About St. Mary · Greene, Iowa
St. Mary Catholic Church in Greene, Iowa is a small Roman-Latin rite parish of the Archdiocese of Dubuque, located at 105 N. Main Street in the small town of Greene in Butler County. The parish traces its origins to 1878, when Catholic settlers in the railroad boomtown sought a church of their own, and has served Greene-area Catholic families continuously for nearly 150 years. Today the Greene parish shares its pastor with two neighboring mission churches — Holy Name in Rockford and St. Mary in Roseville — forming the Butler-Floyd Catholic pastorate, all sharing the website butlerfloydcatholic.org and the same pastor, Father Frantz Augustin. The parish offers weekend and weekday Mass, Friday adoration, and is active in CCD faith formation, the Knights of Columbus, and the Catholic Daughters of the Americas Court #512.
- Established
- 1878
- Patron
- The Blessed Virgin Mary (St. Mary)
- Rector
- Rev. Frantz Augustin
- Diocese
- Archdiocese of Dubuque
Why belong here
St. Mary in Greene is a tight-knit country parish that has served the local Catholic community since 1878 and continues that heritage today with weekend Mass, Tuesday and Friday morning weekday Mass, and Friday afternoon adoration. Worshippers are warmly welcomed to share in the Sacraments and the spiritual and social life of the parish, which includes CCD religious education, an active Catholic Daughters of the Americas Court #512 (instituted June 27, 1920), and a Knights of Columbus council that hosts the annual Lenten Fish Fry. As part of the Butler-Floyd pastorate with Holy Name in Rockford and St. Mary in Roseville, the parish offers the chance to belong to a small but enduring Catholic community rooted in rural northeast Iowa.
Mass times at St. Mary
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Before Sunday Mass (10:00 AM)
- By appointment / before Mass as scheduled
Adoration times
- Friday 3:00 PM (Adoration, Greene)
History of St. Mary Parish, Greene
When Greene began to thrive in the 1870s because of the railroads, the Catholic settlers in the area were no longer satisfied with Mass offered in homes and halls or with traveling four miles to Saint Mary's in Coldwater. In 1878, a delegation visited Judge Greene in Cedar Rapids, who gave them three lots in the town of Greene. Father Terrence L. McDermott of Waverly, their missionary pastor, directed them in building the first church. The Loras College Digital Collections archive of the Catholic Life in the Archdiocese Collection places the parish's earliest records at 1872, and contains a centennial booklet, a pastor list, an annual history and historian's report, and a pastoral plan booklet documenting the parish's growth over more than 145 years.
- Founded 1878
- Catholic Life in the Archdiocese Collection at Loras College
- 125th anniversary marked in 1997
- Elevator dedicated in 1992
- Flood and tornado damage in 2008
Clergy and Staff
St. Mary Parish in Greene is currently served by Father Frantz Augustin, who pastors the Butler-Floyd Catholic pastorate consisting of St. Mary in Greene, Holy Name in Rockford, and St. Mary in Roseville. Father Augustin is a priest on loan to the Archdiocese of Dubuque from the Diocese of Fort-Liberté in Haiti.
- Rev. Frantz Augustin — Pastor
Parish Ministries and Faith Formation
St. Mary Parish supports faith formation for its younger members through Sunday School and CCD, both running from September through April. The parish is also home to Catholic Daughters of the Americas Court St. Mary #512, which was instituted on June 27, 1920 and continues to support the parish through its Circle of Love service categories — Spiritual Enhancement, Quality of Life, Education, and Legislation — including an annual Lenten Silent Auction. The parish cooperates with the local Knights of Columbus council, whose annual Lenten Fish Fry is a fixture of community life in Greene.
- CCD (Wednesdays, September–April)
- Sunday School (9:00 AM, September–April)
- Catholic Daughters Court #512 (instituted June 27, 1920)
- Knights of Columbus annual Lenten Fish Fry
The Butler-Floyd Catholic Pastorate
St. Mary in Greene is one of three parishes in the Butler-Floyd Catholic pastorate, sharing clergy and a single website. The sister churches are Holy Name in Rockford and St. Mary in Roseville, each with its own weekend and weekday Mass schedule but a common pastor. The pastorate is listed in the Archdiocese of Dubuque's directory of active priest assignments.
- St. Mary — Greene
- Holy Name — Rockford
- St. Mary — Roseville
- Shared pastorate office: (641) 823-4146
St. Mary's Catholic Cemetery
The parish maintains St. Mary's Catholic Cemetery, which lies within Rose Hill Cemetery just south of Greene's city limits in Section 2 of Coldwater Township. According to the USGenWeb Archives, the cemetery predates the founding of the town of Greene itself. The northernmost section, north of the north drive, is owned and operated by the St. Mary's Cemetery Association and is reserved for Catholic burials, while the entire cemetery is maintained as a single property by the City of Greene.
- Established before the town of Greene
- Owned/operated by St. Mary's Cemetery Association (Catholic section)
- Maintained jointly with the City of Greene
Visiting and Contact Information
St. Mary Catholic Church is located at 105 N. Main Street, Greene, IA 50636. The parish office can be reached at (641) 823-4146. The current parish email listed in the Catholic Church Directory is [email protected], and the parish publishes news, bulletins, Mass times, and the daily readings at its website, butlerfloydcatholic.org. The parish also maintains a Facebook feed linked from the homepage.
- Address: 105 N. Main Street, Greene, IA 50636
- Phone: (641) 823-4146
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: butlerfloydcatholic.org
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Rev. Terrence L. McDermottMissionary pastor, late 1870s
Pastor of Waverly; directed Greene's Catholic settlers in building the first church in 1878.