Holy Trinity Catholic Church can be seen on Jan. 10 in Fort Dodge.

“Both Corpus Christi and Sacred Heart are over 100 years old,” he said. “When they were built, they were actually built to maybe last 100 years, and that’s really the life.”

The older churches are also not handicap-accessible and cannot easily be made accessible.

Since construction crews broke ground on the land behind St. Edmond on Sixth Avenue North in August 2018, much progress has been made on the $12 million project. Keith Kolacia, a member of the parish and owner of Kolacia Construction, is the project manager.

The church project is actually the third phase of the parish’s improvement plan, Miklo said. The first phase started in 2008 or 2009, focusing on the immediate needs of the school. Once those were met, this project finally got off the ground. After the church is finished, the parish will look at creating a new parish center and new offices for the church.

The current parish center is located at Corpus Christi Catholic Church.

-Messenger photo by Hans Madsen
Jude Zach, 1, of Fort Dodge, has a little trouble with his toy construction hard hat during the groundbreaking for the new Holy Trinity Catholic Church on Aug. 1, 2018.

Not everyone has been happy with the changes in the parish lately.

“I think there is always going to be some resistance whenever change is involved, but I think many people are positively moved by the new building,” said Monsignor Kevin McCoy. “I think its amenities: no steps to access the church or any of its related space will be greatly appreciated. As the campus ‘feel’ further develops, some attitudes are embracing the change more and more.”

In addition to combining the different congregations into one, the new church will also include physical elements from the other worship sites, like the rosette stained glass window and pew ends from Sacred Heart, as well as items from Corpus Christi and others.

“The efforts made using the expertise of liturgical consultants make blending the use of certain artifacts from various sites into a harmonizing reality,” McCoy said. “There are some very fine pieces of art work and liturgical furnishings that can easily be refurbished for use in worship services in the new church and chapel. It brings a continuity of our past into our future as a Catholic community of faith; we are united by one faith, one baptism worshiping our one God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. So it is comforting to bring some things from our 150-plus year history into our future.”

Miklo thinks the symbolism behind the incorporation of the items from the older churches is beautiful and a chance for a new start.

-Messenger photo by Hans Madsen
Framed by part of an excavator, guests at the groundbreaking for the new Holy Trinity Catholic Church watch the ceremony on Aug. 1, 2018.

“It’s kind of like we all have to give up something that we love, but we’re all going to get something new that we can love,” he said.

“Not everybody’s been on board, but this is kind of about the next generation, not about my generation.”

Miklo said that even though there has been some people who have been less than thrilled with the changes, that Monsignor McCoy has done an “amazing job of unifying church and school.”

“Jesus said, ‘Let the children lead,'” Miklo said. “We think that will happen because this becomes their church. They’ve been going to Mass in the auditorium for a lot of years.”

Now, the students at St. Edmond will attend Mass in the new church regularly.

-Messenger photo by Brendan Hoffman
Keith Kolacia, project manager at Kolacia Construction, poses for a portrait at the new Holy Trinity Catholic Church on Jan. 10 in Fort Dodge.

“And we think that will lead them more to the Saturday and Sunday weekend Masses and hopefully bring their parents, and try to get them more involved in the Mass, because what we’ve noticed is when the kids are involved with the Mass, the place is full,” Miklo said.

The sanctuary will seat 1,000. There will also be a day chapel behind the altar that will seat 100.

The completion of the Holy Trinity church will continue to centralize the Fort Dodge Catholic community into one big campus, Miklo said, tying together the Marian Home, the Catholic nursing home, with the Catholic school and the Catholic church.

Miklo said that the parish has no immediate plans for either the Sacred Heart or the Corpus Christi church buildings.

“We would love to see them repurposed for something in the community,” he said. “It can’t be any other religious property and that’s just because canon law says it can’t be.”

-Messenger photo by Hans Madsen
Seth Hoff, with Reinarts Stained Glass, of Winona, Minnesota, watches as Jamie Purcell works on labeling sections of the rose shaped stained glass window at Sacred Heart Catholic Church. Some of the windows are being removed and will be installed in the new Holy Trinity Catholic Church currently under construction.

He said that the parish has been approached by some groups interested in the sites, but no plans have been made.

“At the end of the day, we would love for them to be used for something,” Miklo said.

When the new church is complete, Bishop R. Walker Nickless, bishop of the Sioux City Diocese, will consecrate the new church and preside and preach at the first Mass, McCoy said.

“Planning for the liturgy are underway in conjunction with the diocesan office of worship and our local folks,” he added.

-Messenger photo by Brendan Hoffman
The new Holy Trinity Catholic Church is under construction on Jan. 10 in Fort Dodge.

-Messenger photo by Hans Madsen
Seth Hoff, with Reinarts Stained Glass, of Winona, Minnesota, maps out the sections of the rose-shaped stained glass window at Sacred Heart Catholic Church. Some of the windows are being removed and will be installed in the new Holy Trinity Catholic Church currently under construction.

-Messenger photo by Hans Madsen
Seth Hoff, with Reinarts Stained Glass, of Winona, Minnesota, maps out the sections of the rose shaped stained glass window at Sacred Heart Catholic Church. Some of the windows were removed and were to be installed in the new Holy Trinity Catholic Church currently under construction.