About St. Kateri Tekakwitha · Ridgway, Illinois
St. Kateri Tekakwitha Parish (formally St. Kateri Tekakwitha, Lily of the Mohawks) is the Catholic parish serving all of Gallatin County in southeastern Illinois. Formed in 2012 through the merger of the county's four previous parishes, it is the spiritual hub of a largely rural area stretching from Ridgway to Equality to Shawneetown. The parish belongs to the Diocese of Belleville and is pastored by Very Rev. Steven L. Beatty, V.G., who also serves as the Diocese's Vicar General and Director of Seminarians and as Chaplain at Camp Ondessonk. With around 575 registered households and roughly 300 people at weekend Masses, St. Kateri is a vibrant but small community whose members travel up to fifteen minutes between former church sites to worship at the new Ridgway church dedicated in 2015.
- Established
- 2012
- Patron
- St. Kateri Tekakwitha (Lily of the Mohawks)
- Rector
- Very Rev. Steven L. Beatty, V.G.
- Diocese
- Diocese of Belleville
Why belong here
St. Kateri Parish is the only Catholic parish in Gallatin County, so joining means becoming part of a tight-knit community that worships together from across the region. The parish offers weekend and weekday Mass, four historic cemeteries under its care, and a strong retreat and evangelization apostolate through its 'Reconnect' program, which includes live-streamed Masses and online daily spiritual content. Members gather to support one another, maintain shared Catholic heritage in rural southeastern Illinois, and serve their neighbors in Christ's name.
Mass times at St. Kateri Tekakwitha
Weekly Mass schedule
About St. Kateri Parish
St. Kateri Tekakwitha, Lily of the Mohawks is the Catholic parish of Gallatin County, Illinois, established in 2012 by merging the four previous Catholic parishes of the county. The parish church at 220 Combs Street in Ridgway was dedicated in 2015, and the parish office is at 211 W. Edwards. Office hours are Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to noon and 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. The parish staff can be reached at (618) 272-7059 or [email protected], and contributions may be mailed to P.O. Box 190, Ridgway, IL 62979.
- Established 2012 (date of St. Kateri's canonization)
- Diocese of Belleville
- Pastor: Very Rev. Steven L. Beatty, V.G.
- Secretary: Cathy Fromm
- Administrator: Rev. Felix Chukwuma
History of the Parish
The four Catholic parishes of Gallatin County had long cooperated before their formal merger in 2012 — rotating Masses, sharing a parish council, and combining finances. The Diocese of Belleville's Pastoral Plan for Parish Renewal and Restructuring brought them together as a single parish on the day St. Kateri Tekakwitha was canonized. The 2012 tornado that destroyed old St. Joseph Church in Ridgway paved the way for the new St. Kateri church, dedicated in 2015.
- Feb. 2012 — Four Gallatin County parishes officially merged into one
- 2012 — Tornado destroys old St. Joseph Church in Ridgway
- 2015 — New St. Kateri Tekakwitha Church dedicated in Ridgway
- June 24, 2018 — Bishop Edward K. Braxton issues decree closing three chapels (Equality, Shawneetown-St. Patrick, Shawneetown-St. Mary)
- Oct. 20, 2018 — All parish worship consolidated at St. Kateri, Ridgway
The Former Chapels of Gallatin County
Until October 2018 the merged parish continued to use the buildings of the four predecessor parishes as chapels, with Masses rotating among them. The 2018 diocesan decree closed the chapels at Equality (St. Joseph), Shawneetown (St. Patrick) and Shawneetown (St. Mary), transferring all regular worship to the new St. Kateri church in Ridgway. The four historic cemeteries associated with these predecessor churches remain active and are managed by St. Kateri Parish.
- St. Joseph, Equality — closed Oct. 2018
- St. Patrick, Shawneetown — closed Oct. 2018
- St. Mary, Shawneetown — closed Oct. 2018
- St. Joseph, Ridgway — destroyed by tornado 2012; rebuilt as St. Kateri Church, dedicated 2015
Pastor and Staff
St. Kateri Parish is pastored by Very Rev. Steven L. Beatty, V.G., who also serves the Diocese of Belleville as Vicar General and Director of Seminarians and is Chaplain at Camp Ondessonk. Fr. Beatty was ordained May 26, 2007, and previously served as pastor of St. Bernard Albers, St. Damian Damiansville, St. George New Baden, and St. Mary Trenton, before being assigned to St. Kateri along with St. Mary Eldorado, St. Mary Harrisburg and St. Joseph Elizabethtown. Parish secretary Cathy Fromm assists with day-to-day operations, and Rev. Felix Chukwuma is listed as parish administrator on the diocesan directory.
- Very Rev. Steven L. Beatty, V.G. — Pastor (also Vicar General & Director of Seminarians, Diocese of Belleville; Chaplain, Camp Ondessonk)
- Rev. Felix Chukwuma — Administrator
- Cathy Fromm — Secretary
Sacraments and Pastoral Services
The parish prepares Catholics in Gallatin County for the reception of the sacraments and offers pastoral care for life's major moments. Couples should contact the parish office to arrange marriage preparation, and families are asked to reach out in advance of baptisms and funerals. Holy Day Mass schedules are announced on the parish calendar.
- Baptism preparation
- Marriage preparation
- Funerals
- Holy Day Masses (see parish calendar)
- Office hours: Mon–Fri, 8:30 a.m.–12:00 p.m. and 1:00–4:00 p.m.
Cemeteries
St. Kateri Parish maintains four historic Catholic cemeteries across Gallatin County. Cemetery upkeep — mowing, trim work, tree-limb removal and road maintenance — depends entirely on donations, and the parish asks that donors write a separate check made out for the specific cemetery they wish to support. The cemeteries are separate entities from the churches and remain available for burials regardless of parish restructuring.
- St. Patrick Cemetery, Pond Settlement
- St. Mary's Cemetery, Shawneetown
- St. Joseph Equality Cemetery
- St. Joseph Ridgway Cemetery
- Donations: St. Kateri Parish, P.O. Box 190, Ridgway, IL 62979 (write separate check, specify cemetery)
Reconnect Retreat Program
The parish runs 'Reconnect,' a daily retreat format that originated during the COVID-19 stay-at-home order and continues as a vibrant spiritual resource. The program pairs online daily content with in-person community, featuring a team of priest and lay retreat leaders including Fr. Steven Beatty, Fr. Gary Caster, Fr. Nick Junker, Fr. Keith Romke, Jennifer Sagel and Katie Robben. Participants are guided through morning offerings, daily conferences, meditation, examen and Mass each day, with optional 'level-up' extras like the rosary and journaling.
- Morning Offering + nightly Examen (5–10 minutes each)
- Daily Conference (20 minutes)
- Daily Meditation (30 minutes)
- Daily Mass (30 minutes; live-stream on Facebook)
- Optional Level-Up extras: second meditation, rosary, journaling
The Reconnect Team
St. Kateri's Reconnect program draws on a wider team of retreat leaders across the Midwest. Fr. Beatty leads locally; Fr. Gary Caster (Diocese of Peoria) is an author and retreat director; Fr. Nick Junker is Vocation Director for the Diocese of Belleville and active in TEC, Cursillo and Quest retreats; Fr. Keith Romke pastors St. Patrick Parish in Durand and is a former Diocesan Vocation Director. Lay collaborators include Katie Robben, Operations Manager for the Academy at Resurrection and co-director of Let Us Move Mountains, and Jennifer Sagel, Coordinator of Evangelization at St. Patrick Parish in Dixon, Illinois.
- Fr. Steven Beatty — 'Experiencing the Mass Anew'
- Fr. Gary Caster — author and parish mission/retreat leader
- Fr. Nick Junker — Diocese of Belleville Vocation Director
- Fr. Keith Romke — Pastor, St. Patrick Durand
- Jennifer Sagel — Coordinator of Evangelization, St. Patrick Dixon
- Katie Robben — Operations Manager, Academy at Resurrection
Support the Parish
Approximately 95% of the parish's income comes from Mass collections. The parish notes that it faces ongoing financial uncertainty and welcomes mailed contributions from members who cannot attend in person. Donations to the cemetery fund are especially needed to maintain the four Gallatin County cemeteries, and donors are asked to write a separate check specifying which cemetery they wish to support.
- Mailing address: St. Kateri Parish, P.O. Box 190, Ridgway, IL 62979
- Email: [email protected]
- Phone: (618) 272-7059
- Cemetery donations (separate check, specify cemetery)