MARY OF THE ANGELS HOME

Mary of the Angels Home

MARY OF THE ANGELS HOME. Founded in 1884 by Reverend John HENNESSY, Mary of the Angels Home offered home to young ladies employed in the city.

The first site of the Home was the former residence of Bishop Mathias LORAS. The land, Lot 603 on which the home stood, had been owned by Patrick J. QUIGLEY. On August 27, 1839, he signed over all his rights to Rev. Loras for five hundred dollars. On April 11, 1840, Quigley donated the grounds for the first church and the residence in the name of Rev. Samuel MAZZUCHELLI.

In 1839 Mazzuchelli designed and supervised construction of the residence for Bishop Loras. The plans were drawn to enable the residence to serve as a college for seminarians and a home for priests. Built two and one-half stories high, the home was 40 by 48 feet and made of brick. It was located at the rear of the cathedral on the site later used for St. Raphael's school. Bishop Loras lived in this home on Second and Bluff until his death in 1858. A new residence for the bishop was constructed in 1864 and those enrolled in St. Mary's School, a girls' academy directed by the SISTERS OF CHARITY OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY (BVM), were moved to the former home of Bishop Loras. In April 1884, the Sisters opened this school in a new building constructed at the rear of the Loras home and thereby left the Loras house vacant.

In June 1884, Bishop Hennessy requested the Sisters of Saint Francis to open an industrial home for girls in the vacant residence. Hennessy originally viewed the home as a place where meaningful work would be offered for these girls who could not find other employment. The name St. Francis Industrial School was given to the institution.

The impractical nature of the idea as suggested by Hennessy became immediately obvious. The institution opened instead as a boarding house for young ladies employed in Dubuque. Because no more than sixteen girls could be accommodated, the home was soon crowded, and the Sisters began the search for larger quarters.

In 1891 the home of Jesse P. FARLEY on Sixth and Bluff was put up for sale. The house, constructed by Farley in 1879 at a cost of $20,000 and considered one of Dubuque's most beautiful homes, contained twelve large rooms, an attic, and a basement. Farley and his family lived in the residence for thirteen years. They were forced to move in 1892 when financial ruin resulted from a long and costly legal battle.

The Sisters purchased the home on March 30, 1892, for $15,000. Sister Mary Xavier, mother general of the order, signed the papers-the last documents she witnessed before her death. The Sisters transferred the Home to the Farley residence during the spring of 1892. Remodeling was done to prepare it for the new residents; the project was blessed by Reverend Hennessy on June 4, 1892. The institution was then called the Saint Francis Home. Over the next years, the Saint Francis Home cared for twenty regular boarders looked after by four Sisters.

With no other Catholic home for young ladies in Dubuque, crowding again became a problem. The decision was made to construct a west wing to the Farley residence. This three-story brick addition, 36 by 50 feet, was blessed on October 2, 1900, by Archbishop John J. KEANE. This was the new archbishop's first dedicatory service in Dubuque.

Continued pressure on available space led to the purchase on April 30, 1909, of a lot to the north of the original Farley residence. Four old brick buildings were demolished, and plans were made in May 1911, for a 70- by 38-foot addition. Work was completed in December 1911, and the addition was blessed by a new archbishop, James J. KEANE, on December 10, 1911. This was also his first dedicatory service.

The name of the institution was again changed. Now called Mary of the Angels Home, the building provided shelter for eighty regular boarders with ten Sisters in charge.

Property around the Home was gradually acquired. Four dilapidated houses on the bluff immediately behind the home were demolished soon after the land was purchased from Mr. John Little of Dyersville. The price on June 1, 1916, was $2,600. Flower gardens were created and a small grotto was added to the hillside. On December 5, 1916, a brick house and the lot on which it stood to the south of the Home were purchased from George Watters for $10,000. The house was rented until 1929 when it was torn down to allow the construction of a southern wing to the Home. The work was completed in January 1930.

With the last addition, the Home came to accommodate one hundred regular boarders with as many as five hundred temporary boarders registered during the year. Ten Sisters were in charge. Changing times and no longer the need for such facilities led Mary of the Angels Home to be sold in 1990.