About St. John the Apostle · Woodhull, Illinois
St. John the Apostle is a Roman Catholic parish in the small rural community of Woodhull, Illinois (Henry County), tracing its origins to 1875 when it served as a mission of St. John's Church in neighboring Galva. The parish sits at 390 E. Highway Avenue and is one of three historic worship sites — together with St. John the Evangelist in Galva and St. John Vianney in Cambridge — now united as the tri-community St. John the Beloved Parish of the Diocese of Peoria. The Woodhull church is a parish in the traditional sense, with its own cemetery behind the church and a long-standing pattern of weekend and weekday Masses for surrounding farm families.
- Established
- 1875
- Patron
- St. John the Apostle
- Rector
- Father John Burns
- Diocese
- Diocese of Peoria
Why belong here
St. John the Apostle offers a small, family-sized Catholic community in the heart of rural Henry County, where weekend and weekday Masses — including a Saturday Vigil and a Sunday evening Mass — are celebrated in an intimate setting rooted in farm-country Illinois. It is part of the tri-parish St. John the Beloved family with Galva and Cambridge, giving parishioners a broader network of faith-formation, fellowship, and Sacramental life while keeping the local Woodhull church as a familiar spiritual home. The parish's own cemetery beside the church is a continuing sign of generations of Catholic life in Woodhull, and the parish welcomes visitors and new members seeking a quiet, traditional Catholic parish in the country.
Mass times at St. John the Apostle
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Before all Masses
About St. John the Apostle, Woodhull
St. John the Apostle is a rural Roman Catholic parish serving Woodhull, Illinois, and the surrounding Henry County farmland. It is one of three historic 'St. John' parishes — Galva, Cambridge, and Woodhull — now formally united as St. John the Beloved Parish under the Diocese of Peoria. Despite the canonical merger, the Woodhull church retains its own name, address, and weekly Mass schedule.
History of the Woodhull Parish
Both the Catholic Diocese of Peoria and GCatholic give the parish's year of establishment as 1875. For most of its history Woodhull was served from Galva, where Catholic families had built the first St. John's Church in 1883 and where priests such as Fathers John Murray Ryan, John F. Ryan, and James Heaney also traveled to mission communities. Woodhull formally received its own resident pastor on June 8, 1966, separating from its long-standing mission status under St. John the Evangelist in Galva. In June 2025 the parish was canonically merged with its Galva and Cambridge sister parishes to form St. John the Beloved Parish.
- 1875 — parish/mission established in Woodhull (per GCatholic and Diocese of Peoria)
- Until 1966 — Woodhull served as a mission of St. John the Evangelist, Galva
- June 8, 1966 — Woodhull receives its own resident pastor
- June 7, 2025 — united with Galva (1882) and Cambridge (1964) parishes as St. John the Beloved Parish
St. John the Beloved Parish (Tri-Community)
On June 7, 2025, the three neighboring 'St. John' parishes in Henry County — St. John the Evangelist in Galva, St. John Vianney in Cambridge, and St. John the Apostle in Woodhull — were canonically established as one parish: St. John the Beloved Parish. The joint parish continues to operate three worship sites, with the mailing address for parish business in Galva (212 N.E. 1st Street, Galva, IL 61434). The Diocese of Peoria lists Monsignor Michael C. Bliss as pastor of the combined parish.
- St. John the Evangelist Church — Galva (established 1882)
- St. John Vianney Church — Cambridge (established 1964)
- St. John the Apostle Church — Woodhull (established 1875)
- Mailing address: 212 N.E. 1st Street, Galva, IL 61434
- Joint website: threestjohns.com
Contact, Location, and Practical Info
The Woodhull church is located on the east side of town along Highway Avenue (Route 17), with the parish cemetery directly behind the building. The parish office and parish hall have separate phone lines, and a fax line is also maintained.
- Address: 390 E. Highway Avenue, Woodhull, IL 61490
- Parish Office Phone: (309) 334-2180
- Parish Hall Phone: (309) 334-2137
- Fax: (309) 334-2136
- Cambridge Office: (309) 937-3304
- Galva Office: (309) 932-2409
- Joint website: http://www.threestjohns.com/
Cemeteries
Two burial grounds are associated with St. John the Apostle in Woodhull. The newer Saint John the Apostle Parish Cemetery sits directly behind the present church on E. Highway Avenue; the older St. John Cemetery is located a couple of miles outside of town. Local obituaries frequently refer to both simply as 'St. John's Cemetery,' so the parish office can help families identify the correct site.
- Saint John the Apostle Parish Cemetery (New) — 390 E. Highway Avenue, Woodhull, IL 61490
- St. John Cemetery (Old) — rural site a couple of miles outside of Woodhull