A Brief History of Corpus Christi Church, Fruitland

Corpus Christi Church is located in Fruitland, Idaho which is the central city of the three cities in Payette County. 
Corpus Christi is the combination of St. Aloysius in New Plymouth and Holy Family in Payette. In 1999, Bishop Todd Brown combined the two parishes into a new parish named Corpus Christi with the instructions to build a more central and larger church to serve Payette County and the surrounding area.
The new church was complete in July 2007. The total cost was $3.4 million. The church seats 580 and is 12,590 square feet in size. The Bell Tower reaches 77 feet. The ceiling in the main church is 40 feet above the floor. Most of the stained glass windows were moved from the churches in New Plymouth and Payette. The statues have been restored and also came from the churches in New Plymouth and Payette. The church was designed by Dave Davies AIA and built be Guho Contruction. The altar furniture was designed by Fr. Blankinship and built by Red Simonsen. The large stained glass window behind the altar was created by Barbara Boyer.
Corpus Christi was dedicated on September 5, 2007. The name Corpus Christi is from the Latin that means “Body of Christ”. Our feast day is the Sunday following Trinity Sunday which is eleven weeks after Easter Sunday. The feast originated in the Diocese of Liege in France in 1246. In 1246, Pope Urban IV created this feast Church wide, highlighting the redemptive affects of the Sacrament of the Body and Blood of Christ.
Fr. Calvin Blankinship was the residing priest (2001-2015). Fr. Camilo Garcia suceeded him from 2015-2021. Fr. Francisco Godinez, JCL, MCL  is the current residing Pastor (July 6th, 2021-present). There are about 500 families in the parish.
The construction on our hall and parish office was done in 2020. There's projections to continue construction of classrooms for catechesis of children, youth, young Adults, RCIA, and continuing Ed. of Adults, as well as a new rectory in the near future.
In the Summer of 2023 we found a new challenge from our 2007 construction. After 16 years of use, the Church building stucco began to deteriorate and it needed mayor repairs. The final quote for the building was aproximately  $105,000. The community gathered a bit over $ 110,000. It took everyone's efforts to ensure that our beloved church would be restored and protected. We give thanks to God for so many generous benefactors and for the leadership of our clergy, staff and so many volunteers who showed great unity in our community.

A Brief History of Holy Family Church, Payette

Payette is situated near the confluence of the Payette and Snake rivers, a point in Idaho very near the Oregon Border. When David Lamme saw railroad surveyors working near the mouth of the Payette river, he decided to establish his store there in May of 1883. In the following July, the Moss brothers (A.B. and F.C.) set up camp for their loggers who were delivering ties to the railroad company by way of the Payette river. First called “Boomerang” when Fr. Hartleib was appointed to the Boise missions in the fall of 1883, the name was soon changed to ‘Payette’ to honor an early French trader of the Hudson’s Bay Company, Francis Payette. In 1884 the Oregon Short Line railroad was completed, a saw mill was erected and a school house was built in Payette. Though growth was slow, planting of fruit orchards in 1890 and the shipping of the first railroad car of fruit in the next year assured Payette’s permanency.
Bishop Glorieux and Fr. Hartleib, Fr. Van der Heyden, and Fr. Hendricks said Mass in the railroad’s section house until a new church was built in 1900 on property at 12^th street and 1^st Ave. South. A frame structure 54x25 feet, the church could accommodate 108 people seated. Its cost was $ 1,600.00 There were only eight Catholic families in the Holy Family mission including the John Toole and John Whalen families in the year 1900.
The early years of WWII saw a marked decrease in the population of the Payette-Weiser area. In 1943 there were only 87 Catholics in town. The war years saw an increase of Mexican laborers in Idaho. August 2, 1943 Fr. Buote wrote: “ I hereby make application for permission to say three Masses each Sunday for the next two months. There is a Mexican labor camp three miles from town and the Manager requests that there be Mass said for them each Sunday. The church is too small to accommodate them. Permission was granted on August 5^th.  In 1944 there were 145 Catholics in town.
In 1950 while Fr. Walsh was pastor a new brick church was built. The church was 84x40 feet and seated 320 people. It was a modified Tudor Gothic style (often referred to as a Bishop Kelly church). The cost was $24,500.00 Later, during Fr. Halpin’s residency, a new rectory and hall were constructed.
Before the first resident pastor, Fr. Leonard Vandenbergh was appointed in 1913, the parish was alternately a mission either of Weiser or of New Plymouth. Since the time of Vendenbergh the following priests have served Holy Family: Fr. Van Nistleroy, Fr. Godschalx, Fr. John Nolan, Fr. M. Ryan, Fr. Charles Veit, Fr. Wm. Gallahue, Fr. Oswald Mogg, Fr. Earl Stokoe, Fr. Francis Michael, Fr. Dionel Buote, Fr. P. Dooley, Fr. R. Bauman, Fr. Victor Lustig, Fr. Nicholas Walsh, Fr. Thomas Halpin, Fr. Patrick Phelan, Fr. Sean Caulfield, Fr. Gerry Dye, Fr. Jairo Restrepo, Fr. Nondier Zuleta, and Fr. Calvin Blankinship.

A Brief History of St. Aloysius Church, New Plymouth

In 1903 the first mission at New Plymouth was attached to St. Agnes in Weiser. Fr. Godschalx was the pastor. During the summer he came to celebrate the first Mass at the home of John Ackerman. There were about ten families. Subsequently, an increasing number of families overflowed their home and they moved to Creasey Hall. In the spring of 1904 Mr. Brainard, mayor of New Plymouth, donated half an acre lot to the church. They began work on part of the building. The first services were held on August 14^th and High Mass was celebrated for the first time on September 16^th with Fr. Howelke. In the spring of 1905 the rest of the building was finished and additional property next door was purchased in September. In 1909 the porch and choir loft were added to the church.
In 1910 the children were receiving their Catholic education in a railroad car, known as the chapel car, which was sent by the Catholic Extension Society. Railroads carried those cars free of charge and they went around the country stopping in different locations for several weeks at a time to teach the children. In the 1930’s students received their lessons by mail, completed them and returned them to the parish.  During the summer the Benedictine nuns would come to teach the children.
In 1950 the basement of the church was dug out to be the Parish Hall. In the early 1980’s the Steven’s house across the street was donated to serve as a Catholic Education Center.
In 1903 Fr. Lambert Godschalx was the founding Pastor. Since that time the priests who have served St. Aloysius: Fr. Howelke, Fr. Vendenbergh, Fr. Wm. Gallahue, Fr. Oswald Mogg, Fr. Nicholas Walsh, Fr. Thomas Halpin, Fr. James Shinnick, Fr. Richard Bauman, Fr. Thomas Heeran, Fr. John McGoldrick, Fr. Gerry Dye, Fr. Jairo Restrepo, Fr. Nondier Zuleta, and Fr. Calvin Blankinship.