About St. Mary · Hawk Point, Missouri
St. Mary Parish in Hawk Point, Missouri is a small Catholic faith community in the Archdiocese of St. Louis, located at 458 Main Street in the small Lincoln County town of Hawk Point. The parish has its roots in the Bohemian (Czech) immigrant families who began settling the rolling farmland northwest of Troy in 1848 and worshipping together in homes, then in a log church at nearby Mashek, before organizing a permanent parish in Hawk Point in 1918–1919. Today the parish shares pastoral ministry with neighboring Holy Rosary in Warrenton, and gathers parishioners around daily and weekend Mass, Saturday confessions, First Friday adoration, a Parish School of Religion, and outreach to the Hawk Point Food Pantry and local school.
- Established
- 1919
- Patron
- Blessed Virgin Mary
- Rector
- Reverend Edward J. Godefroid
- Diocese
- Archdiocese of St. Louis
Why belong here
St. Mary Hawk Point offers a small, neighborly parish rooted in more than a century of Bohemian-Catholic heritage, where weekday Mass at 8:00 am, a Saturday Vigil, and an early Sunday Mass let working families and retirees alike worship close to home. The parish keeps traditional Catholic devotional life visible — Saturday confession, First Friday Eucharistic Adoration, and a Parish School of Religion for children — while sharing ministry with neighboring Holy Rosary in Warrenton. For Catholics in the Hawk Point area, it is also a parish that lives its faith outward, regularly collecting food for the Hawk Point Food Pantry and supporting the local school.
Mass times at St. Mary
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Saturday 3:15 pm
Adoration times
- First Friday 8:45 am
Parish Identity & Mission
St. Mary (Hawk Point) Parish is a community of Catholics in the Archdiocese of St. Louis that describes itself as endeavoring to live out the Joy of the Gospel and to bring others closer to Our Lord Jesus Christ through its commitment to being missionary disciples who know and live the Faith. It is one of the smaller rural parishes of the Archdiocese, sharing clergy with Holy Rosary in Warrenton.
History
The parish traces its origin to 1848, when six Czech (Bohemian) families settled on farmland six miles northwest of Troy, Missouri. For more than a decade they worshipped in homes, receiving a priest only about six times a year. In 1862 a log church was built at nearby Mashek, replaced by a frame church after the Civil War. In 1918, three laymen — Frank Kniezel, Frank Martinek, and Joseph Shilharvey — purchased a hotel in Hawk Point and converted part of it into a chapel and the rest into a rectory. The first resident pastor, Father Wenceslaus Svehla, arrived in 1919 and served both Hawk Point and Mashek until 1939.
The Church Building
The present brick church was constructed in 1928 at the corner of Main Street and Washington Street for approximately $16,000, replacing the improvised 1918 chapel. It is built in the Gothic Revival style. A brick parish school building was added in 1937 and remained in use until the neighboring parishes of Troy and Warrenton built their own Catholic schools; today the building no longer functions as a school.
- Year built: 1927–1928
- Architectural style: Gothic Revival
- Construction cost: approximately $16,000
- Location: Main Street & Washington Street, Hawk Point
Clergy & Pastoral Care
St. Mary shares its pastoral team with Holy Rosary Parish in Warrenton. This arrangement allows a resident priest and a senior associate to serve both communities.
- Reverend Edward J. Godefroid — Pastor
- Reverend Clark B. Maes — Senior Associate Pastor
Faith Formation
Faith formation for parish children is provided through the Parish School of Religion (PSR), which meets most Sunday mornings from 8:30 to 9:30, September through May, in the church building.
- Parish School of Religion (PSR) — Sunday mornings, 8:30–9:30 am, September–May
Outreach & Community Life
St. Mary maintains an active outward-facing ministry despite its small size. Parishioners regularly collect food items for the Hawk Point Food Pantry and assist the local Hawk Point school, embodying the parish's stated commitment to missionary discipleship.
- Hawk Point Food Pantry — ongoing food collection
- Support of the local Hawk Point school
Visiting & Contact
The parish office and church are located at 458 Main Street, Hawk Point, Missouri 63349 (mailing address PO Box 205). Telephone inquiries are taken at (636) 338-4331, with fax (636) 338-4007. The parish can be reached by email and is also present on Facebook.
- Address: 458 Main Street, Hawk Point, MO 63349-0205
- Phone: (636) 338-4331
- Fax: (636) 338-4007
- Email: [email protected]
- Diocesan page: https://www.archstl.org/parish/st-mary-hawk-point/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/StMarysCatholicChurchHawkPoint/
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Reverend Wenceslaus Svehla1919–1939
First resident pastor of Hawk Point and Mashek; arrived in 1919 after three laymen (Frank Kniezel, Frank Martinek, Joseph Shilharvey) purchased a hotel and converted it into a chapel and rectory.