About Immaculate Conception · Jackson, Missouri
Immaculate Conception Catholic Church is a thriving parish in Jackson, Missouri, in the Diocese of Cape Girardeau. The community traces its roots to the first Mass celebrated in Jackson in 1850, became an official parish in 1874, and today serves over 3,000 member households. The parish runs Immaculate Conception Catholic School (grades K-8) and a full slate of ministries for every age — from Quilters and the St. Ann's Sodality to a Life Teen-style Youth Spirit program for high schoolers and Junior Apostles for junior high. A new church building is currently under construction on the existing campus in the heart of Jackson.
- Established
- 1874
- Patron
- Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception
- Rector
- Fr. Randolph (Randy) Tochtrop
- Diocese
- Diocese of Cape Girardeau
Why belong here
Immaculate Conception is a parish where you can plug in at almost any stage of life: parents find Family Ministry and a parish school, junior highers join Junior Apostles and the Luke 18 Retreat, high schoolers gather for Life Teen-style Youth Spirit and the Dead Theologians Society, and adults serve as lectors, Eucharistic ministers, quilters, Knights, or part of the St. Ann's Sodality. Adoration is offered multiple times a week — including a monthly all-night Vigil organized by the Knights — and the parish takes visibly pastoral care of its shut-ins and elderly through nursing-home ministry, a Birthday Cake program for those 80+, and a bus that brings parishioners to Mass. With a new church now rising on its long-standing Hope Street campus, this is a community both rooted in 1850 and actively building its next chapter.
Mass times at Immaculate Conception
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- First Friday of the month, 7:00–7:30 AM (during First Friday Adoration)
Adoration times
- First Friday of the month, 5:00–8:00 AM (with Liturgy of the Hours Morning Prayer 7:00–7:20 AM, Rosary 7:20 AM, Benediction after Rosary, then Mass at 8:00 AM)
- Second Monday of the month, 2:00–4:00 PM (Adoration Club school children join for a short time after school)
- Third Sunday of the month, 7:00–8:00 PM (Dead Theologians Society attends for a short time)
- Fourth Saturday of the month, 6:00 PM through 7:00 AM Sunday (all-night Vigil, organized by Knights of Columbus Council #6405)
History of Immaculate Conception Parish
Catholic life in Jackson began on Christmas Day 1850, when Fr. Joseph Timon, CM, celebrated Mass in the courthouse basement. Land was purchased in 1854 and a brick church completed in 1858; the mission became an official parish in 1874 with Fr. Rheingold as first pastor. A parish school run by the Ursuline Sisters began in 1882, was revived in 1922, and reopened under the School Sisters of Notre Dame in 1943. The present-day church and rectory were dedicated on August 15, 1962, with bells brought from the now-closed St. Edward Church in Dutchtown. A 2003 tornado damaged school facilities and prompted rebuilding; the parish has since grown from 1,142 households in 2020 to over 3,067 members and is currently building a new church on its Hope Street campus.
- 1850 — First Mass in Jackson, by Fr. Joseph Timon, CM, in the courthouse basement
- 1854 — Land purchased; brick church completed 1858 alongside the Baptist church
- 1874 — Mission attains parish status; Fr. Rheingold (Rheindorff) is first pastor
- 1882 — Ursuline Sisters open a parish school and convent
- 1943 — School Sisters of Notre Dame reopen the school
- 1962 — Current church and rectory dedicated Aug. 15; cornerstone laid May 26
- 2000 — 150th anniversary of first Mass in Jackson celebrated with outdoor Mass
- 2003 — Tornado damages new school facility, destroys 1948 building and gym
- 2018 — Parish Council decides to build a new church on existing properties
- Groundbreaking for new church blessed by Bishop Edward M. Rice
Clergy, School, and Staff
Immaculate Conception is currently served by Fr. Randolph (Randy) Tochtrop as Pastor, alongside Deacons Walter Biri and Alvin M. Stoverink. The parish school, Immaculate Conception Catholic School (K–8), is led by Principal Michele Campbell. Office operations are handled by Office Manager Karen Barks and Bookkeeping/Accounting by Theresa Bubulka. Donna McLain serves as Director of Religious Education (DRE), Jerry Ganiel is Music Minister, and the parish also references a Director of Youth and Family Ministry.
- Fr. Randy Tochtrop — Pastor ([email protected])
- Deacon Walt Biri — [email protected]
- Deacon Al Stoverink — [email protected]
- Michele Campbell — Principal, Immaculate Conception Catholic School
- Karen Barks — Office Manager ([email protected])
- Theresa Bubulka — Bookkeeping/Accounting
- Donna McLain — DRE Director
- Jerry Ganiel — Music Minister ([email protected])
- Director of Youth and Family Ministry ([email protected])
Immaculate Conception Catholic School
Immaculate Conception Catholic School serves grades K–8 at 300 S Hope St, Jackson, MO 63755-2148 (phone 573-243-5013; website http://icsjackson.eduK12.net). The school's roots reach to 1882 under the Ursuline Sisters; it was revived in 1943 by the School Sisters of Notre Dame. A new building was dedicated in fall 2002; after a tornado destroyed the 1948 school and gymnasium in 2003, new classrooms and a multipurpose facility were dedicated on August 15, 2004. Kindergarten was added to the curriculum in 1988.
- Principal: Michele Campbell
- Grades K–8
- 300 S Hope St, Jackson, MO 63755-2148
- Phone: (573) 243-5013
- Web: icsjackson.eduK12.net
Faith Formation and Youth Ministry
The parish runs a School of Religious Education (CCD) under DRE Donna McLain, plus an OCIA (formerly RCIA) process directed by Fr. Tochtrop. Youth and Family Ministry is led by a Director of Youth and Family Ministry and reaches every age.
- Family Ministry — open to all parish families; builds the 'Domestic Church' through family events
- Junior Apostles — junior high youth group (grades 6–8), includes Kaboom nights and the Luke 18 Retreat
- Youth Spirit — high school youth group (grades 9–12), Life Teen model (Gather, Proclaim, Break, Send)
- Dead Theologians Society — Catholic apostolate for teens/young adults, prays for the Souls in Purgatory
- Steubenville Youth Conference and Life Teen Summer Conferences for high schoolers
- OCIA (RCIA) for adults
Parish Ministries and Organizations
Immaculate Conception has an unusually deep bench of lay ministries — both service and liturgical — and a clear invitation to get involved by contacting the Parish Office.
- St. Ann's Sodality (all women of the parish; bereavement dinners, altar linens, Birthright collections, welcoming new families)
- Knights of Columbus Council #6405 (named for Fr. Joseph Timon) and Ladies Auxiliary
- Liturgical: Eucharistic Ministers, Lectors, Greeters/Ushers, Altar Servers, Music Ministers (Adult Choir, Choristers, Bells of Joy Ringers — adult and jr.)
- Arts and Environment Committee (church decorators)
- Nursing Home Ministry (Veterans Home, Monticello House, Jackson Manor) with weekly Bible Study
- Bus Ministry (parish bus and wheelchair-accessible van)
- Social Ministry (food, gas, rent assistance)
- Prayer Shawl Ministry, Prayer Request Line, Quilters (Tue 9:00 AM, Rectory Basement)
- Kitchen Ministry, Birthday Cake Program (parishioners 80+), Communion to Shut-ins, Money Counters, Bulletin Stuffers, Gardening, Laborers, Office Volunteers
Service, Outreach, and Community Life
Outreach is woven through the parish — Social Ministry helps with food, gas, and rent for those in need; St. Ann's Sodality collects baby items monthly for Birthright; the parish participates in the Jackson Ministerial Alliance, Cursillo, Camp Re-New-All, Teens Encounter Christ, Vacation Bible School, and church sports leagues. The parish also maintains a Christmas Novena and a Vocations Crucifix Prayer Box.
- Birthright (monthly baby-item collection)
- Christmas Novena
- Vocations Crucifix Prayer Box
- Cursillo, Teens Encounter Christ, Camp Re-New-All
- Jackson Ministerial Alliance
- Vacation Bible School
Contact, Location, and Construction Update
The parish office is at 208 S Hope St, Jackson, MO 63755-2130, and is temporarily relocated during construction of the new church to 220 E. Monroe St., Suite B, Jackson, MO. The new church, designed by Catholic-church architect Steve Baker, was blessed at groundbreaking by Bishop Edward M. Rice and will seat about 720, with improved accessibility, restrooms, and a new parking lot on the site of the existing church.
- Parish phone: (573) 243-3182
- Office email: [email protected]
- Pastor email: [email protected]
- Youth email: [email protected]
- GPS: N 37° 22.821', W 089° 40.001'
- Temporary office: 220 E. Monroe St., Suite B, Jackson, MO
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Fr. Rheingold (Rheindorff)1874–
First pastor when the mission attained parish status in 1874; kept the first official records.
- Fr. Joseph Timon, CM1850–
Vincentian missionary who celebrated the first Mass in Jackson on Christmas Day 1850 in the courthouse basement; later became Bishop of Buffalo, NY. The parish's Knights of Columbus Council #6405 is named for him.
- Fr. John Harth
Former pastor who in 2015 put together the needs-assessment committee that confirmed the need for a new church.