Holy Family 
16318 Holy Family Lane 
Peosta, Iowa 

Holy Family Catholic Church is a Roman Catholic Parish in the Archdiocese of Dubuque. We are located steps away from New Melleray Trappist Monastery. Our history and spiritual heritage are rooted in the prayerfulness of the good monks of New Melleray.

Our community is dedicated to the glory of God through worship, prayer, education, service, and community support.

Holy Family Catholic Church was founded by the monks of New Melleray Abbey. The monastery was established in 1849 by Trappist monks from Mount Melleray, Ireland. Future Irish immigrants were attracted to this area of southern Dubuque County by the presence of the monastic community from their home country. Nearby settlers initially gathered at the monastery to celebrate Sunday Mass.

In 1850 the people asked the monks to help them form their own parish. Fundraising was done and a small stone church was constructed across the road from the abbey. As the community continued to grow the need for a new, bigger church became apparent. A wood frame church was built at the north end of the present cemetery. In April 1889 the current brick church was dedicated and the parish had its permanent home.

The monks from New Melleray served as pastor of Holy Family from its inception, including Rev. Placid Magee, O.C.S.O. who was pastor from 1910 until his death in 1952. Following the death of Fr. Magee the parish came under the care of the Archdiocese of Dubuque. Several priests have served as pastor since then, including our former pastor Rev. Michael J. Podhajsky who was appointed as pastor of Holy Family in September 2011.

Holy Family Parish is a warm, active community of 240 families. The parish community comes together to celebrate the sacraments, form our children through religious education, strengthen relationships through community support, and live out our Catholic faith in love of God and neighbor.

We are always happy to meet new people – everyone is welcome!

Religious Education

For questions regarding our religious education program, please contact Caroline Head, our Director of Faith Formation at 563-582-7392.

Cemetery Online Directory

Click here to visit the online directory for Holy Family Cemetery.

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