It was part of the designs for a new church by the Des Moines architectural firm of Proudfoot, Bird & Rawson.

[1] McNamara had previously been responsible for the design and construction of All Saints Church in Stuart, Iowa, another Maginnis & Walsh project.

Initially, the exterior of the church was designed to be brick because Maginnis & Walsh thought limestone was too expensive, but Father McNamara insisted he could raise the necessary funds and he did.

Two other Catholic bishops and over one hundred priests from the Des Moines diocese and elsewhere attended the dedication.

The widows were delayed because of the financial constraints related to the Great Depression and World War II.

That same year an addition designed by Higgins, Shirk & Colvig of Des Moines was added on the east side of the church and connects it to the rectory.

The Conrad Pickel Studio also designed the stained glass windows for the east addition.

The church is built of Indiana limestone that was probably acquired from Tri-Cities' Stone Company of Davenport, Iowa.

The church measures 138 by 80 feet (42 by 24 m) and has a 115-foot (35 m) campanile on the west rear of the building that contains a 600-pound (270 kg) bell that was cast in 1961.

The barrel vaulted coffered ceiling covered in gold leaf rises 50 feet (15 m) above the floor.

Des Moines artist Dominic Damiani painted a mural of Christ the King surrounded by symbols of the Four Evangelists on the gilded upper section of the apse.

The clerestory windows depict the sacraments, cardinal virtues of the church, and offices and teachings of humankind.

The traditional style console with roll top is in the center of the instrument in a fixed position.

The organ also has electro-pneumatic (EP) chests, drawknobs in vertical rows on angled jambs, balanced swell shoes/pedals and standard AGO placement.

Rounding out the features are adjustable combination pistons, AGO Standard (concave radiating) pedalboard, crescendo pedal, reversible full organ/tutti toe stud, combination action thumb pistons and coupler reversible toe studs.

[8] Media related to Basilica of St. John (Des Moines, Iowa) at Wikimedia Commons