About St. Mary · Dorchester, Iowa
St. Mary Parish is a small rural Catholic community in the unincorporated village of Dorchester, Allamakee County, in the northeast corner of Iowa, seated near Waterloo Creek about eight miles from its sister-parish of St. Mary in Hanover. The parish belongs to the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Dubuque and is currently clustered with St. Patrick Parish in Waukon and St. Mary Parish in Hanover, sharing one pastor and a permanent deacon. Its roots reach back to the earliest wave of Irish Catholic settlement in northeast Iowa in the early 1850s, and the first church on the site was completed in 1855 under the direction of Father William Jacoby of Lansing. Today the parish continues to celebrate Mass and devotions in a tie with its cluster partners, maintaining a 170-year-old Catholic presence in the Waterloo Creek valley.
- Established
- 1855
- Patron
- The Blessed Virgin Mary
- Rector
- Rev. Joseph Schneider
- Diocese
- Archdiocese of Dubuque
Why belong here
St. Mary, Dorchester, is a small, long-established rural Catholic parish where generations of Allamakee County families have worshipped together since 1855. Visitors and parishioners are welcomed into a tight-knit community that shares one pastor and one permanent deacon with St. Patrick, Waukon, and St. Mary, Hanover, creating a cluster that combines the intimacy of a country parish with the strength of three linked congregations. The parish offers regular weekend Mass, weekday Mass while school is in session, monthly Eucharistic Adoration with Benediction, and ongoing devotions and sacramental life — a faithful, family-oriented setting rooted in over 170 years of Catholic tradition in the Waterloo Creek valley.
Mass times at St. Mary
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Saturday 3:00 PM – 3:30 PM at St. Patrick Church, Waukon (101 2nd St SW)
- Sunday 7:15 AM – 7:45 AM at St. Patrick Church, Waukon
Adoration times
- First Thursday of the month, 9:00 AM – 3:00 PM (with closing Benediction at 2:45 PM), at St. Patrick Church, Waukon
Parish History
St. Mary Parish traces its origins to the early 1850s Irish Catholic settlement of northeastern Iowa. The first church in the Dorchester parish was completed in 1855 under the direction of Father William Jacoby of Lansing, and Father Mathias Hannon may have been the first priest to celebrate Mass in the parish in 1858. The parish was formally incorporated in 1911 under Archbishop James J. Keane. For most of its history St. Mary, Dorchester, has been administered together with neighboring parishes — first sharing a pastor with St. Mary, Hanover, and since 2002 part of a three-parish cluster with St. Patrick, Waukon, and St. Mary, Hanover.
- First church completed 1855 (Father William Jacoby of Lansing)
- First Mass in Dorchester parish, 1858 (Father Mathias Hannon)
- First German settlers: Theodore Schwartzhoff family, 1854
- Incorporated 1911 under Archbishop James J. Keane
- Dorchester/Hanover pastorate split in 1915
- Three-church cluster (St. Patrick Waukon, St. Mary Hanover, St. Mary Dorchester) formed in 2002
Cluster & Pastoral Leadership
Since 2002, St. Mary, Dorchester, has been part of a cluster with St. Patrick Parish in Waukon and St. Mary Parish in Hanover, sharing one pastor and one permanent deacon. The pastor is Rev. Joseph Schneider, who also serves as pastor of St. Patrick, Waukon, and St. Mary, Hanover. Permanent Deacon Michael Ward, ordained October 20, 2007, is assigned to all three parishes of the cluster.
- Rev. Joseph Schneider — Pastor (2002-present)
- Deacon Michael Ward — Permanent Deacon (ordained October 20, 2007)
- Cluster parishes: St. Patrick, Waukon; St. Mary, Hanover; St. Mary, Dorchester
Parish Ministries and Faith Life
The parish bulletin lists active liturgical and pastoral ministries, including a Money Counters rotation, a Pastoral Council, and a Music Ministry (the May 2023 cluster bulletin names 'Erin Berns & Youth Choir' for the Dorchester Mass). Cluster-wide care for the sick, homebound, and bereaved is coordinated through Deacon Michael Ward across the three parishes.
- Pastoral Council
- Money Counters (rotating parish-volunteer teams)
- Music Ministry / Youth Choir
- Eucharistic Adoration volunteers (first Thursdays)
- Bereavement and funeral ministry with St. Mary Catholic Cemetery
Cemetery and Funerals
St. Mary's Catholic Cemetery, located in Dorchester, is the parish's active burial ground and is regularly the site of funeral services for local Catholic families. Open obituaries for parishioners and area residents from the 2000s through the 2020s show the cemetery continuing to serve as the parish's traditional resting place.
- St. Mary's Catholic Cemetery, Dorchester
- Funeral liturgies celebrated at St. Mary Church, Dorchester
- Burial coordinated by Martin Funeral Home, Waukon
Sacraments and Pastoral Care
Because the parish is administered as part of the St. Patrick Waukon cluster, sacramental preparation (Baptism, Marriage, Anointing of the Sick), RCIA, and ongoing faith-formation programming are coordinated through the cluster office at St. Patrick's, Waukon. The parish continues to host funeral liturgies and parish-specific devotions as they arise.
- Baptism, Marriage, Anointing of the Sick — coordinated through St. Patrick's, Waukon (563-568-3671)
- Cluster office: 101 2nd St SW, Waukon, IA 52172
- Funeral and burial rites at St. Mary Church and Cemetery, Dorchester
Visiting Dorchester and the Waterloo Creek Valley
Dorchester is a small unincorporated village in Waterloo Township, Allamakee County, in the far northeastern corner of Iowa, on the edge of the Driftless Area. The parish's church and adjoining rectory sit on Waterloo Creek Drive. The area is also home to the Norwegian Lutheran Waterloo Ridge Church and Cemetery Historic District (built 1873/1912), reflecting the broader multi-faith settlement of the township.
- Unincorporated village of Dorchester, Waterloo Township, Allamakee County, Iowa
- Located near the Minnesota state line and the Upper Iowa River
- Adjacent to the Waterloo Ridge Menigheds Kirke og Kirkegard Historic District (Norwegian Lutheran, 1873/1912)
Archives and Additional Reading
The fullest published parish history is Rev. Msgr. Edgar Kurt's 'Parish Profile #66: Saint Mary Parish, Dorchester,' in The Witness (Dubuque), 20 March 1988. The full parish records — photographs, history, and a parish timeline spanning about 165 years — are preserved at the Loras College Digital Collections (item #5841), transferred from the Archdiocese of Dubuque's Center for Dubuque History.
- Rev. Msgr. Edgar Kurt, 'Parish Profile #66: Saint Mary Parish, Dorchester,' The Witness, 20 March 1988
- Loras College Digital Collections, St. Mary (Dorchester, Iowa), item #5841
- Allamakee County History 1913 (iagenweb.org)
- GCatholic.org, Churches in the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Dubuque
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Rev. William Jacoby1855
Pastor of Lansing; directed the building of the first church in Dorchester parish in 1855.
- Rev. Mathias Hannon1858
Missionary priest of northeast Iowa; may have been the first to celebrate Mass in the Dorchester parish.
- Rev. F. McCullough1892
Pastor of St. Mary, Dorchester, in 1892, per the 1913 Allamakee County history.
- Rev. John Sheehypre-1913
Pastor of St. Mary, Dorchester, mentioned in the 1913 history of Allamakee County.
- Rev. T. G. Bradyca. 1911
Pastor at the time of the parish's incorporation in 1911; served as ex-officio vice president of the corporation.
- Rev. William J. Cremer1918-1924
Pastor of St. Mary Parish, Dorchester, August 10, 1918 to September 15, 1924; later pastor of Immaculate Conception, Gilbertville, and made Domestic Prelate (Monsignor) in 1952.
- Msgr. Ed Lechtenbergpre-2002
Pastoral leader of St. Patrick Parish, Waukon, who oversaw the 1991 closing of St. John the Baptist, West Ridge, and consolidation of its territory into St. Patrick's.
- Rev. Joseph Schneider2002-present
Pastor of St. Patrick, Waukon, since 2002; simultaneously named pastor of St. Mary, Hanover, and St. Mary, Dorchester, in 2002, formalizing the present three-church cluster.