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(1959-2018)
The Catholic Parishes in Waterloo have a long history of collaborating to provide for the education, faith formation and pastoral care of Catholics in the Cedar Valley. Here are highlights of those efforts:
1959 -- The Catholic parishes in Cedar Falls, Evansdale and Waterloo
establish Columbus Catholic High School.
1971 -- Team ministry is inaugurated between St. John and St. Nicholas
parishes. (The team served these parishes until 1987.)
1975 -- St. John and St. Nicholas Catholic Schools are consolidated.
1980 -- St. John-St. Nicholas Consolidated School Board is formed.
1986 -- St. John-St. Nicholas Consolidated Religious Education Board is formed.
1987 -- Waterloo Catholic schools hire a joint marketing director.
1988 -- Waterloo parishes establish CORE, a cooperative religious formation program for high school
students
-- Waterloo parishes adopt a uniform policy for Confirmation preparation.
1992 -- Waterloo Diocore introduces Faith/Life Connections, a cooperative adult formation program.
1993 -- Hispanic ministry established at Queen of Peace Parish.
1994 -- Waterloo parishes begin celebrating Confirmation together.
-- Waterloo Diocore inaugurates First Tuesday, a support and
enrichment program for married couples.
1995 -- Waterloo Diocore adopts Come Home (later renamed Welcome Home), an evangelization program
for inactive and alienated Catholics.
1997 -- Waterloo Diocore inaugurates Catholic Forum, an adult formation series which discusses critical
issues in the church and world.
1998 -- Blessed Sacrament, Sacred Heart, St. John and St. Nicholas parishes form Waterloo Catholic
Youth Ministry (WCYM).
1999 -- St. Mary Parish joins Waterloo Catholic Youth Ministry.
-- Sacred Heart, St. John and St. Nicholas parishes inaugurate a common catechumenate for the
RCIA;
-- Blessed Sacrament and St. Mary parishes share a common catechumenate for the RCIA.
2000 -- Metro youth center opened at St. John School.
2001 -- St. John, St. Mary and St. Nicholas Schools are consolidated.
-- Planning begins for consolidation of Columbus High School, Blessed Sacrament, Sacred Heart, St.
Edward and St. Mary schools.
-- St. John and St. Nicholas religious education programs are consolidated.
-- Part-time junior high youth minister and ministry assistant hired.
2002 -- St. John, St. Joseph, St. Mary and St. Nicholas parishes are merged into Queen of Peace Parish.
-- Waterloo parishes inaugurate a shared preparation program for
adult Confirmation.
-- Blessed Sacrament, Sacred Heart and Queen of Peace parishes inaugurate a common
Catechumenate for the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA).
-- Blessed Sacrament, Sacred Heart and Queen of Peace inaugurate a shared summer vacation
school program for elementary age children.
2003 -- Waterloo grade schools and Columbus High School consolidated into Cedar Valley Catholic
Schools system.
-- Pastors, Pastoral Associates and Directors of Religious Education in the Waterloo parishes begin
meeting regularly.
-- Blessed Sacrament, Sacred Heart and Queen of Peace expand common RCIA program to include the
Pre-catechumenate, Enlightment and Mystagogia phases.
-- Youth center moved to Mercy Convent, Evansdale.
2005 -- Waterloo parishes inaugurate a shared program for baptism preparation.
-- St. Edward Parish joins Waterloo Catholic Youth Ministry.
-- Youth center moved to St. Edward's New Life Center.
2006 -- Waterloo parishes introduce the Rite of Christian Reception for Adults (RCRA).
-- Waterloo Pastoral Leaders create a vision statement and
strategic plan for the Waterloo parishes.
-- Waterloo parishes hire a common Director of Adult Faith Formation.
2007 -- Education Committees from Blessed Sacrament, Sacred Heart, Queen of Peace and St. Edward
meet to discuss common opportunities and challenges in parish faith formation.
-- A metro catechetical planning committee is created to study expanding collaborative religious
formation opportunities in the parishes.
-- Youth center moved to Columbus High School.
2008 -- A joint meeting of pastoral councils and education committees approves the planning committee's
recommendations to form a metro Catechetical Commission (now called the Faith Formation
Commission).
-- An interim planning committee is formed to develop plans for a metro Commission and common
catechetical plan for the Waterloo parishes.
-- Waterloo parishes innaugurate joint Children's Initiation process.
2010 -- The interim planning committee recommends to the pastoral councils and education
committees strategies and goals for a metro catechetical plan and a constitution for the Waterloo
Catholic Faith Formation Commission.
-- The pastoral councils endorse the interim committee's recommendations and approve the proposed
Constitution.
-- Elections are held to the Waterloo Catholic Faith Formation Commission.
2011 -- Waterloo parishes sponsor "Come to the Table" shared preparation for the new Roman Missal.
-- Waterloo parishes hold first metro vacation bible school.
-- Waterloo parishes introduce summer faith formation program for students not enrolled in Catholic
schools.
2012 -- Summer faith formation program expanded to include high school CORE.
-- Waterloo Catholic Faith Formation Commission adopts unified hiring process for parish Faith
Formation Directors.
-- Waterloo Pastoral Leaders appoint Ad Hoc Evangelization Committee.
-- Blessed Maria Assunta Palotta Middle School opens.
-- Middle School Youth Ministry Office moved to BMAP Middle School.
-- Burmese ministry innaugurated at Sacred Heart Parish.
-- Parish leaders create a Task Force to study future needs and opportunities in the parishes.
2013 -- Waterloo Catholic Faith Formation Commission and Cedar Valley Catholic Schools Board sign
a Joint Agreement.
-- Parish Task Force completes its study and presents options for the future configuration of the
parishes to the Archdiocese.
-- Parishes launch Catholic Evangelization Outreach (Catholic Witness Hour)
-- Parishes sponsor first shared parish mission (Allen Hunt)
-- Waterloo Catholic Faith Commission revises evaluation process for faith formation staff.
-- Waterloo Catholic Faith Commission begins planning for shared faith formation staff
2014 -- Waterloo Parishes approve plans for a consolidated faith formation team.
-- First Faith Formation Team begins serving Waterloo parishes.
2015 -- Parishes lease downtown storefront on East 4th Street for COR at 220 East hospitality and
community center.
-- Fr. Luigi Htya Ruh joins Burmese ministry as Associate Pastor at Sacred Heart.
2016 -- Commission revises Faith Formation Goals and Strategies.
2017 -- Faith Formation Commission Constitution is revised to reflect new Archdiocesan policy;
Commission becomes an advisory body to the pastors.
-- Y-Disciple format replaces Core high school program.
-- Pastors approve plan to implement Alpha for Catholics in the parishes.
2018 -- First Alpha for Catholics series begin.
-- Parishes sponsor joint Parish Mission on Vincentian Spirituality.
2019 -- Grades K-8 from Sacred Heart and Blessed Sacrament Schools consolidated at St. Edward
site.
-- Early Childhood Center opened at Blessed Sacrament site.Last Update: 11.30.21