About St. Ambrose · Milan, Illinois
St. Ambrose Parish is a Catholic parish in Milan, Illinois, in the Quad Cities area, established in 1924 and part of the Diocese of Peoria. The parish shares its pastor with St. Patrick in Andalusia, with both having been merged in March 2025 into the new St. Teresa of Calcutta Parish (with St. Ambrose continuing as a worship site). St. Ambrose offers a Saturday Vigil Mass, a Sunday morning Mass, two weekday Masses, regular Eucharistic Adoration, and the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Families of the parish are served by the regional Jordan Catholic School, and pastoral care is provided by Father Gary C. Caster and a small parish staff.
- Established
- 1924
- Patron
- St. Ambrose (of Milan)
- Rector
- Rev. Gary C. Caster
- Diocese
- Diocese of Peoria
Why belong here
St. Ambrose is a welcoming small-town Catholic parish with a simple weekly rhythm — Saturday Vigil Mass, Sunday morning Mass, and two weekday Masses — complemented by Eucharistic Adoration on Tuesdays and confession before each weekday Mass. Families benefit from the parish's link to Jordan Catholic School, and the shared-pastor arrangement with St. Patrick in Andalusia means worshippers have access to an active clergy team and a regional network of ministries across the western Quad Cities. Anyone seeking a traditional, prayerful, English-language Roman Catholic community in the Milan / Rock Island area will find St. Ambrose an easy parish to call home.
Mass times at St. Ambrose
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Tuesday 5:00 pm – 5:25 pm (before the 5:30 pm Mass)
- Thursday 5:00 pm – 5:25 pm (before the 5:30 pm Mass)
Adoration times
- Tuesday 4:30 pm – 5:30 pm (Eucharistic Adoration)
Parish Identity & History
St. Ambrose Parish was founded in 1924 to serve the Catholics of Milan, Illinois, a village of the Quad Cities situated across the Rock River from Rock Island. It is part of the Diocese of Peoria and takes St. Ambrose of Milan (feast day December 7) as its patron. For nearly a century the parish has offered Mass, the sacraments, and Eucharistic Adoration to local families, and today it works closely with the neighboring St. Patrick parish in Andalusia.
- Founded: 1924
- Diocese: Peoria
- Patron: St. Ambrose of Milan (feast December 7)
- Location: 312 W. First Street, Milan, IL 61264
Clergy & Staff
The parish is led by Father Gary C. Caster, a priest of the Diocese of Peoria ordained in 1992 who was appointed Administrator and then Pastor of the linked St. Ambrose / St. Patrick parishes in 2023–2024 and now serves as the founding Pastor of St. Teresa of Calcutta Parish (formed 2025). The parish office is staffed by Pastoral Assistant Marietta Dziadyk and a Business Manager.
- Rev. Gary C. Caster — Pastor (Diocese of Peoria, ordained December 19, 1992)
- Marietta Dziadyk — Pastoral Assistant (office Mon–Thu, 8:00 am–1:00 pm)
- Karen King — Business Manager
- Jill Everingham — President of Parish Council / Bulletin Editor
Sacraments
The parish prepares and celebrates the seven Catholic sacraments, including Baptism, First Reconciliation and First Communion, Confirmation, Marriage, Anointing of the Sick, and Holy Orders. The parish website hosts a dedicated page for Marriage preparation at St. Ambrose, and confession is offered weekly before the Tuesday and Thursday Masses.
- Baptism — by arrangement with the parish office
- Marriage — see parish 'Marriage at St. Ambrose' page
- Reconciliation — Tue & Thu 5:00–5:25 pm
- Eucharistic Adoration — Tue 4:30–5:30 pm
Jordan Catholic School
St. Ambrose supports the regional Jordan Catholic School, the parish elementary school serving Catholic families in the western Quad Cities. Children of St. Ambrose families attend Jordan Catholic for their primary-grade faith and academic formation.
- Regional Catholic elementary school affiliated with St. Ambrose Parish
- Shared across multiple parishes of the Quad Cities deanery
Linked Parish & 2025 Merger
Since 2023, St. Ambrose has shared its pastor with St. Patrick Catholic Church in Andalusia, Illinois. In March 2025, Bishop Louis Tylka of Peoria formally merged the two parishes into the new St. Teresa of Calcutta Parish; St. Ambrose Church continues as a worship site under Father Gary C. Caster, and the parish office and school connections are administered together.
- Linked Parish: St. Patrick, Andalusia
- New merged parish (March 2025): St. Teresa of Calcutta Parish
- Pastor: Rev. Gary C. Caster
Contact & Location
St. Ambrose Catholic Church sits on West First Street (US-67) in downtown Milan, Illinois. The parish office is staffed Monday through Thursday morning and can be reached by phone or email.
- Address: 312 W. First Street, Milan, IL 61264-2501
- Phone: (309) 787-4593
- Fax: (309) 787-6403
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: https://www.stambrosemilan.org/
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Father Gary C. Caster2023–2025 (as pastor of St. Ambrose / St. Patrick linked parishes)
Appointed Administrator of St. Ambrose (Milan) and St. Patrick (Andalusia) in 2023 by Bishop Tylka; named Pastor in 2024; became Pastor of the newly merged St. Teresa of Calcutta Parish in March 2025.