About St. Lawrence · Penfield, Illinois
St. Lawrence Catholic Church is a small rural parish in the village of Penfield, Champaign County, Illinois, founded in 1898 by Rev. M. Gensler. The parish is best known for its striking Gothic Revival brick church designed by prolific Midwestern church architect George P. Stauduhar, dedicated in 1905, and for the Dominican Sisters–run St. Lawrence Academy that operated across the street for nearly half a century. After 126 years of independent parish life, St. Lawrence was merged in 2024 into a new collaborative parish with St. Malachy in Rantoul and St. Elizabeth of Hungary in Thomasboro under Bishop Louis Tylka's 'Growing Disciples' pastoral plan, with St. Malachy canonically serving as the worship site for Penfield. The historic yellow-brick church with its tall spire remains a defining landmark of the town of fewer than 200 residents.
- Established
- 1898
- Patron
- St. Lawrence (of Rome, deacon and martyr)
- Rector
- Fr. Joel Phelps
- Diocese
- Diocese of Peoria
Why belong here
St. Lawrence has long been the spiritual heart of the tiny village of Penfield, known for its tight-knit congregation, its striking Gothic Revival church with classic Stauduhar stained-glass windows, and the warm fellowship that follows every Mass on the lawn outside the historic yellow chapel. Visitors are drawn to the parish's deep roots — founded in 1898 by farming families, served by the Dominican Sisters of Springfield at St. Lawrence Academy for fifty years, and marked by generational ties that span more than a century of baptisms, weddings, and funerals. Worship is bilingual English and Spanish under the pastoral care of Fr. Joel Phelps, and Saturday Vigil Mass remains at 4:00 pm in the Penfield church as part of the unified St. Malachy Parish schedule, making it a welcoming stop for anyone seeking a quiet, historic rural Catholic community in northern Champaign County.
Mass times at St. Lawrence
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- 30 minutes prior to weekend Masses (per archived parish directory listing)
History of St. Lawrence Parish
St. Lawrence Catholic Church was founded in 1898 by Rev. M. Gensler to serve the Catholic farming families of Penfield, the easternmost village in Champaign County along the old Havana, Rantoul, and Eastern Railroad. The congregation's first home was a small frame chapel built around 1870 on a lot south of the present church. As the community grew, the frame building was outgrown and the parish turned to architect George P. Stauduhar, a 1890 University of Illinois graduate from nearby Mahomet, to design a much larger, permanent Gothic Revival brick church. The construction contract was signed on March 18, 1905, with completion due October 1, 1905, at a cost of $12,511. The church was formally dedicated in 1905, and the original frame chapel was repurposed as the headquarters of the Ancient Order of Hibernians — a testament to the Irish-American roots of the founding Catholic families. The church was redecorated in 1998 in honor of the parish's centennial.
- Parish founded 1898 by Rev. M. Gensler
- Original frame chapel built c. 1870, south of the present church
- Construction contract signed March 18, 1905; church dedicated 1905
- Original cost $12,511 (about $400,000 in today's dollars)
- Interior redecorated for the 1998 centennial
Architecture and Design
St. Lawrence is a textbook example of the small-town Gothic Revival Catholic church designed by George P. Stauduhar, one of the most prolific ecclesiastical architects of the American Midwest. The building follows Stauduhar's signature formula: a long, narrow brick structure with a single prominent spire — a layout that allowed quick construction and that he repeated in dozens of churches across Illinois and beyond. Interior highlights include double-pane stained-glass windows, one of which was donated by a founding family whose patriarch had recruited the biggest horses in the area to haul rocks for the foundation. The church's yellow-brick Gothic facade and tall spire remain the most recognizable landmark in Penfield, and the steeple is said locally to have been used as a navigation reference by pilots training at Chanute Air Force Base.
- Architect: George P. Stauduhar (born Mahomet area; U of I class of 1890)
- Style: Gothic Revival, brick, single spire
- Construction contract signed March 18, 1905
- Original contract price: $12,511
- Interior features: double-pane stained-glass windows, 1998 centennial redecorating
St. Lawrence Academy and the Dominican Sisters
In 1916, Father Williams O'Brien built St. Lawrence Academy across the street from the church on land formerly owned by the Baptists, who had organized in Penfield in 1877. The schoolopened originally as a grade school, and the Dominican Sisters of Springfield arrived in 1916 to staff it. Beginning in 1917 the school added high school grades and eventually became a four-year high school — the only Catholic secondary school for many miles around. The high school program was discontinued in 1943, but the grade school continued under the Dominican Sisters until 1966. The yellow-brick school building east of the church was eventually demolished after St. Lawrence Parish built a new parish hall across the street, and only a basketball court remains to mark the academy's footprint. The Sisters' legacy of choir, youth-group, and parish-life work continues in the present collaborative parish.
- St. Lawrence Academy built 1916 by Father Williams O'Brien
- Dominican Sisters of Springfield arrived 1916
- High school program 1917–1943
- Grade school closed 1966
- School building demolished after parish hall was built
Ministries and Parish Life
St. Lawrence has long been known less for the size of its congregation than for the depth of its community life. Parishioners traditionally gathered outside the historic yellow chapel after each Mass to catch up, and the church was the social hub of a village of fewer than 200 residents — hosting fundraisers, funeral dinners, and generations of family milestones. Today, those ministries are coordinated through the collaborative St. Malachy Parish, which operates St. Malachy School in Rantoul, oversees faith formation for children and adults, runs parish outreach to homebound and nursing-home residents, and continues a Hispanic ministry that grew out of work begun by Sr. Paulita Philippe in the early 2000s. The parish also cares for three parish cemeteries.
- Faith formation for children and adults
- Parish outreach to homebound and nursing-home residents
- Hispanic ministry (Spanish liturgy of the Word and Bible study)
- St. Malachy School (Rantoul)
- Care of three parish cemeteries
- Fellowship and funeral dinners rooted in the historic Penfield community
Closure and the Growing Disciples Pastoral Plan
In May 2024, Bishop Louis Tylka of the Diocese of Peoria announced the Growing Disciples pastoral plan, a sweeping round of parish closures and mergers driven by a shrinking pool of priests and declining Mass attendance. St. Lawrence was among six area churches designated to discontinue regular services; it was merged with St. Malachy in Rantoul and St. Elizabeth of Hungary in Thomasboro (with St. Charles Borromeo in Homer also folded into the broader collaborative grouping), with Rantoul designated as the primary worship site. The phase-out took effect July 1, 2024, and the parish scheduled its final services at the Penfield church for July 2025. The merger was met with grief by longtime parishioners like Julianne Hedrick, whose family had helped build the church in 1905 and whose generation-after-generation of sacraments were celebrated within its walls.
- Announced May 2024 under Bishop Louis Tylka's Growing Disciples plan
- Merged with St. Malachy (Rantoul) and St. Elizabeth of Hungary (Thomasboro)
- St. Charles Borromeo (Homer) also part of the broader collaborative grouping
- Phase-out effective July 1, 2024; final services July 2025
- Rantoul designated as the primary worship site
Penfield and the Wider Community
Penfield is a tiny rural village of fewer than 100 houses and just under 200 residents in the easternmost corner of Champaign County. The village grew up along the old Havana, Rantoul, and Eastern Railroad, and at one time four churches clustered around the intersection of Main and South streets: St. Lawrence Catholic (the only one still standing), a Baptist church (organized 1877, building later replaced), a United Brethren church (organized 1890), and a fourth congregation. The presence of nearby Chanute Air Force Base shaped the social and economic life of the village for much of the 20th century, and the loss of both the base and the schools over the decades contributed to the gradual decline of the parish. Even after the 2024 merger, the historic St. Lawrence church remains the most recognizable architectural landmark of the village.
- Village of fewer than 100 houses and under 200 residents
- Four churches once clustered at Main and South streets; St. Lawrence is the only one still standing
- Growth influenced by the Havana, Rantoul, and Eastern Railroad and Chanute Air Force Base
- Spire reportedly used as a landmark by Chanute pilots
Visiting St. Lawrence
St. Lawrence Church is located at 302 Main Street, Penfield, Illinois 61862, at the historic intersection of Main and South streets. The yellow-brick Gothic Revival church designed by George P. Stauduhar and dedicated in 1905 is open for the Saturday Vigil Mass at 4:00 pm and is the center of a tight-knit rural Catholic community. Visitors are encouraged to confirm current Mass times through the parish office at St. Malachy Parish (stmalachyparish.org) or the Diocese of Peoria (cdop.org), as the schedule has shifted during the transition of the Growing Disciples pastoral plan. The historic stained-glass windows, the steeple, and the 1998-centennial redecorated interior are the highlights for anyone making a heritage visit to one of Penfield's most iconic landmarks.
- Address: 302 Main Street, Penfield, IL 61862
- Saturday Vigil Mass: 4:00 pm (current unified schedule)
- Highlights: Stauduhar Gothic architecture, stained-glass windows, 1998 centennial redecorating
- Parish office: St. Malachy Parish, stmalachyparish.org
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Rev. M. Gensler1898 (founding)
Founded the parish in 1898; first pastor listed in parish centennial history.
- Rev. J. H. Cannonserved until 1910
Identified in the Chronology of Selected Events in Champaign County as the first priest at St. Patrick's, Rantoul; the early Catholic mission in the Penfield/Rantoul area was served by priests from St. Mary's, Champaign (1859–1871) and missionary pastors like Fr. Cannon before the formation of the independent St. Lawrence parish in 1898.
- Father Williams O'Briencirca 1916
Built St. Lawrence Academy across the street from the church in 1916 (initially as a grade school); credited with bringing the Dominican Sisters of Springfield to Penfield in 1916 to staff the school.
- Fr. Charles Williams1940s
Led major church renovations at St. Malachy in Rantoul in the 1940s; reported in local histories as part of the same era of parish leadership in the Rantoul-area Catholic mission.
- Fr. Stanley Malinowski1970s
Led updates to the interior and exterior of St. Malachy Church in the 1970s following the Second Vatican Council; named in the parish's published history of the broader St. Malachy/St. Lawrence Catholic community.
- Fr. Michael Mennerprior to 2024
Listed as parish priest in third-party Catholic directories (joinmychurch.com) and as the priest who delivered the news of the 2024 closure to the St. Lawrence congregation.
- Fr. Joel Phelps2024–present
Current pastor of the newly collaborative St. Malachy–St. Elizabeth–St. Lawrence parish; bilingual English/Spanish; also Vicar Forane for the Champaign Vicariate of the Diocese of Peoria.