The new St. Joseph Parish was formed July 1, 2025, combining the two churches of St Mary of the Visitation and St. Patrick into one parish, under pastor Fr. Joseph Sia

The name pays honor to St. Joseph Hospital and the work of the Congregation of the Humility of Mary, which began in 1877 in Ottumwa. the first St. joseph Hospital was built in 1914 and located on 4th street next to St. Mary of the Visitation. The larger hospital, pictured below, was completed in 1929 and the sisters ran it until the mid 1970s, training over 700 nurses through the St. Joseph School of Nursing from 1914 to the 1970s. The building was later used as a Hospice House and was demolished in 2019. 

History of St. Patrick Parish

In 1879, St. Patrick Parish was organized in Ottumwa. Rev. Francis J. Ward, who was ordained in Ireland, became the first pastor of the new parish.
On Ascension Day, May 23, 1882, the cornerstone of the first St. Patrick Church building was laid. On April 15, 1883, it was dedicated as the first church bullt in south Ottumwa. The following pastors serving this parish were Rev. John O’Farrell, Rev. Charles White, Rev. James Dunion, Rev. William Bulger, Rev. Henry Joseph Hogan, Rev. Bernard J. Decker, and Rev. T.C. Donohoe.

Original St Patrick’s Church Building- 1887
In November 1951, plans for a new church building were initiated, shortly after Fr. John J. Collins was appointed pastor. The Most Reverend Ralph L. Hayes, Bishop of Davenport, dedicated the present building in 1957.

Pope John XXIII convened the Second Vatican Council in 1962. In 1963, under Pope Paul VI, this council produced the first of several new documents which guided the Church to new understandings of the sacred liturgy. In 1994, St. Patrick’s Church underwent a renovation process in an attempt to conform more closely to these liturgical developments.

On July 9, 1995, Bishop William Franklin came to the parish for the rededication of the church.

Pastors
1883-1890 Rev. Francis J. Ward
 1890-1903 Rev. John O’Farrell
 1903-1905 Rev. John Charles White
 1905-1906 Rev. James Dunion
 1906-1916 Rev. James William Bulger
 1916-1933 Rev. Henry Joseph Hogan
 1933-1939 Rev. Bernard Decker
 1939-1951 Rev. T.C. Donohoe
 1951-1966 Rev. John J. Collins
 1966-1971 Rev. Denis F. Cahalan
 1971-1990 Very Rev. Paul C. Hart V.F.
 1990-1999 Very Rev. Anthony Herold V.F.
 1999-2010 Rev. John Spiegel
 2010-2023 Very Rev. Patrick J. Hilgendorf V.F.
2023-present Rev. Joseph Sia
Assistant Pastors
1933-1940 Rev. Patrick J. Casey
 1940-1945 Rev. Paul C. Albers
 1945-1949 Rev. John J. Martin
 1949-1952 Rev. S.E. Susic
 1952-1958 Rev. Sylvester A. Conrad
 1958-1965 Rev. Richard J. Von Ah
 1965-1968 Rev. Gerald A. Hoenig
 1968-1969 Rev. Ernest E. Braida
 1969-1971 Rev. Philip A. Cardenzana
 1971-1973 Rev. Thomas E. Cusack
 1973-1974 Rev. George W. McDaniel
 1974 Rev. John C. Clark
 1989-1990 Rev. Hugh H. McGinley, O.P.
 2003-2004 Rev. Troy A. Richmond
 2023-2024 Rev. Dale Mallory
2024-2025 Rev. Ben Snyder
2025-present Rev. Isaac Doucette 

From St. Patrick Church Ottumwa, Iowa 2011-2012 Directory, Michael W. Lemberger, http://www.lifetouch.com

·         History of                   
St. Mary of the Visitation

St. Mary of the Visitation Parish was established in 1849 when Bishop Mathias Loras of the Diocese of Dubuque sent the Rev. Jean Villars from St. John the Evangelist in Keokuk to purchase two lots for the church and rectory and a larger piece of land for a cemetery in Louisville, as Ottumwa was known at the time. 

The price paid for the church property and that for a cemetery was $1,100. He organized the congregation and supervised the building of a small brick church. 

Rev. Alexander Hattenberger was sent to be pastor of the entire Des Moines Valley in 1850. He was the first priest to celebrate Mass in what would become Des Moines. However, he found the assignment too difficult and in 1853 he was transferred to St. Joseph’s Church in Fort Madison. He was replaced by a newly ordained priest, the Rev. John Kreckel, who stayed in Ottumwa until his death in 1899. Not only was he responsible for Ottumwa and Wapello County, but his territory also covered Jefferson, Van Buren, Keokuk, Mahaska, Polk, Jasper, Marion, Monroe, Davis, Appanoose, Wayne     and Decatur Counties. He founded churches in Eddyville, Georgetown, and Bauer.

A new and larger church building was constructed of stone in 1860 on the site of the present church. By the 1920s it was determined the church building was too small for the growing congregation, so plans were made to replace it with the current structure. 

The present St. Mary of the Visitation Church was designed by C.I. Krajewski, an architect from Dubuque, Iowa.^[4] He designed the building in the Late Gothic Revival style, which was popular at the time. The building features an asymmetrical facade with a corner bell tower. The exterior is constructed of blocks of Bedford limestone. The tower is crenellated across the top, and features finials on three of the corners and a copper-covered lantern topped by a cross on the fourth.

The main entrance of the church is deeply recessed within a Gothic arched opening. On either side of the front doors is a carved fleur-de-lis, a symbol of purity that is used to represent the Blessed Virgin Mary under whose patronage the church is dedicated.
The interior reveals a traditional Latin Cross floor plan. The long, narrow nave ends in the altar area. Before the altar is the transept wing that forms the cross. 

Two side aisles flank the main nave and are separated from the nave with Gothic arches. The interior walls are constructed of tannish-brown brick, highlighted by inset carved stone panels. 

The altar area was simplified following the Second Vatican Council. The ceiling is built on large wooden trusses that hold up ornately painted ceiling panels.
Large stained glass clerestory windows line the walls of the main nave and depict different saints. Narrow windows light the side aisles. 

All of the windows in the church were created by Emil Frei, Inc. of St. Louis, Missouri.The light fixtures were designed and constructed by the Beardslee Chandelier Company of Chicago, Illinois. A large pipe organ was placed in the church in the 1990s.
 
Two other parishes were established in Ottumwa, which reduced St. Mary’s in size. St. Patrick’s was established on the south side of town in 1879. Both parishes became part of the Diocese of Davenport when it was established in 1881. Ottumwa’s third parish, Sacred Heart, was started on the east side of town in 1897. It closed in the 1990s.
 
A number of Spanish speaking people have moved into the Ottumwa area, and Masses are celebrated in both English and Spanish at St. Mary’s.