About Immaculate Conception · Petersville, Iowa
Immaculate Conception is a small Catholic parish in the unincorporated community of Petersville in Clinton County, Iowa, a rural area of Waterford Township about three miles west of Charlotte. The parish is one of five Roman Catholic communities that together form the St. Patrick Cluster of the Diocese of Davenport: Assumption and St. Patrick (Charlotte), St. Patrick (Delmar), Our Lady of the Holy Rosary (Lost Nation/Toronto), Ss. Mary & Joseph (Sugar Creek), and Immaculate Conception (Petersville). The parish was incorporated under Iowa law as 'Immaculate Conception Church of Petersville, Iowa' on April 27, 1912, and it is now served together with its cluster partners by a single pastor. Like many small Iowa farming parishes, Immaculate Conception maintains an associated cemetery on the church grounds.
- Established
- 1912
- Patron
- Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary
- Rector
- Father Bob Cloos (pastor of the St. Patrick Cluster, which includes Immaculate Conception, Petersville)
- Diocese
- Diocese of Davenport
Why belong here
Immaculate Conception is a small, family-sized Catholic parish where Mass is celebrated in the alternating Sunday schedule typical of Iowa rural clusters, and the community worships together with four neighboring parishes as part of the St. Patrick Cluster. Parishioners share in a vibrant cluster life that includes an Evangelization Team, a combined choir, Knights of Columbus, parish food pantries, religious-education programs whose students lead cluster devotions like the Advent wreath ceremony, and joint retreats such as the Advent 'Rejoice in Hope' day. Worshiping here means joining a long-standing farming-community parish (incorporated in 1912) with its own cemetery and a continuing Catholic witness in Waterford Township, while also benefiting from the shared resources of five linked parishes under one pastor.
Mass times at Immaculate Conception
Weekly Mass schedule
About Immaculate Conception Parish
Immaculate Conception is a small Catholic parish serving the unincorporated community of Petersville in Clinton County, Iowa. It belongs to the Diocese of Davenport and is one of the five parishes of the St. Patrick Cluster. The parish's worshiping community is rooted in the farming families of Waterford Township, and it shares its priest and many of its programs with the four neighboring parishes of Charlotte, Delmar, Lost Nation/Toronto, and Sugar Creek.
- Located in Petersville, Clinton County, Iowa (Waterford Township)
- Part of the Diocese of Davenport
- Member parish of the St. Patrick Cluster
History of the Parish
Petersville was originally known as Quigley and took its current name in 1902 in honor of John Peters, a pioneer settler. Catholic families in this rural corner of Clinton County organized their own parish in the early twentieth century, formally incorporating 'Immaculate Conception Church of Petersville, Iowa' with the Iowa Secretary of State on April 27, 1912 (Corporation #087840). The parish has shared pastoral care with neighboring communities for many decades, a tradition now embodied in the St. Patrick Cluster.
- Petersville community founded as Quigley, renamed 1902
- Parish corporation registered April 27, 1912 (Corp. #087840)
- Now part of the St. Patrick Cluster
The St. Patrick Cluster
Immaculate Conception at Petersville is joined with four other small Iowa parishes to form the St. Patrick Cluster of the Diocese of Davenport: Assumption and St. Patrick in Charlotte, St. Patrick in Delmar, Our Lady of the Holy Rosary in Lost Nation/Toronto, and Ss. Mary & Joseph in Sugar Creek. The cluster shares a single pastor — currently Father Bob Cloos — and runs combined ministries including faith formation, music, and outreach.
- Assumption & St. Patrick, Charlotte
- St. Patrick, Delmar
- Our Lady of the Holy Rosary, Lost Nation/Toronto
- Ss. Mary & Joseph, Sugar Creek
- Immaculate Conception, Petersville
- Pastoral team led by Father Bob Cloos
Cluster Life and Events
The parishes of the St. Patrick Cluster regularly come together for retreats, faith formation, and fellowship. In November 2024 more than 110 people from all five parishes gathered at St. Patrick in Delmar for the 'Rejoice in Hope' Advent Retreat, where religious-education students built and explained the Advent wreath, the combined choir led music, and the Knights of Columbus served soup and sandwiches in Grossman Hall.
- Annual Advent Retreat 'Rejoice in Hope'
- Combined cluster choir
- Knights of Columbus hosting meals in Grossman Hall
Mass and Worship Schedule
Mass at Immaculate Conception is celebrated according to the alternating St. Patrick Cluster rotation. The parish offers Mass every other Sunday at 8:00 AM and on Thursdays at 8:00 AM; weekend vigil Masses for the cluster are scheduled at 4:30 PM on Saturday. Worship is in English, in the Roman (Latin) Rite.
- Sunday Mass: 8:00 AM (every other Sunday)
- Thursday Mass: 8:00 AM
- Saturday vigil (cluster): 4:30 PM
- Liturgy in English, Roman Rite
Sacraments
Sacramental preparation — including Baptism, First Communion, Confirmation, and Matrimony — is handled through the St. Patrick Cluster parishes and its religious-education program. Families are encouraged to contact the cluster office for current preparation schedules and requirements.
Ministries and Faith Formation
Through its membership in the St. Patrick Cluster, Immaculate Conception parishioners participate in a shared set of ministries: the Cluster Evangelization Team plans retreats and formation events; a combined choir leads music at joint liturgies; the Knights of Columbus provides service and hospitality (such as meals in Grossman Hall); and the religious-education program gathers the cluster's youth, who lead devotions like the Advent-wreath ceremony at the annual retreat. Parish food-pantry collections are organized cluster-wide.
- St. Patrick Cluster Evangelization Team
- Combined cluster choir
- Knights of Columbus council
- Cluster-wide religious education / youth formation
- Parish and cluster food pantry
Immaculate Conception / Petersville Cemetery
On the parish grounds sits the Immaculate Conception / Petersville Cemetery in Waterford Township. Cemetery records, transcribed from church books by Chuck Seyfert and shared by Connie O'Meara through the IAGenWeb Clinton County records project, document burials reaching back into the late nineteenth century and remain a resource for descendants of the area's pioneer Catholic families.
- Located on the parish grounds in Waterford Township
- Records transcribed from church books by Chuck Seyfert
- Shared via IAGenWeb Clinton County records
Visiting and Contact
Immaculate Conception is a quiet country parish best reached by car. It stands at 2885 145th Street, Petersville, Iowa, in the same rural setting described as 'about three miles west of Charlotte on County Road E-55.' Parishioners and visitors are encouraged to call the cluster office at (563) 677-2758 for current Mass times, sacramental needs, and parish business.
- Address: 2885 145th Street, Petersville, IA 52037
- Phone: (563) 677-2758
- Located about 3 miles west of Charlotte on County Road E-55