About St. Fidelis · Arenzville, Illinois
St. Fidelis is a small Roman Catholic mission church in the village of Arenzville, Illinois, in Cass County, part of the Diocese of Springfield in Illinois. The parish community traces its roots to German and Irish Catholic families who first worshipped in private homes, formally organized in 1872, and built their present church in 1899–1900. Today the mission has roughly 35 parishioners in 26 families, and is clustered with nearby parishes (St. Luke in Virginia and St. Augustine in Ashland) under one pastor who resides at St. Augustine, Ashland. St. Fidelis holds Mass weekly on Tuesday morning and Saturday afternoon, with confession before the Saturday Mass.
- Established
- 1872
- Patron
- St. Fidelis of Sigmaringen (Capuchin priest and martyr, c. 1577–1622)
- Rector
- Rev. Maurice Yonta, S.A.C. (resides at St. Augustine, Ashland)
- Diocese
- Diocese of Springfield in Illinois
Why belong here
St. Fidelis offers what few small rural missions still can: a historic, intimate Catholic worship site that has served the Arenzville community for more than 150 years. The mission gathers faithful Catholics for weekly Mass on Tuesday morning and Saturday afternoon, confession before Saturday Mass, OCIA formation through Pat Kloppenburg, and music ministry led by Janet Harbin, all under the pastoral care of a Pallottine priest (Rev. Maurice Yonta, S.A.C.) shared with neighboring parishes. For Catholics in the Arenzville area who value continuity with the German and Irish immigrant roots of this corner of Cass County, it remains a living link to that heritage.
Mass times at St. Fidelis
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Saturday 3:30–4:00 p.m. (before the 4:00 p.m. Mass)
History of St. Fidelis Parish
St. Fidelis traces its origins to the German and Irish Catholic families who settled in Arenzville and the surrounding Cass County farmland. Because priests were rare in the area, these families first gathered for worship in one another's homes. They formally organized as St. Fidelis Roman Catholic Church in 1872, purchased a lot at the corner of West North and Adams Streets in 1881, worshipped for a time in a small two-room house on the property, and then built their present church, dedicated October 13, 1899 and completed in 1900.
- 1872 — Parish formally organized by local German and Irish Catholic families.
- 1881 — Lot purchased at corner of W. North and Adams Streets.
- October 13, 1899 — Church site dedicated.
- 1900 — Present church building completed.
Pastoral Leadership and Staff
St. Fidelis is currently served as a mission of St. Augustine, Ashland, sharing one pastor with that parish and with St. Luke, Virginia. The pastor resides at St. Augustine and the parish mailing address uses the Virginia post office. A small staff keeps the parish running day to day.
- Rev. Maurice Yonta, S.A.C. — Pastor (Pallottine; residence at St. Augustine, Ashland)
- Kris Cox — Secretary, Office Manager, Bookkeeper
- Marian Giacomini — Secretary
- Jack Kloppenburg — Business Manager
- Pat Kloppenburg — OCIA coordinator
- Janet Harbin — Music Ministry
Faith Formation and Ministries
Despite its small size, St. Fidelis sustains the core ministries a Catholic parish community needs: OCIA (Order of Christian Initiation of Adults) for those entering the Church, music ministry for the liturgy, and a parish business office that handles the books for the cluster.
- OCIA — coordinated by Pat Kloppenburg
- Music Ministry — Janet Harbin
- Parish business and finance — Jack Kloppenburg
Parish Identity and Cluster Relationships
St. Fidelis is classified as a mission within the Diocese of Springfield in Illinois and is pastorally grouped with St. Luke, Virginia and St. Augustine, Ashland. The parish has about 35 parishioners in 26 families, making it one of the smallest faith communities in the Springfield deanery. Under the diocese's 2025 Pastoral Plan, the Arenzville church is proposed to be redesignated as an oratory of either St. Augustine, Ashland or St. Luke, Virginia — a canonical change intended to preserve the historic 1899–1900 building for occasional Masses, funerals, and baptisms while concentrating pastoral staffing on the larger clustered parishes.
- Diocese of Springfield in Illinois
- Clustered with St. Luke, Virginia and St. Augustine, Ashland
- Approximately 35 parishioners / 26 families
- Proposed 2025 redesignation to oratory status
The Patron Saint: Fidelis of Sigmaringen
St. Fidelis is named for St. Fidelis of Sigmaringen (born Mark Roy, c. 1577 – April 24, 1622), a German Capuchin friar who became a celebrated preacher and martyr of the Counter-Reformation. He was sent to mission work in the Grisons (modern Switzerland), where he was killed by a hostile crowd on April 24, 1622 — the first martyr of the Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith. He was beatified in 1729 and canonized by Pope Benedict XIV in 1746. His feast day is April 24, and he is traditionally depicted with a palm of martyrdom and a spiked club.
- Born Mark Roy, c. 1577, in Sigmaringen
- Capuchin friar; first martyr of the Congregation of Propaganda
- Killed April 24, 1622, in Seewis im Prättigau
- Canonized 1746 by Pope Benedict XIV
- Feast day: April 24
Practical Information
- Church address: 601 W. North St., Arenzville, IL 62611
- Mailing address: 240 E. Myrtle St., Virginia, IL 62691
- Phone: (217) 371-4713
- Email: [email protected]
- Diocesan directory page: http://dio.org/view/parish-directory/entry/1983/
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Very Rev. Thomas C. Meyer, V.F.
Listed as pastor of St. Fidelis on older parish-directory pages (pre-Yonta assignment).