St. Jude Catholic Church

About St. Jude Catholic Church

St. Jude Catholic Church is a parish of the Catholic Diocese of Peoria serving north Peoria and the surrounding community from 10811 North Knoxville Avenue. The parish grounds its life in four pillars — Prayer, Mission, Fellowship, and Learning — and welcomes new parishioners, returning Catholics, and visitors through Mass, the sacraments, faith formation, and dozens of lay ministries. The parish website invites everyone to 'Get Involved at St. Jude' through dozens of ministries and groups that align with those four pillars.

History of St. Jude Parish

St. Jude's roots reach back to 1879, when Catholic settlers in Dunlap, Illinois built a modest wooden-frame mission church named St. Rose of Lima. After that structure burned from a lightning strike in 1909, a Gothic brick church dedicated to St. Clement I was built in 1911. In 1960 Bishop John B. Franz elevated the mission to a free-standing parish, and in 1975 the community moved to its present North Knoxville Avenue site and was renamed St. Jude. The 2022–2023 construction project replaced the 1975 sanctuary with a new brick, Romanesque church dedicated November 29, 2023.

• 1879 — St. Rose of Lima mission church built in Dunlap
• November 7, 1909 — lightning strike destroys the original church
• February 9, 1911 — Gothic brick St. Clement I church dedicated ($7,202.16)
• June 15, 1960 — Bishop John B. Franz elevates the mission to a free-standing parish; Fr. O'Brien is first resident pastor
• 1963 — Msgr. Clarence J. Hettinger becomes pastor
• 1969 — site selected and annexed into the City of Peoria
• April 1974 — construction of the Peoria church begins
• June 1975 — first Mass celebrated
• June 29, 1975 — Bishop Edward O'Rourke dedicates the new church; parish renamed St. Jude
• December 19, 1976 — final Mass celebrated at St. Clement, Dunlap
• 1992 — Msgr. Hettinger retires; succeeded by Fr. Charles Karl, then Msgr. Charles Beebe (1993)
• 1996 — five-year capital campaign begins under Msgr. Beebe
• June 1999–2003 — Father Harry A. Pierjok, pastor
• 2003–2007 — Father Bruce Lopez, pastor; forms task force for a parish grade school
• June 2007–2010 — Father Anthony (Tony) Lee, pastor; new grade school opens in the education wing
• June 2010 — Father Patrick Henehan becomes pastor
• July 31, 2022 — farewell Mass in the 1975 sanctuary
• November 29, 2023 — new brick, Romanesque church dedicated; first new Catholic church in the Diocese of Peoria since Immaculate Conception Church

Clergy and Staff

The parish is led by Father Patrick T. Henehan, pastor since June 2010, who is assisted by Parochial Vicar Father Jack Watt and Deacon Jeff Brady. A lay staff directs Religious Education, Liturgy and Music, OCIA, Evangelization, the parish school, school development, and parish operations. Father Henehan also serves as Vocation Director of Formation for the Diocese of Peoria at the Spalding Pastoral Center.

• Father Patrick T. Henehan — Pastor ([email protected])
• Father Jack Watt — Parochial Vicar ([email protected])
• Deacon Jeff Brady
• Rachael Morlock — Director of Religious Education
• Andy Earnest — Director of Liturgy and Music
• Daryl Wilson — Connections / OCIA
• Karley Bates-Weck — Evangelization
• Sara M. Andre — School Principal, St. Jude Catholic School
• Jill Lindsey — School Development Director
• Tom Hork
• Donna Cokel — Parish Secretary

Sacraments and Sacramental Ministry

St. Jude celebrates all the usual sacraments of a Catholic parish. The parish website presents Reconciliation (Confession) as the encounter of imperfect humanity with the mercy of God's perfect Divinity, restoring the soul to its original baptismal innocence. Adults preparing for initiation enter through OCIA (Order of Christian Initiation of Adults), coordinated by Daryl Wilson.

• Reconciliation — weekly schedule plus Advent/Lent Penance Services; private appointments via the parish office
• Eucharist — daily and Sunday Mass schedule above
• Baptism — through OCIA for adults; infant baptism via the parish
• Marriage — preparation and celebration through the parish
• Anointing of the Sick and Caring Presence at End of Life
• Holy Communion brought to the homebound, hospitalized, and those in healthcare facilities

Faith Formation and School

The parish operates St. Jude Catholic School, led by Principal Sara M. Andre with Jill Lindsey as School Development Director and Tom Hork. Religious Education for parish children is directed by Rachael Morlock, while adults preparing to enter or complete their initiation in the Catholic Church journey through OCIA with Daryl Wilson. The parish school originally opened in the parish's education wing during Father Anthony Lee's tenure (2007–2010).

• St. Jude Catholic School (Pre-K through grade school)
• Religious Education program (Rachael Morlock, DRE)
• OCIA — Order of Christian Initiation of Adults (Daryl Wilson)
• Altar Servers — youth grades 5–12, with training at the start of each academic year

Mission, Outreach, and Shared Mission

The parish organizes its outreach around the four pillars of Prayer, Mission, Fellowship, and Learning, with a particular emphasis on corporal works of mercy through the St. Vincent de Paul Society, which visits struggling local families in teams of two, brings food and household items, and helps with rent, utility, and other urgent needs. The parish also supports diocesan and international Shared Mission appeals.

• St. Vincent de Paul Society — weekly home visits; food, household items, rent and Ameren assistance
• Respect Life Committee — 40 Days for Life, family rosary, Rachel's Vineyard scholarship, fundraising
• Knights of Columbus
• Catholic Charities Giving Tree
• Leaven
• Christian Foundation for Children and Aging (CFCA)
• Marriage Annulment Advocacy
• Prayer Forum — prayer support for parish intentions

Parish Life, Fellowship, and Care Ministries

Beyond worship, St. Jude offers a wide range of fellowship and pastoral-care ministries for every age and stage of life — from young families to the homebound and bereaved. These groups carry out the Church's work of accompanying parishioners through life's joys and sorrows and gathering the parish community together socially and spiritually.

• Hospitality Team (formerly Coffee and Donuts)
• Rosary Guild — makes rosaries for parish students, hospitals, armed forces, and missionaries
• Garden Ministry — plans, plants, and maintains the church's landscaped areas
• Church Care and Decorating
• St. Jude Softball Team
• Visiting the Sick and Homebound — Communion calls, social visits, respite, meals, transportation, singing
• Caring Presence at End of Life — spiritual support alongside hospice
• Bereavement Ministry — sympathy and 'thinking of you' cards, All Souls Day memorial Mass, grief resources
• Funeral Luncheons — volunteer teams who prepare, serve, and clean up after funeral meals

The New Church Building (Dedicated 2023)

On November 29, 2023, Bishop (and the Diocese of Peoria) dedicated the new St. Jude church on the same North Knoxville Avenue site, replacing the 1975 sanctuary that had been adapted about three times and outgrown a parish that had more than doubled from 550 to 1,300 families. The building, designed by Washington, D.C. architect James McCrery in a brick, Romanesque style, was funded primarily through the Heart of the Parish Capital Campaign and added 150–200 feet of additional length and seating for another 200–250 people.

• Architect: James McCrery, Washington, D.C.
• Style: brick, Romanesque
• Project cost: $11.4–11.6 million
• Fundraising: Heart of the Parish Capital Campaign (>$10M raised; two $1M lead gifts; one $500K gift)
• Distinctive feature: rotunda with a baptistery at the entrance
• Seating addition: 200–250 more seats
• First new Catholic church in the Diocese of Peoria since Immaculate Conception Church
• Masses during construction were celebrated in Hettinger Hall (named for Msgr. Clarence Hettinger)

Contact, Visit, and Joining the Parish

Parishioners and visitors can reach the parish office at (309) 243-7811 (fax 309-839-8142) during office hours of Monday – Thursday 9:00 AM – 4:00 PM (closed Friday). The parish encourages newcomers to register and to explore ministries through the online Ministry Sign-Up; Deacon Jeff Brady and Daryl Wilson (Connections / OCIA) help newcomers connect with parish life.

• Address: 10811 North Knoxville Avenue, Peoria, IL 61615
• Phone: (309) 243-7811
• Office Hours: Mon–Thu 9:00 AM – 4:00 PM (closed Friday)
• Parish Registration: see 'Join St. Jude Parish' page on the website
• Ministry Sign-Up: online form on the parish website
• Livestreams: YouTube channel 'St. Jude Catholic Church Peoria'