About St. Francis de Sales · Moweaqua, Illinois
St. Francis de Sales is a small Roman Catholic parish in the rural village of Moweaqua, Illinois, in Shelby County, and is part of the Diocese of Springfield in Illinois. The parish was founded in 1894-1895 to serve the Catholic mining families who had settled near the new Moweaqua coal mine. Today St. Francis de Sales is yoked with the Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary in nearby Assumption, sharing one pastor and a combined parish staff, and the Moweaqua mission itself numbers about 64 families (198 parishioners). The church sits on East Warren Street and remains the spiritual home of a tightly knit Catholic community whose roots go back to the earliest immigrant miners of central Illinois.
- Established
- 1894 (parish organized; first Mass April 14, 1895)
- Patron
- St. Francis de Sales, Bishop of Geneva and Doctor of the Church (1567–1622)
- Rector
- Rev. Pawel A. Augustyniak, J.C.L. (Pastor since 2020)
- Diocese
- Diocese of Springfield in Illinois
Why belong here
St. Francis de Sales is a small, mission-style parish where nearly everyone knows each other by name — the parish lists only 64 families. Weekend Mass is offered Saturday evening, the sacrament of Reconciliation is available by appointment, and the parish partners with the Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Assumption for faith formation, CCD classes, youth ministry, and other shared ministries housed in McGrath Hall. It is an ideal home for Catholic families in rural Shelby and Christian counties who want a faithful, down-to-earth parish with deep mining-town roots.
Mass times at St. Francis de Sales
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- By appointment
Parish History
St. Francis de Sales traces its origins to the wave of Catholic mining families who came to Moweaqua after the local coal mine opened in 1890. Before the parish existed, the few Catholic settlers were served by priests coming over from Assumption, who celebrated Mass in a section house on Illinois Central Railroad property. By 1894 the community was large enough to support its own church.
- December 12, 1894: Father Maurer purchases four Grandview Addition lots from Esquire Prescott for $440.
- December 19, 1894: Construction begins; Ed Corrington holds the brick and foundation contract.
- April 14, 1895: First Mass in the new St. Francis de Sales Catholic Church.
- 1905: Rev. Patrick Lyons succeeds Father Maurer.
- 1921: Rev. Michael Donohue becomes pastor of Macon parish and the Moweaqua mission.
- Christmas Eve 1932: 54 miners die in the Moweaqua mine disaster; 20 are parishioners of St. Francis de Sales.
- 1959: Father Anthony Tamulis renovates the church and adds McGrath Hall.
- September 1971: Father John Freeman becomes pastor in Assumption; St. Francis de Sales becomes a mission of Assumption.
- June 2007: Rev. Michael Roark compiles the parish history (updated by Michele Harris in February 2017).
The 1932 Moweaqua Mine Disaster and the Parish
The defining tragedy of the parish's history is the Christmas Eve 1932 Moweaqua mine disaster. Twenty members of St. Francis de Sales were among the 54 miners killed, and on December 28, 1932 a Solemn High Mass for the fourteen Catholic victims was celebrated in the local school gym by Right Reverend James A. Griffin, Bishop of Springfield, assisted by Fr. Michael Donahue of Macon. More than a thousand people attended, and a funeral procession more than a mile long made its way to Calvary Cemetery, where the fourteen men were laid to rest together.
- Date of disaster: December 24, 1932
- Total miners killed: 54
- Parishioners of St. Francis de Sales among the dead: 20
- Catholic victims interred at Calvary Cemetery: 14
- Solemn High Mass offered by Bishop James A. Griffin on December 28, 1932
Faith Formation and Religious Education
Religious education at St. Francis de Sales is organized in cooperation with the Assumption Catholic School and the larger parish cluster. CCD (Confraternity of Christian Doctrine) classes meet weekly during the school year in McGrath Hall, and the program is assisted by the nuns from Assumption Catholic School — a tradition that goes back to the mission's early years. A dedicated Youth Minister coordinates programming for the parish's young people.
- CCD classes held weekly during the school year in McGrath Hall
- Faith formation assisted by the nuns of Assumption Catholic School
- Youth Ministry — Brian Pekovitch, Youth Minister
Parish Life and Ministries
Like most small mission parishes, St. Francis de Sales is sustained by a handful of dedicated lay ministries and a working Parish Council. The parish website highlights altar-society work, youth activities, projects to maintain McGrath Hall, and outreach to homebound parishioners. The parish also invites new families to register through the parish secretary in Assumption.
- St. Francis de Sales Altar & Rosary Society
- Parish Council (President: Betty Pekovitch)
- McGrath Hall Paint Project (parish-wide service project)
- Homebound Communion visits
- New Parishioner Registration (contact: Parish Secretary)
- Summer/Fall Activities Survey
Staff and Parish Office
Because St. Francis de Sales is a mission of the Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, day-to-day parish operations are run out of the Assumption rectory and shared parish office. A single pastor serves the three-parish cluster of Immaculate Conception (Shelbyville), Assumption BVM (Assumption), and St. Francis de Sales (Moweaqua), supported by a parish secretary and a Coordinator of Religious Education.
- Pastor: Rev. Pawel A. Augustyniak, J.C.L.
- Parish Secretary: Chelli Branyan
- Coordinator of Religious Education (CRE): Brian Pekovitch
- Director of Music: Kathy Clark
- Parish Council President: Betty Pekovitch
- Parish mailing address: 301 Saint Peter Street, Assumption, IL 62510
Diocese of Springfield in Illinois
St. Francis de Sales is a parish in the Diocese of Springfield in Illinois, the Roman Catholic diocese that covers much of central and southern Illinois. The parish is part of a tight cluster of small central-Illinois missions served together by a single pastor — Immaculate Conception in Shelbyville, the Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Assumption, and St. Francis de Sales in Moweaqua.
- Diocese: Springfield in Illinois
- Cluster parishes: Immaculate Conception (Shelbyville); Assumption BVM (Assumption); St. Francis de Sales (Moweaqua)
- Parish linked to the Vatican's universal Church through the Bishop of Springfield
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Father Maurer1894–c.1905
Pastor of Macon Parish; organized the Moweaqua mission, bought the four Grandview Addition lots for $440 in Dec 1894, and celebrated the first Mass on April 14, 1895.
- Rev. Patrick Lyons1905–
Succeeded Father Maurer as second pastor.
- Rev. Michael Donohue1921–
Pastor of Macon Parish and the Moweaqua Mission; served during the 1932 Christmas Eve mine disaster that killed 20 parishioners.
- Fathers Goyke, Connolly, Horn, Sheahan
Succession of priests serving the combined parishes after Fr. Donohue.
- Father Anthony Tamulis1959–
Renovated the church and built the McGrath Hall addition in memory of the McGrath family.
- Father John FreemanSeptember 1971–
Became pastor of St. Mary's Church, Assumption; Moweaqua formally became a mission of Assumption under his care.
- Rev. Michael Roark2007 (historical sketch)
Compiled the parish's written history in June 2007 (updated by Michele Harris in February 2017).
- Rev. Donald L. Wolford
Listed as Pastor on the parish's current weebly website.
- Rev. Pawel A. Augustyniak, J.C.L.2019–present (Pastor from 2020)
Born Dec 4, 1975; ordained May 26, 2007; incardinated Diocese of Radom, Poland; Parochial Administrator 2019–2020, then Pastor of Immaculate Conception Shelbyville, Assumption BVM, and St. Francis de Sales Moweaqua.