The 1960’s was a decade of change for our the Catholic Church in general. Yet, despite change, St. Patrick’s continued to grow. By 1960, the church had 590 registered families and 259 children attending St. Patrick’s School. It was during this time that a three room edition was also added to the school to make room for more pupils.
Between the years of 1962-1965, a large body of cardinals, bishops, and experts met at the request of Pope John XXIII to reorganize and renew the Church and its understanding of liturgy, and sacred scripture. This meeting was called the Second Vatican Council. Decisions made during this time period directly affected our own Church and parish here in Council Bluffs. For example, in 1964, the altar was turned around to face the congregation in accord with new precepts put out by Vatican II.
The decade saw great change in Council Bluffs’ Catholic Education System when St. Albert’s High School was dedicated by Bishop Edward Daly on June 7, 1964. The first year of the high school started with a freshmen class of 175 students. Each year, a new class was added with the hopes of reaching a total high school population somewhere between 900 and 1000 patrons. The first years of the school saw separate classrooms for boys and girls.
Though change abounded, the parishioners of St. Patrick’s Church continued to practice the fundamental value of all faith life: prayer. On Ash Wednesday, 1961, the St. Patrick’s Holy Name Society initiated an adoration of the Blessed Sacrament for two days each week. By the time Easter had come, registration for adoration of the Blessed Sacrament was filled and expanded. The expansion of the project ensured that two people would be praying before the altar continuously for an hour each, with new members coming in to fill their position. The response was so overwhelmingly positive that adoration continued 24 hours a day, seven days a week by adults and high school age teens logging a consecutive total of 10,000 hours of prayer!
The 1960’s also saw one of St. Patrick’s own become bishop. The Reverend Vincent McCauley, a St. Patrick’s parishioner was appointed Bishop of a Catholic territory in Fort Portal, Uganda, Africa by Pope John XXIII. Rev. McCauley had begun his missionary work in Africa in 1958 as a member of the Holy Cross Foreign Mission Society, headquartered in Washington D.C. Rev. McCauley was a graduate of Creighton Prep in 1924 and died November 1, 1982.
Msgr. Moriarty who led St. Patrick’s through the majority of the 60’s was replaced by Msgr. Michael W. Schwarte. Fr. Sam Palmer (1959-1961), Fr. Frank Palmer (1962-1967), and Fr. Robert Schoeman (1966-1970), assisted Msgr. Moriarty and Msgr. Schwarte during the 60’s.
