Saint Peter

Sts. Peter & Joseph Parish

St. Peter in Defiance and St. Joseph in Earling now share a single pastor, parish staff, and faith-formation program as the combined Sts. Peter & Joseph Parish. The Defiance church sits at 501 5th Street, and the Earling church sits at 212 2nd Street; weekend and weekday Masses rotate between the two so that each community retains its own gathering. Office hours, religious-education classes, and sacramental preparation are coordinated across both sites.

Parish Staff

The parish is led by Fr. Andrew Windschitl, who serves as pastor of the combined Sts. Peter & Joseph Parish and can be reached at the office addresses or by email at [email protected] (St. Joseph) or [email protected] (St. Peter). Mary Gross serves as Business Manager and Parish Secretary. Property care at St. Peter's is handled by Dianne Goeres and Adam Goeres.

• Pastor: Rev. Andrew Windschitl ([email protected] / [email protected])
• Business Manager / Parish Secretary: Mary Gross
• Property Care (St. Peter's): Dianne Goeres, Adam Goeres

Religious Education & Youth Ministry

Faith formation for the combined parish serves school-aged children through high-school seniors. The K–8 program meets at St. Peter in Defiance, and the 10th–12th-grade classes meet at the Earling church site, with sessions running from 6:30 to 7:30 PM during the program year. The 2025–2026 cycle began September 10 and is scheduled to end April 22. Mary Gross is the primary contact for religious-education questions during parish office hours.

• K–8 Religious Education at St. Peter, Defiance
• 10th–12th grade classes in Earling
• Class time 6:30–7:30 PM
• Contact: Mary Gross during office hours

Parish History

St. Peter's Catholic life in Defiance, Shelby County, began humbly in 1883, when the handful of Catholic families in the area — only four at the time — typically made the trip to Earling for Mass. The community grew steadily enough that St. Peter's was formally established as its own parish in 1910, and the current St. Peter Church was built and dedicated in 1928. The parish hall came a few years later, built in 1935–1936 from cobblestones salvaged when the streets of Council Bluffs were reconstructed; the building was planned and blueprinted by the resident priest of that era, Father Emil Schumann, and opened in 1936 with a parish dance. Over the decades the hall hosted big-band performances by the Bob Crosby and Lawrence Welk orchestras and visits by the Harlem Globetrotters and All-Star Wrestling, becoming a true community center for western Shelby County. An annual parish picnic in June continues that tradition of gathering today.

• 1883 — first Catholic services in Defiance area
• 1910 — St. Peter's formally established as a parish
• 1928 — current St. Peter Church built and dedicated
• 1935–1936 — parish hall built from Council Bluffs cobblestones; opened with a dance
• Annual parish picnic each June

The Grotto of Our Mother of Perpetual Help

Set between St. Peter Church and the parish house is the Memorial Grotto, dedicated to "Our Mother of Perpetual Help." The structure measures roughly 32 feet long, 10 feet high, and 14 feet deep and was constructed with about 245 tons of material on a 5½-foot, 60-ton concrete base. A table on its right side honors World War II veterans from the parish, and visitors note that the grotto is especially striking when lit after dark.

• 32 ft long, 10 ft high, 14 ft deep
• 245 tons of material on a 60-ton concrete base
• WWII veterans' memorial table on the right side
• Notable when illuminated at night

Visit, Contact, and Office Hours

Parishioners and visitors are welcomed at St. Peter, 501 5th Street, Defiance. The parish office at St. Peter's is open Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday mornings, Wednesday afternoons, and on Fridays at varied hours; office contact is [email protected] or (712) 748-3501. For a priest in an emergency, call (712) 747-2461.

• Address: 501 5th Street, P.O. Box 127, Defiance, IA 51527
• Phone: (712) 748-3501
• Email: [email protected]
• Office hours: Mon/Tue/Thu mornings, Wed afternoon, Fri varied
• Emergency priest line: (712) 747-2461